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Conception & Pre-natal
All Shook Up Norma Sageman, in a troubled marriage, looked for comfort outside her marriage and became intimate with Gerry Manning. Michelle was conceived. Norma's prenatal stage was filled with mixed emotions and difficult decisions. -
Birth
[Tears on My Pillow](<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylL8f9GdZtw' ) Born "Joanne Sageman" in Saginaw General Hospital. Never went home with birthmother. Was in foster care for 3 months. -
First REAL smile
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Adoption into Morgan family
We Are Family Clifford and Alice Morgan and their adopted son, Roger, became new family of Joanne and renamed her as Michelle Susan Morgan. -
Escaping the playpen
Big brother, Roger, was instrumental in helping sister, Michelle, escape from the cage. He crawled underneath and pushed up on the floor to allow her to crawl over the edge and escape. It took a while for the parents to figure out how she was getting out until they saw his clever assist. -
First Steps
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Sister is born - Tracy
Tracy Ann Morgan - 1st natural born child of Cliff and Alice - joins the family. -
Toilet Trained
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Cooking Oil Incident
Mother, Alice, liked to talk on the phone. One morning, while she was distracted, Michelle was able to get the cooking oil from the cupboard and snuck it to the living room. Here she proceeded to dump it all over the room including the new couch. -
Sister born -Dawn
Another sister born to parents, Cliff and Alice. Dawn Robin Morgan joins the family. -
Baby Asprin Overdose
My sister was born in Sept 27 of 1959 making her a year younger and the first natural born child. This caused a bit of jealousy. Michelle, eager to gain attention, took an entire bottle of baby asprin. Not a suicide attempt at this young age, but a young girl's hope to gain the spotlight from the new baby. Michelle had to go to ER and have her stomach pumped. -
Inquiring Minds want to Know!
A stage of curiousity and endless questions. Michelle drover her brother crazy while watching TV as she questioned every detail. -
Blossoming Singer
You Are My Sunshine Michelle always loved music and when riding in the car on the "hump" in the backseat, she loved to sing in her dad's ear. His off-key "Home on the Range" mixed with her melodic "You are my Sunshine". -
Moved to the farm
Michelle's family, the Morgans, moved to her grandmother's farm in Hemlock, MI so they could help care for them. Grandma = Elsie and Grandpa = Frederick. Dad, a builder, renovated the house to make room for everyone. -
Rude (Nude) Awakening
Dad had to give Grandpa showers due to a stroke. Michelle walked in on this process once and was shocked to see her grandpa nude. -
Grandpa Died
I had stared kindergarden and came home after lunch. My sister was there waiting for me and told me that "Jesus had been there and had taken Grandpa. He was gone." -
Baby Brother!
Baby Brother
Natural born to my parents, my brother, Russell Frederick Kipp Morgan, makes an appearance. -
Kennedy Assasination
It was a dark day and my family was very upset. It felt like the world stopped. We had just gotten a TV and the news of President Kennedy's death was on. -
2nd grade Slap! -- Mrs. Domino
School seemed scary and it was difficult having a teacher like Mrs Domino. She was an unhappy, elderly woman who seemed not to enjoy her job. When I turned to ask a question of a peer, she came over and said, "What are you doing, talking?" and slapped me. -
Kathy Floud
Kathy was a first good friend. She lived in a farm in Hemlock and they had horses. Her family was kind and she would often have me over for sleepovers. She was an interesting and fun friend. -
Clever Instigator
It was a hot June Saturday and the folks had gone to town to do shopping. We were home with grandma. I had the idea that we all put our suits on and go play with the hose. Grandma, having not given permission, said I would be in trouble when mom saw all the wet suits. So, I just took them to the dryer and dried them! -
House in the suburbs
Dad started building our house in June and we moved in later after school started. Dad worked for a big company but was begining to work as an independent contractor when he build this house in Shields, MI. This is where my birth family was living at the time, but we did not find this out until later. -
4th Grade - Mrs. Garner
Mrs. Garner had a big influence on me. It was my happiest and most impressionable year at school. She believed in us and raised the bar for use. She had us do oil painting and inspired us to learning with her genuine love for us. -
Why didn't they want me?
