On Saturday, Sept. 5 there will be a co-ed softball tournament in Vidalia to benefit Patricia Jamison Swilley. Most of you know her as P.J.

In 2002, P.J. noticed she was starting to fall and feeling clumsy. So she went to the doctor at UMC in Jackson. They did surgery, which was a triple fusion, but realized after surgery it didn’t help.

After going to 27 different doctors over the course of several years and ruling out multiple sclerosis, P.J. was diagnosed with primary lateral sclerosis.

This is a disease of motor neurons. It’s progressive and causes nerve degeneration. It affects primarily upper motor neurons. Weakness in voluntary muscles, such as the legs, hand and tongue. It is also a sister to Lou Gehrig’s disease.

This disease has affected her entire life. P.J. is now in a wheelchair and stays at home unless going back and forth to the doctors.

P.J. is married to James Swilley. They have three children and five grandchildren.

If anyone would like to help, we need teams, sponsors, umpires, scorekeepers, concession stand items, raffle items, people to donate their time to help clean up before and after.

We need people to come and cheer their teams on. But mostly to cheer P.J. on and let her know we love her and care for her as well. She hasn’t been forgotten.

P.J. will be at the tournament for a short time on Saturday.

Come by and say hi and let her know you care. Also, it will be her 54th birthday.

To put a team in it costs $125 per team.

An account is open at Concordia Bank in the name of P.J. Swilley and Chasity Perea.

For information contact me at 601-446-8491 or 601-431-2755 or Jody Stevens at 601-431-3162 or 601-431-3176.

Cathy Warren is an Adams County resident.