At 46 years old, I continue to live with plateaued chronic pain and many ongoing challenges. I do my best to approach these obstacles with creativity, finding ways to adapt and work around them as much as possible.

To keep moving forward, I’ve pursued online educational opportunities and became an active member of a Toastmasters Club, where I’ve been working on both my speech and trying to restore my communication confidence. I also participate with the local vocational rehabilitation program, with the hope of eventually being able to do some part-time work from home. Along the way, I completed training to become a Certified Life Coach as part of my effort to reinvent myself. I am especially proud of this as it was a valuable learning experience. Out of that came the beginnings of me building a home-based business as a Life Coach and incorporating various wellness options. I am looking forward to being able tto set my own hours, work around my “new normals,” and still contribute to society in a meaningful way.

Another highlight has been serving as co-host on the Brain Injury Radio Show, a wonderful voluntary collaboration with Kim Justus. God bless her; she is truly a gift to the world. When she invited me on as her co-host, I was truly humbled and appreciative of the opportunity. She saw something in me that I was struggling to see in myself, and I am grateful. I currently co-host once a month on the second Wednesday of each month (give or take a day). It has been an inspiring opportunity to connect with others and give back to the brain injury community.

Meanwhile, I have continued writing blogs and sharing my story while weathering the COVID-19 pandemic at home with my family. Like so many others, we have been living under our state’s “Stay Safe, Stay Home” order, adapting day by day to a new way of life under shelter-in-place restrictions.

I am not sure what tomorrow brings, but hopefully I am still here to talk about it.