How can you, days after staring death in the face, change someone’s life with your words?

I couldn’t describe how I got there or the steps to replicate if I tried. I was definitely embodying my metaphysical & spiritual teachings above all else in that moment.

It was then that I realized I’d fully integrated all that I’d learned. It was no longer just a workshop I’d taken or a book I’d read. These ideas had become unconscious & pumped through my veins.

This had become my core operation, as long as I wasn’t getting in my own way that is.

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In early June 2023, I was stricken with community-acquired pneumonia, caused by a potent strain of Strep A. An additional complication of empyema necessitated emergency surgery to place chest drainage tubes.

My surgeon told me I essentially had an abscess in my right lung.

The infectious disease doctor was in my room daily to ask where I acquired this. It was the worst strain he’d ever seen & “if you were any older, you’d be dead.”

Thank my luck stars! I have more work to do yet in this life. I honestly felt like I hadn’t even started.

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I was intubated while I was waking up in recovery. Flash to another life where the outcome wasn’t as positive. The moment of intubation still haunts me.

The first night in the ICU, I woke to alarms sounding. I heard a nurse say she’s bleeding. And suddenly, the sheets to my bed were being changed while I lay in them.

The details of those 3 days are blurry around the edges, but I know how dire the situation was. I was septic on a ventilator in a medically induced coma in the ICU. That’s not for the light-hearted.

I never went back to sleep, terrified I wouldn’t wake up again. The medically induced coma was over after just a few hours. No matter how much they tried to sedate me, I wouldn’t stay asleep for long.

I spent 3 days wide awake in the ICU on a ventilator. Another haunting memory. I remember feeling like I was in some horror flick, wondering when I’d wake from the nightmare.

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You don’t realize how deeply you have integrated teachings & “become” something until you turn your back on death & your mind automatically sets it’s focus on where you want to be, not where you are now.

I remembered that during surgery I fiercely envisioned being by my daughter’s side through every major life event, culminating in holding & playing with my grandchildren. That mental image never left me throughout my stay in the ICU – visualizing where I’m going, not where I am now.

This is what I focused on while I was facing brain surgery the year before as well. You can read more about those circumstances here.

Visualize the timeline ahead of you. Create that reality for yourself. Visualization has been a huge friend of mine during these times. Fiercely visualizing like my life depended on it (it sort of did).

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So many were flabbergasted by my positivity on the brink of death. I was openly sharing my journey on social media while hospitalized. Friends & family were asking how I was so positive & self-assured & how I was able to use this as a teaching moment while fighting for my life.

Some wanted me to “teach” them. I guess I taught someone.

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When I came off the ventilator, I was immediately drawn to this young nurse named Marissa. I talked to her about manifestation, angels, our power to heal ourselves, our thoughts creating our reality, healing frequencies, visualization, etc.

She held me & we cried together.

She came back at the end of her shift & told me she had just graduated college & it was her first day on the job. She thanked me for everything I had taught her & said that she would never forget me.

She told me that I had changed her life.

Hearing someone say that is life changing for the receiver too. I’m not sure who in your life needs to hear that, but tell them so they can understand their importance & how they make a difference.

At that point in my life, I didn’t think I had any significant impact on the world or the lives of others. My perspective shift came in my ICU bed.

Thank you for changing my life too, Marissa. Without her, I wouldn’t be here, on this page.

Thank you for being here, along with me on my journey. Go out & shine your light & change the world, my friends.

Love & light,