At first, doctors thought that Phyllis Talarico had suffered from a stroke.
Her eye was drooping, she felt disoriented. She was exhausted and in pain.
It took 17 doctors before the Yorba Linda woman was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a little-understood and painful disorder that affects millions of people – mostly women – in the United States.
Nearly two decades after her diagnosis, Talarico, 64, has become a standard-bearer in the fight to raise awareness about the disorder. To that end, she asked her son, a Christian youth minister and musician, to write a song for her.
“Vigil Song,” is being recorded by R&B artist Tony Terry, who is performing with Pasquale on Saturday at a Fibromyalgia Awareness Day hosted by Cal State Fullerton.
The free event, featuring workshops, health screenings, a 5K walk and musical performances, will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. It will take place near the Kinesiology and Health Science Building at the campus.
Terry, a well-known musician who topped the Billboard charts several times in the 1990s, has a personal reason for recording the song. His wife, Larondra, has been battling fibromyalgia since the birth of their son in 2006.
For more information on the Fibromyalgia Awareness Day event on May 15,click here.
This is an excerpt from a May 14 article in the Orange County Register written by Jessica Terrell. To read the full story, click here.