Embark on a rejuvenating adventure with Alma, a beacon of strength from New Mexico, as she shares how a serene escape to Mendocino County's redwood forests and the simple joy of searching for banana slugs brought unexpected delight into her life. Through our engaging conversation, Alma's infectious enthusiasm for rediscovering life's pleasures, self-care, and the serenity of nature is guaranteed to inspire you to seek out your own moments of tranquility and happiness.
The heart of this episode touches upon Alma's intimate battle with mobility challenges following a car accident and her transformation into a devoted homeschooling mother. Her candid narrative reveals the life-altering embrace of a revolutionary medical device that dramatically enhanced her quality of life in 2022. Listen closely as Alma's resilience shines through, painting a poignant picture of the indomitable will of a mother's love, the daily struggles with chronic pain, and the wonders of medical innovation that can change lives.
Alma's journey is a profound lesson in vulnerability and the strength that comes from seeking help. She opens up about the complexities of sharing health struggles, the internal battle against pride, and the transformative power of embracing one's need for support. Her experiences underscore the importance of faith, community, and the courage to ask for help—as well as the hope and resilience that can be found in the face of adversity. Join us for a heartfelt episode that celebrates the everyday heroism of overcoming life's hurdles with grace and determination.
Embark on a rejuvenating adventure with Alma, a beacon of strength from New Mexico, as she shares how a serene escape to Mendocino County's redwood forests and the simple joy of searching for banana slugs brought unexpected delight into her life. Through our engaging conversation, Alma's infectious enthusiasm for rediscovering life's pleasures, self-care, and the serenity of nature is guaranteed to inspire you to seek out your own moments of tranquility and happiness.
The heart of this episode touches upon Alma's intimate battle with mobility challenges following a car accident and her transformation into a devoted homeschooling mother. Her candid narrative reveals the life-altering embrace of a revolutionary medical device that dramatically enhanced her quality of life in 2022. Listen closely as Alma's resilience shines through, painting a poignant picture of the indomitable will of a mother's love, the daily struggles with chronic pain, and the wonders of medical innovation that can change lives.
Alma's journey is a profound lesson in vulnerability and the strength that comes from seeking help. She opens up about the complexities of sharing health struggles, the internal battle against pride, and the transformative power of embracing one's need for support. Her experiences underscore the importance of faith, community, and the courage to ask for help—as well as the hope and resilience that can be found in the face of adversity. Join us for a heartfelt episode that celebrates the everyday heroism of overcoming life's hurdles with grace and determination.
Hello, hello, and welcome to the Mommy on a Mission podcast, where empowerment meets inspiration.
Speaker 1:I'm your host, mariana, a life coach and author, on a mission to help Latina women, and all women, to reach their impossible goals, one dream at a time. Join me on this incredible adventure as we dive into compelling subjects that will uplift, motivate and ignite your passion. Get ready to be inspired, empowered, and never give up on your dreams. This is the podcast where we turn dreams into unstoppable missions. Are you ready? Let's go. Ready, let's go. Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Mommy on a Mission podcast, the podcast that empowers women to reach their impossible goals, one dream at a time. I'm your host, mariana, and I'm so glad that you are here with me once again this Saturday morning.
Speaker 1:So today I have a guest by the name of Alma. Alma comes by way of New Mexico, is that correct, alma? Yes, yes, ma'am, of New Mexico, and I had the pleasure of speaking with Alma a few weeks back, and she has such an amazing story, and I feel that so many women could just be inspired by her story of resilience, of determination, and so grab your cafecito, or whatever it is that you want to drink today, and come join me today as we speak to Miss Alma. Dimanche, dimanche, yes Alba.
Speaker 2:Dimanche.
Speaker 1:Dimanche yes Well, Alba, welcome, and thank you so much for joining me this morning.
Speaker 2:How are you doing? I'm doing all right. You know, as I was telling you earlier, we had my husband and I just came back from a little week-long vacay, just he and I, in the Northern California coast that we really love, in Mendocino County, and did a little wine tasting, walked through the redwoods, looked for banana slugs Literally looked for banana slugs. What are banana slugs? They're just a slug that's endemic to that region and also actually Santa Cruz County as well, like in the Redwoods, and so they're just kind of like a fluorescent yellow slug and they're really cute. So I took a few pictures.