Maybe In adolecence, I had many questions about life and in particular about why I was adopted. The big question of my life was "Why Didn't they Want Me?" -
Bad Acne
Struggled with acne, weight gain, lack of confidence and poor self-image. Did not have many friends. -
Art and Choir
Excelled in the creative studies such as art and choir. Felt self-conscious and lacked confidence. My mom also lacked confidence which meant I didn't have a strong female role model. -
Mrs. Kain - Baby sitting
At 12, I was combing through the want-ads. Dad said I wouldn't be able to get a job at 12, so I made up index cards advertising my babysiting services. I got my first plesant job for Mrs. Kain...a christian family with an autisic child. She trained me how to work with her kids and it was a great experinece after some of the difficult families I worked for at first. She taught me to make pizza, she played the piano while I sang, and she gave me lots of attention. -
First Period
My first menses was alarming as I hadn't been told anything about it. A girl at school explained it to me. When I asked my mom she forbid me to discuss it or tell anyone I had started my period so I believed it was an evil thing. -
Puberty and Weight Gain
It was a dark time. I wasn't in dating mode as I felt alone and overweight and struggled with acne. Food was all around - even at the babysitting jobs. -
First Crush/First Kiss
Michelle My Belle A cute neighbor kid, Todd, had a dreamy look about him. While we were playing together we shared a first kiss. -
Lost the part in the play
In choir, we were performing and I tried ou for the lead female part. Although I had the nicest singing voice, I didn't get the part because my acting wasn't as fluid and confident as needed. The other girl who was better at acting got the part. Her family was better connected and it felt like a "clique" sort of thing. It was a big disappointment for me, My mom tried to talk to the school on my behalf, which was nice, but I didn't get the lead. I was given another singing part. -
Eating Disorder
Overeating and emotional eating were how I dealt with my feelings. -
Started drinking
I met a girl, Ginette. I was 16 and at a school dance we went to a store in Saginaw and bought a 6 pack of beer. (she knew they would sell to minors). -
First Intimate Encounter
You're 16!
Our church youth group invited some people from the community to join in an event and I met 18 year old Hal. After dating for a bit, he was my first intimate encounter. -
Work at Texan
Texan restaurant in Saginaw. Working 2nd shift (and 3rd on weekends) as a 16 year old. -
Mom Finds Diary
I used to journal and my mom found my diary with all of my personal information. It was a bad turn of events. -
Graduation
Graduated from high school and had a party with relatives attending. -
A Star is Born
A Star is Born
Working 3rd shift at the Texan and I met Sharon. We went to the dollar movies a lot. "A Star is Born" was playing and I went at least 9 times. I loved that movie! -
The Party Years Begin
Girls just want to have fun!
Sharon and I used to go out every night and party...getting drunk every time we went out. -
Moved to Florida
Gegraphical change with friends. Moved to North Ft Myers -
Marriage #1
Met Brad Schmidt while in Florida and moved to Minnesota where we married at an outside wedding in his hometown. -
Divorce
It's A Heartache
After a little more than 2 years, we weren't getting along and he was interested in other people so we divorced. -
Accelerated Partying
After divorce, working at a bar full time led to lots of partying. -
Robin - Lifelong friend
Met Robin, working at Gulden's restaurant. We became good friends. -
Rooming wih Todd and Robin
Holiday
Robin met Todd and he moved in with us. We got along well and had such good times together. She saw the good in me and helped bring out my best sides. -
Stopped drinking
Decided to become sober and stop partying. -
Weight loss
Went to Nutri-system and lost over 100 pounds. -
Reunited with biological family
Searched and found biological family in Flint, MI. -
Moved to Flint
After meeting my family, decided to move back to Flint, MI. -
Met David
From this moment Working at Bosley's restaurant in Flint, MI. Met David Stoutenburg at the ice machine. -
Quit Smoking
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Job in Collections
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Married David
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Tubal Pregnancy
1st pregnancy - emergency surgery - pregnancy terminated. -
Fertility Counseling
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Todd's Suicide
My friend Todd from Minnesota had developed paranoid schitzophrenia and he commited suicide. -
Maximum weight - 289
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Gastric bypass surgery
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Lost 100 pounds after surgery
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David's dad died
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Quit Collections
Decided to attend school full time to become a nurse. -
David's mom died
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Back to college
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Mom died
Adopted mother passed away. -
Sister diagnosed with MS
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Graduated college
Graduated with a license degree (LPN) from Davenport University. -
1st nursing job at Suncrest
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Dad died
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Started job at VA in Detroit
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20 year anniversary
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MS sister diagnosed with lung cancer
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Returned to college
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Associates RN
I Believe I Can Fly
Plan to finish degree for associates RN -
Transfer position at VA
Hoping to be in a different department - like med surg or one of the clinics. -
Work for VA in Goodrich
Word is a clinic may open in Goodrich and I would like to transfer. -
Personal Recovery
Eye of the Tiger
Goal - to lose weight and be more centered, competent. -
Bachelor's degreee
Online courses to get bachelor's through Eastern Michigan University. Bachelor's in Nursing. -
Recovery Mentoring
Help others with the process of discovering fulfillment in their lives and finding the tools to aid in their personal recoveries. -
Legacy - patient advocate
What a Difference You've Made in My Life Known for being a strong patient advocate during nursing profession. -
Pay off mortgage
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VA transfer to North Carolina
Would like to move to NC and continue to work with the VA hospital there. -
Increasing debility
Arthritis and joing issues complicate mobility. Becomes a daily struggle. -
Retire
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Move to Senior Community in NC
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Spouse passes
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