Lisa’s Story: Chapter 1
The Day Everything Changed
When life knocks you down, how do you get back up?
“This is the beginning of my story. It’s raw, it’s personal, and it’s taken me a long time to be ready to share it. If you’re in a hard place right now, I hope this helps you feel less alone.”
You just never know. You’re rolling along, living your life, and then—BAM—everything shifts.
Shock doesn’t quite describe it. You feel numb, putting one foot in front of the other, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
For me, it was a phone call on a dark December morning. My husband had been in a car accident. Nothing dramatic—just a hard slide into a frozen snowbank on his way to work.
But what followed was something I could never have prepared for: a brain injury, a stroke, and the beginning of a long, painful road of caregiving, loss, and survival.
I didn’t know then that my life had just divided into “before” and “after.”
I didn’t know that the man I had built a life with would no longer recognize me, that he would never be the same again.
I also didn’t know that I would discover a resilience I never knew I had.
This is the story of how I survived when my world fell apart.
There is no roadmap for situations like these. No step-by-step manual to refer to.
At first, I was reacting to—but not fully absorbing—what was becoming my new reality.
There were decisions to make, papers to sign, and endless discussions with doctors and therapists.
As I waded through the quagmire, the enormity of it all didn’t have a chance to settle in. I was too busy functioning from one moment to the next.
If I had stopped to truly think about what it all meant, I might not have made it through.
My bliss was ‘survival mode’—
with no time for a pity party.
At first, it was all the little things.
He didn’t know who I was, but when he saw me in the ER, his reaction was positive.
He knew—on some deep level—that I was on his side.
My new role became his biggest patient advocate.
I also had to be his interpreter.
He suffered from global aphasia.
That meant he had full thoughts, but when the words came out, they were a garbled word salad.
But I knew him so well, I could translate for him.
He kept asking me my name.
And then came a moment I’ll never forget:
As the hospital days passed, he’d sometimes look at me with fear and ask, “She’s not coming here, is she?”
The ‘she’ was his ex-wife—from 30 years ago.
I couldn’t figure out what decade he thought he was in, but I knew he had forgotten our 25 years together.
He had even forgotten that he’d been a family practice doctor for over 50 years.
And yet... he remembered his name.
And his evil ex-wife. Lol.
As I look back, I realize my main goal was simple: get the two of us through this.
There were nights I lay in the darkness, crying.
I forced myself to accept that life, as I had known it, was over.
I had to do what was best for us.
And I had a lot on my plate.
I couldn’t afford to fall apart.
So, I decided to do the best I could—as each problem presented itself.
After all, even in normal life, we’re always putting out small fires.
So I took it one day at a time.
And I reminded myself to breathe.
And that was only the beginning...before the rubber really hit the road.
“ A Note from The GEM Collective
Lisa is a GEM student who has courageously chosen to reclaim her power and transform her pain into purpose. By sharing her story with the world, she is not only healing herself, but also offering strength and solidarity to others walking difficult paths.
Let us honour her truth and be grateful for her bravery.
Chapter 2 and short podcast series coming soon.
Stay with us—this journey is only just beginning.”
