My Path

“In case you didn’t notice, the path you didn’t chose has chosen you.”

What an understatement for me this year. Things just keep moving in this crazy new direction. Although I ‘m nervous and unsure about what the hell I’m doing a lot of the time –  I’m trusting the process, going with the flow and seeing where it takes me.

Back in March I made the decision to turn my side gig of being an author and speaker into a legitimate business. I’m making money at it already, and my platform/media attention continues to grow, so I figured, why not. I hired a consultant in Los Angeles to help mentor me, and I’m now learning allll about the world of branding. As an author, branding yourself and building a social media platform is incredibly important. I already have an incredible fan base (I love you guys!) but I wish I’d started building it sooner. So that being said, if you can do me a huge favor, and please go follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, if you aren’t already. In the world of business, followers do make a difference.  Also, if you haven’t signed up on my website, please scroll down to the bottom of this page to be added to my email list. I try to be as active as possible on social media but unfortunately the algorithm makes it hard for my posts to be seen all the time, which is why I’m building my email list. I also just redid my website (go look around!) and added a GBS/CIDP resource section for patients. I’ll be adding a lot more to it in coming months – if you have any suggestions on things you think could be added to the resource section, let me know!!!

I’m working on some major projects right now with my book, which is taking up the majority of my time. My book has now sold over 7 thousand copies and I’m incredibly grateful for everyone’s support. Unfortunately at this point the book is only available in English but getting it translated into other languages is a long term goal, among many others. I’m excited for whats to come and I cant wait to share the things I’m working on. In the meantime, if you’ve read my book, can you PLEASE write a review on Amazon! Reviews are so important, another thing I’ve recently learned, and will make a huge difference on some of the projects I’m working on.

I’ve also been doing a ton of volunteer work in the GBS community and it feels so good to be giving back and getting more involved. I traveled to both Phoenix and Florida to visit GBS patients in the hospital, and have been visiting as many patients as I can here in Edmonton too. Talking with families and their loved ones going through GBS will always be one of my favourite things to do. For those of you that didn’t catch the announcement, I recently joined GBS/CIDP On The Couch, a weekly live feed on Facebook where we discuss GBS/CIDP and the issues that we deal with. GBS/CIDP On The Couch goes live every Sunday night 8pm EST.

Thanks to the “Sharing is Caring” video floating around social media (which is now at a whopping 50 million views!!!!), I’ve had a ton of interest in my story again. The amount of messages I get in a day blows my mind. I do my best to reply to everyone but sometimes it’s just too crazy and I find it hard to keep up. So I apologize if I miss anyone, I do try to answer everyone’s questions when I have the time. I’ve done a bunch of interviews in the past few months, some that are already published (you can check them out under MEDIA on my website), and the ones that haven’t been published yet, I will be sure to share once they are.  I’ve also joined the Positive Vibes only Society as an ambassador, and will be working with them on a fundraising campaign for GBS later this fall.

Oh and this past weekend I ran in a ten kilometer race, my first ever 10k!  I didnt have time to do any announcement or fundraising for it, but it was the N.E.R.D run, the same run I ran 5km in last year. The N.E.R.D Run supports Brain Health and Injury Research at the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute (NMHI). Its a run that I am proud to participate in every year, as our entry fee goes to directly to the NMHI for research. Donating to neuroscience research is the single most effective way to advance knowledge and treatment of brain related diseases and disorders. Overall I did incredible, I did 10 km in exactly one hour. That being said, I’m not sure I’ll ever do that long of a run again. The pain I experienced after was pretty rough and I crashed pretty hard for a a few days – but it’s an accomplishment I’m still very proud of.

So as you can see, I’ve been busy. Really fricken busy. I’m actually pretty overwhelmed. And tired. And bitchy. I swear I have a meltdown once or twice a week. I’m having more nerve pain than normal and not sleeping the greatest. But I’m taking it day by day. It’s all very positive, just a lot of work. I’m going after my goals and I’m so incredibly excited about it all.