Welcome to my world. In this brief, and I hope, eye-opening look into my world you will discover why I KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I can help you make the difference in your life you REALLY want to make.
I appreciate your clicking LIKE below to let others know that
Struggle Is Optional!
On June 9, 1996, while working as a psychotherapist in crisis care, a client attacked me leaving me disabled with a brain injury. To say that incident turned my life upside-down would be a gross understatement.
I recall thinking, “I am responsible for 8 lives. I cannot lose consciousness or she will surely kill me and who knows what else.”
At three times my size, she pinned me in so tightly I could not even move. And then I noticed how she pulled her body back before each swing and timed my movement to slide out of her trap.
Her repeated blows to my head impacted every system in my body.
The sixteen members of the medical team on my case either told me it was all in my head (Duh, I house my brain there!) OR there was nothing they could do to help me, “Learn to live with it,” they said unapologetically.
I knew all I had lost intellectually. My short-term memory disappeared – one week before final exams in my first year of doctoral work.
My eyes didn’t work, my hands shook (ending my design business, writing and guitar playing) and I was dizzy out the wahzoo.
Besides the pain that made migraines look like a walk in the park, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) robbed me of the sleep I so desperately needed to heal.
The gift in my injury quickly revealed itself when the Universe led me to energy modalities – which I never knew existed. As I learned each specialty in an effort to heal myself (no way did I buy into the paradigm of the medical community that said I would not heal) I discovered, though I had to use my manual (lacking the memorizing ability), I was often the first student to grasp and use the concepts successfully.
I didn’t re-gain all I lost.
However, I healed to the point that I mostly reclaimed my memory, overcame the PTSD, and functioned through severe dizziness living mostly with my eyes closed for 17 months (yes, my hearing became so acute I heard air moving – or not moving when blocked by things like buildings).
I became a very successful specialized kinesiologist. My followers called me Doc Ali and my reputation spread quickly.I even resumed my guitar playing and art work.
So you might imagine how shocked I was to find that I had developed a brain tumor that wrapped around my brain stem and top two vertebrae. We found it in 2011 though it had been growing for years.
The surgeon warned me that I might lose my ability to speak and swallow. In addition, half of my tongue, one vocal chord and other organ parts became paralyzed. Surprisingly, my strong muscles atrophied instantly!
I lost more of how I used to be.
Thankfully I learned, with the first brain issue, to look for the gifts in the situation. I found enough to list them all day long.
We take so much for granted in life – until we lose it.
I did what it took to regain my ability to speak, swallow, and walk. One huge lesson taught me that putting myself out in the world, even if I am less than perfect, is okay and people still follow me!
More than ever, my lifelong desire to serve others, to bring them to the reality of happiness as a birthright, burns within. I am here to tell you your life lies in your hands – well, in your head and how you run it.
I can show you why struggle is optional. Been there. Still doing it.
I made this video when I was in the early stages of recovering my speech. The message is timeless.
