NaNoWriMo 2022

 

Dark Matter Coffee: Osmium | Chicago, IL

My official first year in Chicago has come and gone. From personal experience, the first 12 months is almost always a little disorienting – particularly if you have very little to no network in your new homebase.

I am the queen of starting over; I understood what I was up against and knew there would be an adjustment period ahead.

Unfortunately, I was unable to participate in last year’s NaNo. At the time, there were other things that took precedent, however, I did manage to punch out a few really good interviews over the spring and summer months.

Something With A Little Ginger.

Between the excitement, the discomfort, and the isolation of being in a new, more diverse environment, my book project fell from top of mind. As I become more settled and familiar with the city [neighborhood and transit navigation, developing friendships etc], I have started to re-center myself.

This relocation has been emotionally challenging, but I’m back to give you an update and wrap up 2022 strong. The idea here is to become more aligned with this project while throwing some consistency in the bowl, ha. This is a one woman show – I do the best I can.

Cleary 2022 was meant to be a “growth” year for me.  My limits have been tested in multiple areas of life, siphoning my attention and draining my spirit. Through it all, I still managed to passively put in work, consuming audio versions of various memoirs and a lot of Brene Brown. I love Brene Brown. And self-help-y material that, although unrelated to the book project, has been helpful in prompting my return.

There was a point that I thought about taking a writer’s workshop through the University of Iowa to help get me back on track. That didn’t pan out – I was pressed for time [I found out about it, late] and processing [2] breakups. And looking for a new job. And dealing with housing issues. And acclimating to Chicago. And attempting to create community as a single, 30+ year old woman. And dealing with family.  And half-ass dating in a pool with pee in it.

But I’m glad you’ve decided stick around.

I always come back. Always. This is a passion project for me – I may set it down for a bit, live my life, explore, but I return with renewed perspective on how to interpret the set of events leading up to and the aftermath of, my brain bleed.

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Here’s What I’m Thinking For This Years’ Go-Round:

I have to finish my proposal. I’ve been working on it since late 2019, then Covid happened and threw everything off. It’s essentially a 20+ page document detailing the book chapters and summary, attached to a marketing plan. Included in the document is a research portion I’m high-key dreading – a deep dive into the book audience: who am I doing this for? Why? Where are they? How do I reach them?

[Funny enough, I’m assisting with a research-based marketing project in my day job – I don’t normally do market research. The best practices, techniques, resources and tools are eye-opening].

But the spotlight is on the proposal. I really want to get this buttoned up.

The good part: I’m halfway there.

Good luck everyone!

Mood Music: It’s Givin’ - Latto

#beyondthestroke: The Life Coach.

 

Indianapolis, IN

The internet has become an endless collection of information and networking that we have all grown familiar with. I credit LinkedIn as the source of my most recent connection – a woman by the name of Jennifer Chapman reached out when she saw the parallel between us.

I’ve had a handful of people on the professional social media site come forward as survivors: sales leaders, marketers, software developers etc.

I look at them beyond the fancy titles to see their humanity. Their fortitude and victories. Their struggles and tears. I empathize and understand how difficult it can be to navigate a corporate space [or entrepreneurship] in the face of a disability.

How Jennifer was able to make a career pivot after experiencing debilitating brain trauma in 2017, is especially encouraging to those who have similar stories; hers began as any other:

“As I was leaving the house after getting ready for work, I felt overwhelmingly dizzy and started to sweat profusely. A couple of minutes later, I called my aunt. My voice was changing, and it felt like my throat was closing.  I called 911 and got to the hospital very quickly.  The doctors were not able to diagnose my stroke for the first 10-12 hours; the first doctor just thought it was vertigo.  They finally acknowledged it was a stroke and I stayed in the ICU at the hospital for a week, acute rehab for 10 days and outpatient therapy for four months.”

 She had a clot in three areas of her brain that led to an ischemic stroke. Ischemic strokes are the most common of the stroke types, accounting for over 80% in the U.S. (source).  

