2016-2026 : a decade of healing

Every once and awhile I see a trend floating around the internet and it peaks my interest.

Currently it's the "decade later" trend comparing life now in 2026 to life in 2016.

& the majority of people (sharing anyway) were THRIVING then.

It was pre-covid, shit didn't cost as much, we weren't obsessed with telling people what they needed to do and who they needed to be, we were more social & consumerism was at its peak.

PEOPLE WERE LIVING!

Seeing everybody reminisce about "the good ole days" of 2016 made me do a double take becuase it was one of the worst years of my life.

I went back and forth on if I even wanted to revisit the era.

& then I reminded myself...you're past the hurt, Kirsten.

You're on the other side.

You're very capable of looking back and saying "that season served its purpose because it led me to where I am now".

& that, my friends, is the sweet spot.

Life feels full. I feel capable. I'm healthy & i'm happy.

& every moment of pain that came before right now was worth it to be able to sit in this exact space.

2013-2017 was rough.

Really rough.

I'm not going to get into it here, but if you're interested, check out my "HEALING JOURNEY" blogposts.

It's hard to encapsulate everything that happened, but i'll start by sharing a particular moment in 2016 that changed EVERYTHING for me.

I had been to endless doctor appointments at UIHC all throughout the year.

Several doctors were pointing me (and making arrangements for me) to seek advanced medical care out east at two pristige locations.

I had one last appointment in orthopedics with a new specialist on November 6th, 2016.

I remember sitting in the basement level of the hospital very nervous, xrays were done (yet again) and I was accompanied by my mom.

At this point, you could say I hated doctors.

But for some unknown reason, the moment the doctor walked in, I felt an energeic shift.

Like this woman was placed in my path to help me.

To what extent? I had no idea, but I felt it.

I felt like I was able to breathe in her presence; like my shoulers left my ears for the first time in years.

We talked about my results & my options. We talked about everything I had been through that year.

I actually felt like she was not just listening to me, but hearing me.

I expressed that doctors were making arrangments for me to see specialists out east - which I really didn't want to do becuase several of my friends (with the same illness) were taking that route and just kept getting worse for them.

I looked at her with tears in my eyes...

& I told her I was tired. I was tired of being a guinea pig.

I was tired of appointments.

I was tired of feeling awful.

I was tired of relying on everybody else for help.

I was tired of being told "nothing can fix this".

I was tired of not having my independence.

I was tired.

At this point, the tears were running down my cheeks & it was taking everything my Mom had in her not to do the same (I don't know how that woman is so damn strong - but I guess she had to be. Thanks, Mom!)

I remember the doctor just looking back and forth between my mom and I with so much love and care in her eyes. I had never felt that from a stranger; I could feel it oozing out of her.

To describe it, it felt like this:

Imagine hundreds of thousands of heart shaped bubbles calmly oozing out of her eyes, nose, ears & mouth, flooding the floor around her and gently cascading around my mom and I and pulling us all into a fountain of love. I know, dramatic. But true.

She looked at me like I had just saved somebody's life (which when I look back on it, I did. I saved my own) put her elbows on her knees, took a breath, looked me in the eyes and said "i'm going to find you some help".

& then she talked to me about Mayo Clinic.

Long story short, her best friend in medical school was spearheading a pain rehabilitation program at Mayo Clinic for minors.

Obviously I wasn't a minor at the time, but they had a program for adults too.

& after a quick phone call, she had all the information she needed to get me in that program.

First, I was going to have to be seen at Mayo Clininc...which can be a feat in itself.

She roudned all my doctors up at UIHC and they all sent in personal requests on my behalf to be seen.

Within a couple weeks I recieved a phone call to set up appointmetns.

I spent one full week at Mayo in April that was full of so many appointments and then back again in May for one more.

Once all of that was done, I was able to apply for the Pain Rehab Clinic Program (PRC). It involved several Mayo doctors nominating me, a large questionnaire and a phone interview to make sure I was fully committed.

I wont lie, that program was the hardest three weeks of my life, but more than that, it was the most rewarding three weeks of my life.

It was the beginning of getting my life back.

& the best part...

I did it.

Yes, with the help of many professionals teaching me.

But it was all me. I had to do it. I had to do the work.

It wasn't a procedure; I wasn't being handed meds...in fact, they were taken away.

It was all my effort.

& that felt really good.

I spent the next 5 years learning and getting my hands on every healing modality I could.

Learning what worked for me in each season and what didn't.

I went back to school to become an integrative health coach so I could learn even more about how to take care of myself.

I meditated, I "diet" surfed in an effort to find a way of eating that worked for me, I found hobbies again, I found independence, strength, confidence and myself again.

& today isn't about sharing all of that, but I would like to share a little bit of a now and then in picture form.

BECAUSE I'M REALLY PROUD.

What a decade of healing looks like on the body, mind and soul. 🤩

I hope if this post does one thing, it motivates you.

Do one thing today to make tomorrow better. & then do that again and again and again.

Watch your good habits stack up, keep track of your accomplishments, count your blessings and look back a year from now and admire the new you.

It took a long time to get to this version of me. A long time. But i'm so proud of the effort I put in and continue to put in.

I love meeting all the new versions of me.

"I've never seen any life transformation that didn't begin with the person in question finally getting tired of their own bullshit". -Elizabeth Gilbert

Cheers to stepping into a better life for yourself!

xoxo,

Kirsten