Speaker 1:Oh well, I'm going to have to look those up, because I've never heard of a banana slug. I mean, we've got slug bugs here, but I've never heard of a banana slug.
Speaker 2:I've never heard of a banana slug.
Speaker 1:Actually, I don't remember if it's UC Santa Cruz which that's the college name, but that's their actual mascot is a banana slug in Santa Cruz.
Speaker 2:Wow, so did y'all have a good time? Yes, we did. It was definitely nice, and we stayed in a tiny home and then, like, we basically just Airbnb'd it, and so it was pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, then, like we basically just Airbnb'd it and and so it was pretty cool. Yeah, I think tiny homes are like really popular in that area, huh, because I don't know if we have them here in Texas. I'd have to look into that. But I've always been curious about those tiny homes. In fact, I think I want one, just to downsize even more. This one was a tiny home.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I don't know. It's a big commitment, I think, to actually live in a tiny home because you have to have like nothing. But this one had a sauna in it and so the sauna occupied like half of the floor space on the bottom level. But that was kind of the highlight of the tiny home was to hang out in the sauna for a little bit after each day.
Speaker 1:Wow, Like I said, I'm going to have to look into that. Well, listen, Alma first of all, because the audience doesn't know who you are. Tell us a little bit about who you are and talk to us a little bit. Share with us a little bit about your story.
Speaker 2:Well, gosh, I'm just a mom, but I'm should I say my age? But I'm should I say my age? It's up to you. I just turned 42 this year and I've been mommying hard. So I homeschool our youngest two children. We have four all together his hers and ours. Our oldest two are 27 and 20. The youngest two are nine and 13. And I've been homeschooling them for the last I think like five or six years and um, and I've been really enjoying that journey.
Speaker 2:I never saw myself as a homeschooler before. Uh, especially when I lived in California. I would never have fathomed that. I would even think about it like, oh, let me be a homeschooler. Um, I just, I didn't think I had the patience for it. And um, I have to say I learned it through homeschooling, like I learned, learned to communicate with my children much better. So I love it. I don't want to send them to school ever, um and uh. So yeah, I just I, I basically like your classic housewife, I shuttle the kids around. Um, I guess, in my quote, unquote spare time I like to dabble in watercolor, I ride a little.
Speaker 2:My journey is that I had a car accident when I was 16 and broke both my legs and my right clavicle and my left ankle received the extent of the injuries. So I was in the hospital for an entire summer when I was 16. So I actually missed finals week of my sophomore year of school and was in the hospital until almost this next school year started. And so because of that I ended up with arthritis in my ankle at the age of 18. And I've just been dealing with that. For the most part.
Speaker 2:I just when I was younger, my young adult years, I spent just kind of I don't know pushing through the pain you know like. So there were times where I'd have like not not being able to walk real well I'd have. I definitely had a limp ever since my accident and sometimes my limp was more severe than other others on certain days because it was just painful. But I didn't know there were any options for me because when I was 20, I had an orthopedic that wasn't the same orthopedic that treated me initially, but they had recommended fusion for my ankle and and fusion just essentially means that they fuse the bones together and I had hardly any range of motion already and I just didn't see how having no range of motion would be of any benefit to me at a young age. So I just kind of walked away and said, well, no thanks, and I never went back to that doctor again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just I just kind of thought well, that's what the doctor is going to tell me, there's nothing better that he's going to suggest later on down the line. So I didn't actually see an orthopedic doctor for 20 years or longer diffusion and it wasn't until, oh gosh, like two to maybe about two years before COVID so like maybe around 2018, my mobility started to decline even more and so I had actually end stage arthritis already, and so it just was getting very difficult to walk and so I was using a cane to ambulate, and so at first it was just once in a while I would use it when you know I was struggling, and then it just basically by the time you know, covid came, 2020, I was on the cane all the time and, even worse, I was just sitting on the couch all the time because I couldn't get up. It was so painful.