For some, they are left with physical impairments; ones that are obvious to the eye - crooked smiles, curved arms, a limp walk, delayed speech - for others, it can be difficult to spot at first glance.

“The clot on the right side has affected my left peripheral vision. The spot in the back on my brain affected my voice, ability to swallow for a short time, and paralyzed a vocal cord – this can affect my ability to take deep breaths depending on what I am doing.  The spot on the left side of my brain, affected my entire right side, leaving me with sensitives to hot and cold.”

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Jennifer’s personal road to recovery plan combined four months of physical, occupational and speech therapy on top of many trips to a neuropsychologist and neuro-ophthalmologist for vision concerns.

She would eventually take a step back from her high intensity, seasoned, often stressful sales career as revelations about her life’s purpose moved to the forefront.

“15 months post-stroke after seeing a couple different therapists, I was still not where I wanted to be mentally and emotionally. I hired a life coach for myself and worked with her for several months. The defining moment of finding my purpose and moving forward came from embracing the new version of me.”

Drawing from her own experience, Jennifer decided to branch out into something more fulfilling. Alongside her new work in home healthcare, she developed “Just Commit Coaching,” in 2020 - a life coaching business. Her credentials are currently in progress under the direction of Master Method Coach, Alyssa Nobriga from The Institute of Coaching Mastery.

I saw a similar revelation – it drove me to establish my own space for advocacy to build a community of support on behalf of survivors, particularly for young people with brain injuries.

What Jennifer has found most useful pursuing her coaching certification, is identifying internal roadblocks, acknowledging them, and realizing that those roadblocks exist to protect us.

“I help people figure out how to move through the roadblocks to be more efficient and productive.”

She finds most of her clientele via social media, local networking groups and often referrals who are looking to regain direction, feel discouraged or ‘stuck.’

Her stroke has been a blessing in disguise.

“It has given me tremendous perspective on life: finding gratitude in the small things, not getting swept up in the things that are outside of our control; filling my cup first is priority so that I can then serve others at my highest self. You have to want change bad enough to find and create change.  It is 100% mindset and attitude. Work within yourself to start seeing the results that you want.”

Later this summer, Jennifer will be taking part of a collaboration on inspirational stories and overcoming challenges. She is also a candidate for ‘Impact Woman of the Year’ for the American Heart Association of Indiana – that campaign started in February.

You can find more information on Jennifer and ‘Just Commit Coaching’ on IG @justcommitcoaching.

Fast5 Facts:

Define Success: Freedom
Coffee or Tea of Choice: Chai Tea
Who/What Is Your Motivator: My Mom
What Balances You: Stillness
Favorite Color: Purple

Mood Music: Rise Up - Andra Day

Socially Distant.

 

Home, Seattle, WA

* COVID-19 has put a damper on my coffee crashing. I’m social distancing by drinking my coffee from the comfort [and safety] of my home.

Although I am in Seattle [the original US hotbed of the respiratory illness], my family lives over 1,300 miles away in the Midwest. Unfortunately, I was unable to get home before the spread started; I would have loved to be with my parents who are embedded in a rural community.

At the time of posting, the virus has not impacted that part of the country in the way it has coastal cities, but I am still anxious; it’s only a matter of time.  Apparently, their strategy is more reactive than proactive - Iowa is one of 5 states that still do not have a “Stay At Home,” statewide order in place.

Me And My Lone Coffee

My family primarily works in the service industry where they either a) have continual contact with the public b) work in manufacturing in close quarters with other people – without a supreme sense of urgency, “loosely enforcing” folks to social distance, fall on deaf ears.  Some are doing it, most are not.

All three of my immediate family members belong to the high-risk health category for a number of reasons, so yes, I’m a little scared. Be that as it may, the privilege I have in this situation is not lost on me – I’m not struggling financially, I can pay the rent and still maintain the ability to shield myself from increased exposure.

My experience as a 3-year telecommuter has, in essence, “prepared” me for this moment. I have the tools to work both comfortably and successfully beyond the brick-and-mortar.

