Aug 01, 2026

Plot Twist to Purpose

I’ve always loved a good plot twist.

I’m inspired by movie characters who were focused in one area then bang- something came into their life (good or bad) that twisted their path. I was inspired by them but terrified in my own life. I’m a real person not a character in a movie. My life story was not told in a 2.5-hour theater.

Instead, I would have to ride out the plot twist over many painful years. And I continue to ride it out today.

Plot Twist #1

On January 4, 2022, I was filled with hope. Our offices were reopening after a long end of year holiday break. I had a new outfit picked laying on the bed and some shiny new boots. Then during a routine walk with my dog, I fell and broke my ankle. It was a very ordinary break, but not at all ordinary results. That break launched my plot twist.

A compound fracture
30 days in the hospital
Multiple surgeries
A rare cancer diagnosis
2.5 years of chemo therapy
Months in the hospital
More months in a wheelchair
A feeding tube, ugh!

Plot Twist #2

Several failed procedures, and then in another plot twist one successful procedure that I continue to ride today. These last 4 years have been quit a battle. Most of them silent, fought from the confines of a brown recliner in my living room with a little dog under my feet. But some have been public, unavoidable and unapologetic. I discovered that there is beauty in living in pain. You learn to see the world in its simplest version. Instead of cursing days spent in bed, I chose to connect with my inner self. I told myself that this illness was temporary and to rest up for the next chapter.

The Final Twist??

Wednesday, January 25, 2025 after a routine hospital day, CT scans and blood work, my Dr. proclaimed that the tumor looks dead and she feels confident that I can stop the oral chemo treatments. I stood in shock. Instead of being excited, I was nervous. What next? How long before it came back? These thoughts flooded my mind, then she said, “Go and Live your Life!”.

Go and Live your Life! Powerful words. I had to rediscover what those words mean. Four years of a sickness journey robbed me of living; I was surviving not living. So, I learned to live.