I'm a mom of five and I’ve got a busy life, as anyone can imagine. I've worked in dentistry since 1989 and I worked for a wonderful practice. One day I woke up and I was fired from my job of over 13 years.
No warnings, no signs, and it just rocked my world.
It was the hardest thing I think I've ever had to endure and it put a lot of stress on my life and my body. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. My husband the same year broke his leg and he was out of work, he went back to work part time. I also lost my father-in-law, who was the wittiest man I've ever met, at the age of 91. Still driving in New York, by the way, prior to his passing.
So I had to figure something out.
And so I became an independent contractor and doing what I was doing. I just realized that I was just working so hard and that's when the frozen shoulder came in, came about.
When I walked into Doctor Daboo's office for my frozen shoulder condition, she treated me with acupuncture. Again, I had researched acupuncture and was very curious to know what it was all about.
As she was performing the acupuncture, I felt immediate relief.
My shoulder was out of place. I could not put my shoulder behind my back. As a woman, we used our hands and our arms all the time to undo that bra behind our back and I just couldn't even get my arm behind my back.
I couldn't even drive.
The very next day I woke up and I could put my arm behind my back. It wasn't 100%, which I wasn't expecting. I wasn't even expecting the immediate relief after my appointment.
I knew that I had to continue, and so she sat me down in her office on my next visit and went over a treatment program.
I'm so glad I made the commitment. Each time I went in for my appointment, it just seemed as though she uncovered other things that were frozen in my life from working around the clock for other people and not feeling valued, not feeling self worth. She would say “you need to know your worth”. And for a long time I just thought that, you know, we're all put on this earth to help people.
I wanted to make sure that I was being a good steward. And being a good steward is one thing, but when you don't feel valued, that's another thing.
Every time I came in I was really able to be still and listen to my inner self. I'm so grateful that I was able to have the appointments to be able to come in. Those hour appointments were a game-changer for me.
They allowed me to think of what it was that I wanted to do with my second chapter in my life.
Before I start my day, I start with prayer. I always have my go to people that are always like to listen to every single morning TD Jakes, Joyce Myers and Joni Lamb. Those are my go to people. And of course Michael Todd I have to say. I sit outside on my deck and I admire nature. I've never been an outside girl. I've always been an inside girl. But after this awakening, if you will, now I spend more time outside and really appreciate life.
And I will tell anybody: when you're so busy, you have to know in the noise, and that is something that I've been told. You need to be still and you need to listen.
Don't take your days for granted, as my husband would say. Give somebody the flowers where they're still living instead of putting them on a casket. If you can be a blessing and help someone…every day I pray, “OK, Lord, use me so that I can be a blessing to somebody else”. Because I do know and understand that it's not about me.
It's about other people and this journey with acupuncture when I come in for my appointments, it's all about mind, body and soul. It helps me to be that better person and I'm so grateful for it.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self, I would have to say “be patient, be still, listen, be true and honest to yourself”. Because when you're true and honest to yourself, then you can be true and honest to others.
It's about being transparent.
It's about communicating.
As women, we tend not to communicate. We tend to hold things in. We don't want to share. And we find out that withholding everything in, it creates a lot of uncertainties. It creates a lot of uneasiness. It creates a lot of mental and physical stress on ourselves.
We as women have to say “put me first”. And it's not being selfish. Sometimes I thought with being a mom of five and with my husband that if I did anything for myself first, even when my husband's always saying put yourself first, then I would feel guilty.
But we have to put ourselves first and we have to give ourselves the time that we need for self-care and listen to our bodies. It's so very important if we want these temples to last and go through the long haul.
Her Turn means to me self worth. We need to know our self worth and we need to put :me” first. That is what Her Turn means to me and with putting “me” first and sharing my journey, my stories with others, that is, the ultimate goal is to be able to share and to help others on their journeys.