10/06/2026
10 years ago today, everything changed.
Ten years ago, I fell down two flights of stairs.
I had just moved into a townhome after living in a house with no stairs. I had barely even unpacked. It’s believed that I sleepwalked off the stairs, and somehow, hitting my head on the way down may have actually saved my life.
This accident happened nine months before the firework accident that would change my life again.
But to understand what this accident really meant, you have to understand where I was emotionally when it happened.
I was in survival mode.
I had a 10-year-old daughter depending on me. I was still carrying the trauma of watching my mom die. I had already experienced instability and uncertainty that had left me terrified of not having a secure future for my daughter and myself.
I was carrying so much trauma that I didn’t even know how to stop.
And when I got hurt, I couldn’t accept that I was actually injured.
I pushed myself.
I kept going.
I ignored what my body was screaming at me because somewhere deep inside, I believed that I didn’t have the luxury of stopping.
I remember even trying to go to Minnesota to the Mall of America after the accident. I was so sick and so unwell that I ended up in the emergency room on the way home.
And still, I wasn’t listening.
I was so deeply traumatized and entrenched in survival that slowing down felt almost impossible.
The pain continued getting worse before it got better. My body became overwhelmed. My chronic inflammation spiraled completely out of control, and I felt like I had physically become the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
I was hurting physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
And I was scared.
As soon as I was physically able to walk, I moved back to Kansas City.
I didn’t even have to pack.
I hadn’t even unpacked from moving into that townhome.
I came back to Kansas City thinking I needed to get back to work and get my life stable again.
So what did I do?
I got myself a really high-stress job.
Because that’s what I knew how to do.
Keep pushing.
Keep working.
Keep surviving.
Don’t stop.
Don’t feel.
Don’t fall apart.
Looking back now, I can see something I couldn’t possibly see then.
I believe the universe was trying to get me to shift.
To slow down.
To listen.
To heal.
To stop living from fear and survival and start moving toward the life and purpose my soul was actually calling me toward.
But I didn’t listen.
So nine months later, I was hit by a firework.
It completely leveled me.
There are moments in life that gently whisper, It’s time to change.
And then there are moments that shake your entire existence until you have no choice but to listen.
For me, these accidents became the beginning of that transformation.
They didn’t happen because I deserved them.
They weren’t punishments.
And I would never romanticize the pain, trauma, or physical damage they caused.
But I can look back now and see how profoundly they changed the trajectory of my life.
I had experienced significant trauma long before these accidents.
But ten years ago, something began.
The beginning of becoming the woman I am today.
The next decade would take me through pain, grief, fear, awakening, healing, self-discovery, rebuilding, and learning how to trust myself again.
And somewhere along the way, I stopped being the woman who was simply trying to survive her life…
…and started becoming the woman who was creating it.
I look back at that scared woman now with so much compassion.
She wasn’t weak.
She wasn’t failing.
She wasn’t broken.
She was traumatized.
She was doing the absolute best she could with what she knew.
And she kept going.
She had no idea what was waiting for her.
She couldn’t see Cats & Crystals KC.
She couldn’t see the people she would eventually help.
She couldn’t see the community she would create.
She couldn’t see the healing that was possible.
She couldn’t see the woman she would become.
But she kept moving forward anyway.
And ten years later, I can finally tell her:
You don’t have to live like that anymore.
You are not that scared, traumatized woman anymore.
You survived.
You healed.
You grew.
You found your voice.
You learned to listen to yourself.
You learned to choose yourself.
You learned that healing isn’t about becoming the person you were before the trauma.
It’s about becoming the person you were always meant to be.
So today, I honor this day.
Not because I am grateful for what happened to me.
But because I am deeply grateful for the woman who emerged from it.
Ten years later, I am still here.
And when I look at how far I’ve come, I am overwhelmed with pride.
I didn’t just survive the life I was given.
I learned how to create a life that feels like mine.
And if you’re reading this while you’re still in your own survival mode, please hear me:
You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You don’t have to know what the next ten years will look like.
Just keep listening.
Keep healing.
Keep moving forward.
Because sometimes, the person you’re becoming is already inside you—you just haven’t met her yet.
And you never know who you’re inspiring while you’re learning to inspire yourself. 💜✨
💜
