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Writer's pictureCoach Nomie

I Had a Near Death Experience



Fully non-functional left side of my body, blanks in my memory, unable to hold a real trail of thought or conversation for long…was this going to be the rest of my life? Needing full time care and assistance? I’m too young for this, surely? What even is happening? From that destructive trail of thought and rabbit hole, to being fully functional, creating programs, starting MMA and empowering others to overcome as I have the biggest obstacle of my life in jaw dropping time!

Every year at least 15 million people suffer strokes globally, of those, 5 million die and another 5 million are left permanently disabled. Strokes carry a high disability and mortality rate. Survivors may suffer:


·         a loss of speech,

·        loss of vision,

. paralysis and

·         confusion. 


That’s 33% left disabled, and another 33% dead. That’s only a 34% survival rate. Those are not the greatest odds. I am part of the 34%, the better part of it too because even less ever make a full recovery! I am extremely lucky.


From teaching English abroad, starting my coaching business with an international clientele while traveling around Southeast Asia and living my absolute best life, to also facilitating Early Childhood Development workshops here in South Africa, starting a Gender Based Violence nonprofit, being a content creator to having a full STROKE 5 months ago that left me unable to walk or do anything for myself. Completely life altering and completely HUMBLING!


My thinking, my hope, my empowerment, all hit an absolute wall. I could not think myself out of this one. At least I could not yet see how. Thankfully, that changed, completely. I’m going to let you in on how I managed to get myself back on my feet, literally. And how you too, can conquer any life situation in 5 easy ways!



1.      Acceptance of Reality/Current Situation

 

The first one, of course, is to accept the reality of the situation you are faced with. Whether it is being in a hospital bed, whether it is someone leaving your life, whether it is a career change. Do not try to run from the reality of it - look at and accept the facts. This helps you to see things clearly and helps you to focus on what is real as opposed to the negative catastrophizing rabbit hole you could end up in when faced with adversity. It is not unusual to catastrophize when one is faced with a situation they deem as having a negative impact on them or their lives. It’s obviously not as easy as I’m making it sound: Your emotions are peaked, you’re going through something life changing, you don’t know what your future holds. As much as that is the case, for your own good, for the process, you do need to start with this step to get things moving forward in the right direction.

 


2.      Trusting & Believing in Yourself (Visualizing the Future)

 

Here you simply need to have a goal, have a plan,  and break the plan down into manageable steps. In my situation, my chosen goal was to get back on my feet. If that was medically impossible, I was going to be functional and independent. I’ve seen people with literally no limbs at all do the most incredible things, I was going to be alright. I had days where I felt absolutely down, lacked motivation to even get out of bed, but then I reminded myself what I was capable of and what I wanted. I’ve done amazing things, I’m resilient, I’m strong. So I made a physio plan that I was going to do every morning. Since my left leg and left arm were not working, I found practices that were going to help strengthen them both and reconnect my brain to them. You also have to trust and believe in yourself. Trust that you can make it happen. See yourself making it happen. Trust that you are capable of achieving what it is that you want. This is why the plan is important. It helps you to have something to keep you on track, remotivate you, and track your progress. Breaking the plan down once you have it helps you not feel overwhelmed and helps you to set manageable targets you can measure and manage. Within a month of consistency I could feel and see a major difference, especially with my leg. I stopped needing my  walker within a week! I was so proud of myself and I was so motivated to see how much I can achieve within a few months.

 


3.      Patience

 

This is one of the hardest parts. Having patience. At times it will feel like you are making so much progress and then suddenly like it couldn’t come fast enough, like things are stagnant. Be kind to yourself, show yourself love, show yourself grace, be your own motivator and be your own accountability partner. Without showing yourself grace and patience, you will actually set yourself and your progress back. So on my worst days, That is when I switched up my patience with myself because that is when I needed it the most. Being harsh on myself was not going to do me any  good other than take me back to that rabbit hole we spoke about in the beginning. As great as I am, I cannot fast track neuron reconnection and muscle memory and the like. I surprised my doctor with how quickly I was recovering, his face was so priceless at every check-up. It was another way I was tracking my progress and staying motivated. If there was any doubt as to how well I was doing, an actual medical doctor thought I was doing fantastic! I was a happy chappy.

 


4.      Persistence

 

This leads to persistence. The constant motivation, the staying on path, the patience…it is nothing without consistency and persistence. You really do need to stay persistent and consistent with your goal/s. You cannot give up. You owe it to yourself. You deserve to reach your goal/s. I am walking, I am bathing myself, I have taken up Mixed Martial Arts, I dabbled in Pole Dancing. I’m doing pretty well on my road to recovery. I am back to doing most of what I was doing before, I am back to creating content again, I am back to doing what I love again (coaching, creating programs, sharing my experiences in hopes that it will help someone else).

 


5.      Adjustment

 

I am still on this stage. Still constantly adjusting and re-learning. There are certain things I cannot and do not want to do anymore. There are others I have taken an interest in that I had no interest in before. It is a constant balancing act and I am recreating my ideal life. My life will never be the same. I will never be the same. This experience has shifted my worldview and perspective on life as a whole for me and I do not want to think about what it would have been like if it had not happened. It did, and I am here now. I learned a lot about myself, my strength, and what is truly a priority for me. There is something about a Near death Experience that shifts things into perspective. I am stepping not and reclaiming my power again, I am taking control.

 

Coach Nomie, Take Control x


If you're in South Africa in March, would love to hear more about how I literally got back on my feet, and get useful, useable tools on how YOU can get back on your feet after being knocked down by anything...


Come to my event @Butlers Restaurant in Hillcrest.

Tickets are available on my events page on my website.

Hope to see you soon ☺️



 

 

 

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