“The greatest danger for most of us is not that we aim too high and we miss it, but that we aim too low and we reach it.”
~ Michelangelo
For various reasons, it has been a long time since I have posted anything on my blog. For a long time, I was unable to use screens due to a TBI (traumatic brain injury) I sustained in 2019, following an earlier concussion in December 2015, when my car tyre blew out. This also caused a major Lyme relapse. I completed Lyme treatments (2017-19) & I’m currently in remission with no Lyme symptoms, but some lingering fatigue remains.
Throughout, I continued my shoulder rehab (watch this space, I have more to say!); I also had neuro rehab for my TBI from 2019, as well as PT treatment for my neck & jaw.
Eventually, after finding an incredible surgeon, who promised he would try to find a solution, in August 2021 (as I’ve documented on social media) I had ACDF surgery - anterior cervical discectomy & fusion (C4-C6) - to stop the discs compressing my spinal cord in my neck & to remove instability.
It’s been a hell of a decade: challenges, hard work, progress… repeat.
(Photos below.)
The quote at the top of this post is one that I have really focused on during these difficult few years. It continues to resonate with me in everything I do. In the past few years, mindfulness, meditation, & yoga have all played key roles in shaping my journey. I am now hoping to continue this path by completing qualifications that will help me offer these supportive tools to others. I’m fundraising for Love Your Brain, the organisation which offers support to people with brain injuries as well as training courses (more below).
If you know me, or have read any part of my blog, you will know that determination is just in me. Sometimes I’m not entirely sure where it comes from - but it’s there, shoving me onwards, despite my conscious (sane, rational) brain protesting at times. It’s not been an easy journey, & I continue on this winding path of rehab, recovery, and healing, but I have never stopped aiming high - and it has been worth every crazy moment; every effort to keep moving forward; and every annoying insistence to medics focused on ‘acceptance’ that I would not stop looking for ways to continue to improve.
There’s a lot I could - & will - write moving forward, but I am returning to my blog as my health improves enough for me to return to life and (surprise!) I decided to start by throwing myself in at the deep end…
As part of my treatment, and understanding how to live with a brain injury, I completed two Love Your Brain Yoga, Mindfulness, & Meditation courses run by Love Your Brain, a charity founded by US Olympic Snowboarder Kevin Pearce after he sustained career-ending TBIs.
All classes are free for people living with brain injuries - including those caused by Lyme Disease. My worlds collided in those courses.
These classes, and the tools and skills I learned, and continue to develop, have helped me with all the health challenges I have face, and those I still live with.
Looking back several years to this post: Meditation Failure, I would never have believed where this would all take me!
My perspective has changed in many ways.
Follow my journey @inverted__perspective on Instagram.
Diving in
Last week I made a last-minute decision to apply for a Love Your Brain Mindset course. After completion, I will (hopefully!) be qualified to help provide the same valuable tools and support to others as I was fortunate enough to receive at a critical time. I am also hoping to complete a LYB Yoga Teacher for TBI course in June.
I applied to the LYB Mindset course last Tuesday, was accepted on Wednesday, started on Thursday, and have since completed 6 modules!
I've been awarded a partial scholarship for the cost of this course and I'm aiming to raise £525 ($675) to cover fees for both courses.
All funds raised will go to LYB.
If you can support me, & Love Your Brain, in any way - donations &/ or sharing my post, blog, or fundraiser link - it would be greatly appreciated.
My GoFundMe page is here: Love Your Brain Fundraiser
Fundraising aim: £530 ($675)
All money raised will go to the Love Your Brain Foundation to support the amazing work they do around the world - in classes & online - to support people with brain injuries.
(N.B. GoFundMe automatically adds a 'tip' of 15% to your donation. This money goes to GoFundME. It is optional & you can select to opt out.)
You can read about this amazing organisation here: https://www.loveyourbrain.com/
As an extra thank you, I will enter all donors into a random name generator to pick one winner for this handmade ( - by me: gfmjewellery) Swarovski crystal, pearl, & semi-precious gemstones wrap bracelet.
If I exceed my target, and raise extra money for LYB, I will offer a second prize draw for a custom piece of jewellery - to be completed after the course ends!
My fundraiser is now live and will run until Saturday April 16th (midnight UK time; 7pm US Eastern).
The winner will be selected via a random generator & announced on Sunday April 17th.
As for further updates, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few snapshots of my journey to date - and I promise more blog posts coming soon!
As always, I’ll end with a quote:
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
~ Socrates