The personal adjustments come from having to deal with someone else in the home, simultaneously – I’m used to being alone during the day; there has been a disruption to my normal routine that has taken time to get used to.

I’m certainly not alone: a lot of people are dealing with spouses and children in shared spaces. It’s annoying at best and incredibly frustrating at worst. Then there are the jobs, lost. People have mouths to feed and bills to pay. The economy is crashing. Folks are tired, restless and stir crazy. We don’t know who to believe, who to blame.

When does it all end?  Seattle has a date to “open,” but does that really mean anything?  And what will stepping out in the world look like after  Corona?

Listen, I’m an introverted hermit – I can entertain myself for hours on end, but this is a lot, even for me.  I miss my friends, going to live show events, dinner and happy hours, taking in-person dance classes, working out [at a gym] etc.

We all feel the burden in varied degrees.

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I belong to several stroke support groups on Facebook – when COVID concerns took off toward the beginning of March, many wondered how it would affect those of us who had gone through a brain hemorrhage.

Looking to the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association as trusted resource for stroke related information, most if not every article I found, pointed back to their website.

The American Stroke Associate has a Podcast episode on Stroke & COVID featuring Christopher Ewing, a Stroke Survivor living in California and Dr. Mitchell, S.V. Elkind, MD a Neurologist and stroke expert. The both of them shed light on a couple of concerns for us:

Interviewer: Dr. Elkin, are stroke survivors like Christopher at increased risk of getting the Covid-19 virus?

Dr. Mitchell Elkin: Yes. It seems like that's the case. Reports from China indicate that patients with heart disease and high blood pressure as well as the elderly are at higher risk of this virus, of Covid-19. And we think the same is likely to be true for patients with stroke. Probably because there's a lot of overlap between heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke, so that's why it's especially important for people who are more vulnerable, like older patients or people with heart disease and stroke to practice physical distancing and hand washing and the avoidance of unnecessary interaction with other people who may be exposed, which is I think the kinds of experiences that Chris was just telling us about, when he went shopping and things like that. Unfortunately, it does look like there is some increased risk. We don't know exactly how much yet. We need to do more research particularly here in the United States.

Interviewer: If stroke patients do get infected, are they at a greater risk of experiencing more complications?

Dr. Mitchell Elkin: That also does seem to be the case. People who have underlying heart disease and stroke do seem to have a higher risk of complications. This may be because of an increased susceptibility to the virus, it could also be that the body in somebody who has had heart disease or stroke has less what we would call physiological reserve or the ability to handle any kind of illness. So a severe illness can make things worse. It's the same kind of thing that we've seen for many years with diseases like the flu, so that's why, for example, The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association have been recommending for many years that people who have heart disease and stroke get vaccinated against the flu. Unfortunately, of course, we don't have a vaccine for Covid yet, but the same kind of issue would likely apply.

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I have a regular rotation of culture commentary podcasts that I listen to, each throwing in their 2 cents. Beside incompetent, unprepared leadership [fish rots from the head, no?] what is the more spiritual representation of everything going on?

Some believe that the world needed to stop: we were moving too much, too fast, too hard. The earth continues to rot – WE are the disease, destroying her with our negligent air pollution and other forms of poison.

Earthlings were given multiple warnings through increased natural disasters - we still weren’t compelled enough to change, entirely. The universe decided enough was enough and here we are.

When we return to walk the land, we can’t go back to how it was. We just can’t.

I don’t like the idea of telling people what to do in their time of quarantine: we’re in the middle of a crisis – everyone is going to handle it, differently.

But what does it bring up for you to be still? This is my world. There are many days after work I spend drinking wine and thinking. Eating edibles and Netflixing. Yoga. Chatting with my folks, wishing I was there. Other days I have ideas. Some days I put those ideas into motion – depends on my energy level and mood. Revising my [written] work, prepping for a fellowship [post on that later], social media management.

You can be productive, you can not be productive.

Do whatever will cause the least amount of harm…to you.

Stay safe out there.

Mood Music: What’s Going On? - Marvin Gaye