Motivational

On August 31st, I sustained a traumatic C3-C7 injury to my spinal cord. I was chest deep in the waters off Narragansett beach when, facing the shoreline was hit by a wave from behind. Despite a one month survival rate of approximately 25%, I survived. Facing extensive medical care and rehabilation that extended over many months and the long road that followed, my life had changed forever and this is part of my story.

 

Tom Pepper, videographer.

I lost every member of my immediate family – my grandmother, father, mother, husband, and my best friend who was also my college roommate. For my entire life, I was constantly on the move, heading toward the brightest future imaginable.

I received a world class education, met and married the man of my dreams – Mr.Darcy and Rhett Butler all rolled into one! – I created new businesses, and danced the night away in cities all over the world. I ...

As background, I am a person who has been driven to achieve as long as I can remember.  Even after retiring for the second time from a full-time job at Harvard University in 2013, I had been working night and day, 24/7, teaching, freelance writing, and promoting my ideas about space exploration.

When you don’t have a full-time job, you don’t know where your next dollar is coming from, so you tend to take every piece of ...

For a teenager, I had a surprisingly clear vision for how my life would play out. The year was 1980, and I was a 16-year-old cadet in a Police Explorers program for young people interested in careers in law enforcement. I had big plans. I wanted to become a police officer in my hometown, and maybe someday, go on to the FBI Academy and become an FBI agent.

That boyhood dream would never be realized.

As I got ready ...

I am grateful for the opportunity to submit my thoughts in support of those struggling with chronic illness. I wish to tell my story, here as well as in other venues, because often people, especially men, find it difficult to speak of illness, much less an illness so erratic and “invisible” as mine. Also, frankly most who suffer from chronic illnesses are often too tired to tell their story. They’ve told it countless times to friends, family, co-workers and medical ...