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What are you thankful for? It sounds like an easy question. But this year I have such an off-the-wall answer that I think I need to explain myself! This year I am thankful I got sick. Not just sick like a cold or flu, but so sick that for a while I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alive any more. So sick that life as I knew it was completely changed.
Before I go on, let me just apologize to all of you who are sick right now. I know for a fact that when I was going through my sickness, I was not the slightest bit thankful! And I’m certainly not trying to suggest that I’m a better person because I can look back with gratitude on my illness. That’s not what I mean at all!
I am thankful that I got sick, then got well, then got empowered... and EmpowHER’ed!
Looking back, I can see now that I would never have launched EmpowHER or set out to be a health advocate if I had not gotten sick. That experience really did change my life and thanks to it I am now in a position to help change the lives of others who need help finding their way through the maze of medical information and decisions. That is what I’m really thankful for.
For those of you who haven’t heard my story, here it is in a nutshell. When I was 42 a doctor told me I had to have a complete hysterectomy. I didn’t know any better so I had the surgery... and I was immediately plunged into menopause. The glands that created my hormones were gone and my body was in shock. I started having all kinds of crazy symptoms and no one seemed to be able to help me.
That was the real low-point for me. And I credit not just my recovery but the fact that I am alive at all to the doctor who helped figure out what was going on then, and to all the health care professionals who have worked with me since to get my hormones and my life back in balance.
That’s why I started EmpowHER – to help women educate themselves so they can advocate for themselves when it comes to their healthcare. We need to be able to take charge of our health care and make appropriate, meaningful decisions for ourselves and our families.
I am so thankful that I get to be part of that process and to know so many amazing people through the EmpowHER network.
Here are a few more items on my Thankful List this year:
Family and Friends
I don’t want to leave them out, but it seems almost silly to say I’m thankful for my family and friends. Of course I am! I just hope I tell them every day how much I appreciate them, not just when the Thanksgiving holiday rolls around.
Taking Illness to Willness
That’s a new theme for me this year that is just going to keep growing. Here are some examples: I will advocate for myself. I will fire a doctor who is not for me. I will do my own health research. I will keep my medical records. I will empower myself to take better care of my health.
I believe life is a choice. When things aren’t working, you can wallow in self-pity or do something about it. I am thankful that I learned how to turn my illness into something better for myself and for other women around me.
Doubters
It sounds crazy, but I’m thankful for the doubters who didn’t believe in my dream when I launched EmpowHER. They gave me the impetus to keep pushing forward just to prove them wrong! I’m thankful they made me stronger.
People of EmpowHER
I get to work with an amazing group of people through EmpowHER – in the office, on our advisory board and in the health care community in general. I am thankful for all of them as well as for the women who share their lives with us by sharing a story, asking a question or joining a group.
On the subject of groups, I have to share a quick story about one of our groups. I won’t say which one, but they’ll know who they are. We have a group of about 10 women on EmpowHER who share a health concern. They created a group to talk about it and now they have scheduled a trip to actually meet each other in person! I am so thankful to have played a small part in helping these women find each other. The strength and support they give each other is what EmpowHER is all about!
Voice for Women
As a women’s health advocate, I have many special opportunities to act as a voice for women’s health care. One opportunity that I am particularly thankful for this year was the chance to testify before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the importance of non-hormonal treatments for hot flashes. And I am thrilled beyond words that the first non-hormonal treatment was approved just this year!
I feel so blessed to have a voice to help women help themselves. And I am blessed to be in on creating the collective voice we need to drive change in women’s healthcare.
So yes, I really mean it. I am thankful I had the hysterectomy, thankful for the all the suffering that came after the surgery, and thankful that I recovered and am stronger than ever. That illness changed my life and gave me a new purpose. I would not trade what I am able to do today for all the money in the world.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Add a Comment1 Comments
Taking illness to WILLness is brilliant. You are leading the way for many others to do the same. You have EMbedded the POWer into HER, HER, HER and HIM to have the WILLPOWER to change the way society views health. Thank you!
November 26, 2013 - 12:44pmThis Comment