I was visiting with my son Aaron and his wife last weekend in Halifax and while sitting in the living room in our pajamas enjoying our freshly brewed morning coffee, we started talking about bad news that I received four years ago. It was a difficult time and still is so difficult to talk about, but it reminded me of why I signed up as a health and fitness coach (health influencer.)
For those of you who don’t know me well, you may not know that four years ago, my Easter weekend was interrupted when I was told that I had a tumour wrapped around my left optical nerve and that because of the location, they could not operate. Therefore, 25 radiation treatments were in my future.
The specialists’ main goal, I was told, was to save my right eye. After losing all vision in my left eye, I also experienced many many side effects from the treatments and medications. Side effects such as loss of the function of my legs, temporary memory loss, diabetese 2 (having to inject myself with insulin every day,) and mouth sores, to name a few. I was totally dependent on my husband, who, took such good care of me, even when the meds made me paranoid and delusional. Without his help and love and the prayers and love and support of my chilfren, I don’t know that I would have survived.
I was however, in the end, left with bloating and sore bones and joints. I looked 20 years older as I was losing a lot of my hair and having a hard time to even walk. I remember going back to work and having to hold on to the hand rail to walk up one flight of stairs.
This was one of the scariest time of my life, not knowing if I was going to be able to see. I didn’t know if I was going to go blind. Then horrible thoughts popped in my head like, am I not going to be able to see my kids and my husband’s face again. What about my grand babies, would I get to see my grandchildren grow up. Before the treatments began I remember standing downtown at the park trying to see the July 1st fireworks. Would this be the last time I get to see fireworks? And what about work? I’m a high school teacher. How would I teach if I couldn’t see. I wouldn’t be able paint or draw or decorate cakes or drive. I was petrified and it pained me to see the worry on my family’s faces.
I learned many lessons during those dark days and one was to “let go and let God”.
Then I learned the biggest lesson of all. What may seem like the most devastating news in your life, can open doors to a whole new world of possibilities. That’s when I found these home workouts, tools and supplements that changed my life and gave me a new purpose in life and an online wellness coach business. God has given me a second chance and the thing that gives me power and strength is the knowledge that I want to be here for my family and a new passion and a deep desire to help others eat right, get and stay fit and treasure the gift of time and health.
God handed me a gift and healed me. My vision did return and all turned out ok, but I was left, like I said, bloated, overweight and broken. That’s when I decided that enough was enough. It was time to get my life back, and I could only do that by getting my health back first. I needed to lose weight and get my strength and energy back.
You don’t have to wait for a serious illness or near death experience or loss of a loved one to have a second chance and start living your best self.
Give yourself a second chance.
Give life a second chance.
Take care of this vessel, we call our bodies and start living your best life.
