Here she comes. These words mean so much to me. I pride myself in being "fiercely feminine". I am unapologetically girly. I love pink. Like, really love pink. I love heels and sparkles. Flowers and sappy movies. But I am also STRONG and a SURVIVOR. I am not afraid to protect who and what I love. Here she comes. These words evoke my girlie-ness, but also let you know I am COMING!
I have always loved creating. It was always something that was put in the background though.... I was raising two children with my husband. I was PTO President for a long time.... I was the team manager for the hockey team for years... I was the Business Manager for a logistics broker for 12 years.... When the kids got older, I then had a stressful job in the financial services industry.... The creating was something that ended up very far down the priority list. I was hired here and there to paint murals for children's rooms.... these were soooo time consuming, stressful on my family. More evidence I couldn't make this a priority.
Four years ago, I went to work on a Friday and to the emergency room on Monday with yellow eyes. That day it was discovered I was in liver failure. Devastating news. Transplant talk was mentioned in passing.... I really didn't think about that. Surely, we would find out what was causing this and fix it, right? The liver is a remarkable organ, it has the ability to heal itself. Mine would heal, right? Stop taking ibuprofen by the handful and ditch the wine....and it would heal, right? No. No, this remarkable organ of mine would not heal. I became very ill. The palliative care team came to speak with my children about what was coming. Dark, dark days. By the grace of whatever you believe in, very special things aligned. (Maybe a story for another time?) I was able to be put on the transplant list at a world-renowned hospital located about an hour from my home. A long twelve months from diagnosis, I got the call that gave me my life saving gift of a new liver. It has been a long road of recovery and I have some unique-to-me lingering issues.... but my new liver is a ROCKSTAR! I could never put into words truly what this means. I try. I think my family gets it. It has changed who I am. I see everything through a new lens. I strive to honor the gift that the donor and his family gave me. In their grief, they chose to give life to myself and others. Please become and organ donor and make sure your loved ones know your wishes.
Fast forward to now. With my new lens. I am creating. I love to create. I love the flow of watercolor. It's so beautiful to be a part of. The way pigment moves, the way it blends with other pigments. It is a joy. It is from this grateful heart. I am so very grateful for this life. Here she comes.
Bunches,
Jo Deb