“I was in my fourth year of owning my own interior design...

“I was in my fourth year of owning my own interior design business.  Things were beginning to click.  I was finally hitting that sweet spot where after so many years of putting myself out there, business was starting to come to me.  I don’t one hundred percent remember the wreck.  I just remember driving to work, being hit from the side, and ending up in oncoming traffic.  I still haven’t fully recovered.  I had headaches for months.  I was sensitive to light and noise.  I got tired easily.  Some days I couldn’t even get out of bed.  And my business began to suffer.  I was forced to turn down offers, and each time I did, it felt like the opportunity would never come again.  Everything I’d worked for seemed to be slipping away.  I got mad at myself for not recovering faster.  I tried to push through the pain.  One morning I decided I was going to write an article, and take my daughter to play dates, and be home in time to cook dinner.  By the end of the day my head was going crazy.  My body was no longer willing to keep up with my drive.  I’ve always been a ‘yes’ person: student council, president of clubs, always one more thing.  But that isn’t working for me right now.  I’ve had to learn that the pain isn’t a weakness.  It’s a real injury.  And it needs time.  My current mantra is ‘do what you can.’  My only goal is to become a healthy mother, wife, and friend.  Today I’m meeting a friend from New Jersey.  And we’re just going to chill.”