“Inspire the Wired” is for anyone living with an implantable device, and the incredible things we are capable of.  My goal is to create a space where those who feel different will not have to feel alone, where we can celebrate our accomplishments, and learn what our new “normal” will look like with the love and encouragement of others learning theirs, too. I focus mostly on those with pacemakers and those born with congenital heart disease, but there are so many amazing people living with devices and I want everyone to feel this is a place for them.

As a nurse, I have first-hand experience of watching people persevere through some truly life altering diagnoses. I am blessed to learn every day from my patients, things like what matters in life, and how to keep going, and am blown away by their ability to remold their lives to their situation. I strive every day at work to help be a part of what makes their situation better. But outside of the hospital, our place in the world of healthy people feels much more remote. I hope here to give a home to those living with chronic illnesses, and to show the common line of strength that runs through all of us.

There is real hope within our stories, and it can be found everywhere. But sometimes, you need to create the place for it to grow.

Our stories matter.

And they need to be told honestly.  Too often, people and media want to portray hope so badly that they gloss over the parts that are hard to see.  This is a place to acknowledge the parts that the rest of the world leaves behind, to move through it, to support each other in the dark so that we can celebrate the parts that are brightened. I am learning every day to live my new normal, and I have no idea where I will end up on the health spectrum yet.

There’s a quote from Hanya Yanagihara that sums up exactly how I feel about everything that has happened:

“If I were a different kind of person, I might say that this whole incident is a metaphor for life in general: things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.

Actually—maybe I am that kind of person after all.”

I will keep relearning. Let’s learn together.