Life deals us curve balls all the time. It does not matter who you are, what you earn and have, or your support structure. There are stressors in life that we all face, some more than others, but we all get dealt different hands, some good, some bad. We know it’s to make us stronger and better people. But some of us just can’t cope with what life sends, but why?
I was dealt a very harsh curve ball early in 2018, a brain injury that took me over a year to conquer. It affected my business, my clients left, my colleague resigned and my social and sporting life came to a holt. I felt so lost. I had to come face to face to the vulnerable me with no masks on of career, achievements, possessions etc. I began to ask…Who am I? What is my purpose in life? When I die, will I be proud of my life? It’s not a comfortable or easy process!
Now, 18 months later, it’s the new me that is writing this, and wanting to fulfill my life purpose and figuring this out. I wonder why and how I dealt with this huge set back. It was, and today I am surer of this, that it was dealt to me when I was in the best physical shape and the healthiest me that I have ever been in my life, and I am 43!
Through this experience, I have realized that the healthier you are physically and mentally, the more ability you have to deal with life’s stressors that come in waves at us. So you CAN ultimately be the best person you can be.
Luckily, I have always loved sport and exercise. This led to me enjoying and pursuing activity all my life, both for the social interaction and the energy that exercise gives me. In my mid-thirties I decided to do a half Iron Man triathlon with a friend, so I trained for three months and did it. Now, seven years later I see that the tri bug bit me hard! I did around two training sessions a day, this as well as running and growing my own marketing, events and travel business with demanding clients. I can clearly see now that the exercise I did i.e. running, swimming, cycling, stretching and strengthening and the friends I met in this space, was my sanity and gave me the fuel I needed to prosper in life, grow a business and become a great athlete. I kept seeing more potential in myself and my business and could drive both harder and more confidently.
Then after a few years of doing the shorter triathlons, I decided to do the full iron man. But two weeks before my first one, on my last slow long ride, I happened to fall off my bike. I am still not sure why I did not fall on my arm, or knee, but I fell straight onto my head! I went straight into a coma and had to be airlifted to a Milpark hospital, where I was in a coma for 2 ½ weeks! I had a TBI, a Traumatic Brain Injury which basically means I had bruises on my brain due to the brain hammering around in the skull from the fall. My injury was very bad according to my neurosurgeon but thank goodness I have immediate help.
After coming out of the coma and ICU, I then still had to stay in hospital in the neuro ward for another two months! Here I had six sessions a day of OT, speech and physio. It felt like a very long time. After hospital, I was still not allowed to work for the next 6 months! My rehab continued and I had to learn to work again in an environment they set up, to simulate work stresses to see if I was fine cognitively and would not have seizures. I was also not allowed to drive! Only after 6 months, could I drive again once I was signed off by the OT and driving instructor.
The doctors and therapist throughout this time were all amazed at how well I was healing. The nurses at ICU thought I was 16! The neurologist signed me out after 3 months, the rehab therapists after 11 months and the Neurosurgeon after 16 months, saying I have normalized well. The CAT scan showed the multiple contusions on the brain had healed. The therapists were saying how quick my recovery was, which is normally a few years in most cases and not always positive like me.
I can see now why I healed and was back to normal after around a year. I was definitely in the best physical condition I have ever been in. So I could handle the physical and the mental set back that I was dealt. I also had Discovery Health paying at least R1.5 million to date for my medical expenses! We worked this out for the ambulances, helicopter and the best care of some of the greatest medical doctors i.e. neurosurgeons, neurologists as well as the most profound and incredible nurses and therapists on this earth. I also, thank goodness, had loss of income contributing to my normal monthly expenses, while I was out of action! My support structure was also phenomenal, it was harder on them than me during my time in hospital!
So my advice to you, is have a medical aid that is the best in the country AND be the strongest and healthiest you can be right now! This so you can be the best you can be, deal with life’s curve balls that come our way unexpectedly and be able to become a better person to fulfill what you were meant to do on this earth. You can’t do this if you are unhealthy, as life’s stressors will hit you into touch.
I am glad I was able to embrace this TBI curve ball and am certainly becoming a better person.We were all born on this planet with a unique combination of skills and abilities. Consider for a moment, what abilities and strengths do you think have, and can you see through the clutter of everyday life, to use them?
I am of the strong opinion that we have to be in the best form possible, both physically and mentally, to be able to tap into the signs to see our potential, then fulfill this to be the best we can be. There will never be another you, so you owe it to the world to harness your strengths, give this out and make it a better place!
If you are overweight, or tired, can’t breathe going up a few flights of stairs, or get sick often, then you will be stuck in the mud. Life’s stressors will deflate you, and you won’t be able to climb to any higher stairs on the ladder of possibility and potential you have.
So go out and be the healthiest person you can be by doing the things most of us know are important, e.g. sleeping well every night for 8 hours, eating healthily, moving and being activity, getting help and advice from trusted sources, having amazing friends and family for important social connections, etc. Then you can see your potential become crystal clear so you can fulfill your purpose and catapult off life’s curve balls, to be all you were meant to be.
