Jenna's Blog - Overcoming the iMPossible

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Overcoming the iMPossible

When I was a little kid, I always wished for an unbirthday. August 6th was the official day to celebrate my life and it just didn't feel like it was enough. I loved life in my early youth, every piece of it, and no one ever needed to twist my arm to have a party (even at the age of 7). My actual birthday was continuously like a beacon in the distance. I literally thought about it all year and made sure each birthday was better than the last one. The magical Alice in Wonderland "Happy Unbirthday" song made me feel entitled to have at least one more day of celebration every year. Thanks to the Law of Attraction, I just celebrated my 10th re-birthday...

In the months leading up to February of 2000, it's safe (and quite accurate) to say that I was the polar opposite of who I am today. I had been active and played every sport under the sun since the day I could walk, but I stopped playing sports altogether after my sophomore year. Basketball and water polo were the last team sports I participated in. Around the same time, I decided to become a vegetarian simply for moral purposes. My group of friends exposed me to animal torture literature and photographs that made me NEVER want to eat another piece of meat. So I stopped.

I knew NOTHING about nutrition so I ate anything that didn't cause the death of an animal. No matter what I ate, I never gained a single pound. Yes, I was that girl. I'd eat glazed donuts for breakfast. Pringles, Sour Straws, and Diet Coke were a favorite snack combination. A fast food pit stop with my friends was common. Cereal or pizza for dinner were normal options. I was inactive and I was eating garbage. I just didn't think about it like that. I ate food only if it tasted good. Still, no matter what I ate, I remained a skinny girl.

Slowly but surely, my grades began to drop, school became "not important", and I started to feel sleepy: ALL the time. I'd fall asleep in class and it was like pulling teeth to get me out of bed in the morning. I couldn't focus on anything, and I just wasn't feeling "sharp" anymore. I was self diagnosed as "chronically depressed" and asked my parents to send me to therapy. I started going two times a week and was eager to take anti-depressants. But it didn't fix me. I didn't know this then, but I wasn't dealing with the source of the problem. On top of my prescription meds I also decided to self-medicate. I started smoking weed everyday. Yes, every single day. I also smoked cigarettes everyday and drank alcohol every weekend. I was poisoning my body and brain on so many levels and I didn't see it like that. Or maybe I just didn't care.

Regardless of my less-than-desirable state of being, I wanted to have the party of the year at my house after Winter Ball. I gathered a handful of friends and we began decorating with absolute delight. We chose the barn on my property to be the headquarters of the fiesta. We were all in the hayloft adding the bells and whistles and I fell. Fourteen feet. On my head. On concrete. I was instantly unconscious and I don't even remember falling to this day. When I woke up from my coma in the ICU I had no idea where I was or what happened. Nothing made sense to me. I couldn't put my thoughts into words. When I spoke, my vocabulary was very limited. I even uttered words of gibberish. My parents were told that I had two brain contusions and a fractured skull from my fall. The doctors said it was a miracle that, not only did I wake up from my coma, but I also didn't break my neck and become quadriplegic. They were surprised that I even woke up from my coma. But that's not all, folks! They also discovered that I had been type 1 diabetic for about 8 months or so without even knowing it. Go figure.

So there I was. In a hospital bed. Unaware of the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and not sure of anything at all. My brain damage gave me these fun little things: no short term memory, no concept of time, no sense of direction, the vocabulary of a 4 year old, and little to no ability to carry on a conversation for more than a minute or so. Good times. I think it was the doctors who told me I could not smoke weed or drink any alcohol for at least a year while my brain healed. I remember being okay with that. I also was advised to eat better as I learned how to live with diabetes. I vaguely remember some doctor telling my mom (and not me - even though I was sitting right there - because he didn't think I'd be able to understand) that I shouldn't go back to school and try to graduate on time. "It'll be too challenging for her, I'm afraid..." Um, excuse me? WTF?!? Who ARE you right now?! I remember thinking that. It was in that moment that I decided to work my ass off to finish school on time. It was my senior year and I was in the class of 2000. I was looking forward to that graduation day since the drug-free program in middle school called: Here's Lookin' At You 2000! I love irony.

Over the next few weeks I went to intensive therapy to rehabilitate my brain. I had to relearn how to read and retain new information. I had to practice repeating phone numbers and recite instructions on how to prepare pasta. My "homework" consisted of unscrambling 4 letter words (like prak to park). I was eating more balanced meals and not poisoning my body with chemicals. After 3 weeks of missing school, I was elated to return. I didn't miss a single day the rest of the semester and I graduated on time with a 3.6 GPA. If I had ACCEPTED the doctor's prognosis I wouldn't have gone back to school, and I wouldn't have overcome what they told me was iMPossible. With a PMA, I persevered and I began my journey on a path of living holistically. I started learning more about how to eat in order to fuel my brain and body. I began a workout program tailored with yoga, cardio, and weight training. Before I knew it I was feeling like a new and improved version of me.

When I woke up from my coma that was the first day of my new life. February 5th is my official re-birthday (mark it down in your calendar, haha). It was a day that was given to me. I was given a second chance. You only have one life. You only have one body. You hold the key to optimal health in your own hand. Don't let anyone take that from you by accepting their prognosis. The only true obstacle in life is the actual self. If you tell your body it cannot do something, there is no way in Hell it will be able to do it. Believe in you. Know that nothing is iMPossible. Not a single thing.

Posted: 8:00 PM, Thursday, March 25, 2010

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Wow!

What a facinating story, Jenna! Thanks for sharing with us such a personal story about your early struggles and later victory! Sometimes it takes a S.E.E. (significant emotional event) in our lives before the light bulb goes on and we begin to make positive changes. Yours happened to occur while you were on the bed in the hospital. The last paragraph of your post is most powerful and exceptional. We can all learn something from your great message. Thanks again for such a moving story!

Posted by gogan5 at 7:15 AM, Saturday, March 27, 2010

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Thanks Mark!

I truly appreciate your kind words. I want to get my message out to as many people as possible to show them that ANYTHING is attainable. If I had listened to my doctors and ACCEPTED their prognosis I don't know WHERE I'd be today. That "accident" was no accident. It was meant to happen. It put me on this lifelong path of living holistically and sharing my experiences with everyone I meet, and beyond!

Posted by Jenna at 6:56 PM, Thursday, April 22, 2010

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