One early fall evening, while driving down the highway at 65 miles per hour, my husband said to me ” I don’t feel well” and fainted in my arms. With my husband slumped over me, I was unable to do anything as the car, swerved down the highway making “S” marks, I was sure we were going to die, the car turned completely over, landing back upright on its wheels, just before hitting the cement wall of the highway overpass. ” The wind shield is cracked” said my husband as he regained consciousness.
The windshield was not the only thing broken as it turned out. My husband’s neck was broken at the vertebrae C2, a highly dangerous spot, each time a Doctor looked at the break, they shook their heads, saying ” Do you know how lucky you are? Do you know how close you are to being dead or a quadriplegic?” The miracle of our survival, did not spare us of the turmoil caused by having our world turned upside down. My husband was in constant terrible pain, with a long, list of medical appointments and waiting months while in a neck brace. I suffered from the worry,the work load as care taker and the trauma. The trauma attached itself among other places to a fear of driving, I could drive only 20 miles an hour at first and my husband could not drive at all. I have this poignant memory of looking at my husband and son in the hospital, my husband in the neck brace and our son in what turned out to be the last few months of his life after battling brain cancer for 17 years. It seemed like a long, long journey with no sure end in sight,well, it was a long, long journey with no clear end in sight!
” Resilience is the ability to work with adversity in such a way, that one comes through it unharmed or even better for the experience”, I love this quote from Wisdom Commons. We found a way to travel the long journey of recovery from the accident. It required much heart, determination, courage, patience and innovation. Today, a bit more than two years since that fateful evening, we have our new life, one that includes the great joys of our life, like skiing, running, dancing, working, traveling, walking Ruffus and just being alive! I can drive 65 miles an hour, I think the day I reached that point, we had a party!!!
I could write a book about all the things I have learned, ( maybe I will)! The most important thing I learned is that no matter what happens in life, how unthinkable, there is always a way through it, always. It is a bit like a map or a blueprint, each path different, but always a way. Let me help you find your way!
If you or anyone you know is facing an “unthinkable” event in their lives, I am here to help. Please share.
I’d love to connect. Here’s my calendar link to make finding time easy.