Speaker 2:I would have pretty much every night, by the end of a day of, you know, just trying to do normal, normal mom duties and housework duties. I would sit on the couch after dinner and I couldn't get up until one o'clock or two o'clock in the morning where I had to actually muster the energy I had to, like conserve enough energy to bear through the pain of getting like walking myself back to my bedroom with a cane. There was, I didn't have anything, so I really struggled with that and I I don't know of your listeners who has struggled with mobility in any amount Like even if you just like you sprain your ankle or or anything like you, you lose, temporarily lose your use of your limb for, you know, or just as painful, you have to kind of baby it and everything.
Speaker 2:And so that was my life like every day, every moment, um until 2022. And so I have to say I was seeing an orthopedic. I did finally see an orthopedic, at the suggestion of my husband. He was kind of not tired of seeing me suffer, but he was like, hey, you really should go see the doctor. And so I was getting cortisone injections. I was seeing this orthopedic like two years up to up until like 2022.
Speaker 2:And I just basically went into his office for another cortisone injection and I just said, look, I'm not going to make it anymore, like I cannot do this anymore. I honestly thought I was going to see myself in a wheelchair because I didn't know how I was going to make myself more mobile just to get through the day to day. And he said, hey, there's this brace can prescribe it for you. Gave me some information to go home and take it and absorb it. And, um, I actually kind of dismissed it. At first, my husband was the one that was like, hey, you should like take a look at this, and um, and so that was that. Was it the rest of the history I am? I ended up getting this brace and um and it has changed my life tremendously and that of my family is because my family relies on me.
Speaker 1:I want to go back a little bit because something. So you were talking a little bit about how you've got two older kids and then you've got like you started all over. Yeah Right, you sound like me, because I've got three adult children and then I have. So they're 31, soon to be 25, 23, about to be 24. And then I've got my 15 year old and 11 year old and it's like I started all over again. I was like what the heck did I do that for?
Speaker 1:But I mentioned that because I know that when I was pregnant with the first three, I was young, so I was 19 when I had my first baby and then in my mid twenties, when I had the other two and I could tell you that being pregnant younger was a lot easier to handle than being older and carrying a baby. Like I was always physically tired. But in comparison to you, like you're, you're already going through something, like you're already suffering from pain, you're suffering from not being able to walk. So even then you were pregnant younger, had two children and then having to carry an extra amount of weight. How was it, when you got older and started having children again and then continuing on with the pain that you were going through.
Speaker 2:So I actually, to be fair, I only birthed three of them. The oldest one is my stepson, and while I would love to claim having any part in that cause he's a wonderful person I can't, so, I don't want to, I don't want to take that away from his mom.
Speaker 1:But at any rate.
Speaker 2:yeah, when I was younger. You're right, you have much more energy. Just generally, you're a young adult. I was 21 when I had my oldest daughter oh my gosh. And I gained some weight too.
Speaker 1:Like we all do.
Speaker 2:I gained like and that was a petite thing, I think the doctor or the nurses they were like you're not going to lose that weight? I did, actually, but I gained like 50 pounds with my oldest daughter. So that is a lot of weight, extra weight to be carrying with an already arthritic ankle, and so I definitely had moments where, like if you know, if I was struggling, it was easier to just kind of like sit down and rest for like a little bit and then get back up. When I was older yes, oh my gosh, like I wanted to take naps all the time and I was in a fortunate situation to already be like, basically, a stay at home wife I really just pushed through the pain I did. Actually, I have a crutch because I used to have a pair of them, but my husband accidentally threw one away and so I have. I have a crutch that, like I was using for the days that I just I really was struggling.
Speaker 2:So I would, I would just use that. I didn't. I didn't actually think of a cane and when I was younger, so yeah, I managed to make it through those pregnancies, for the most part okay. My pregnancies were healthy.
Speaker 1:And what about those times Like because I know it could be debilitating for you because you have to walk, you have to stand, you have to move around, you have to go places, drive your children around and stuff? So I'm pretty sure there were moments of where it was just very debilitating or very hard. How did that affect you and your family? When you would have those moments Emotionally, how did you feel? How did that affect your family's life, your husband y'all's relationship? Were there any moments that you just were like I can't do this anymore?
Speaker 2:I definitely had a lot of that and I think I think my family was pretty understanding because I've, like with my children that is, all they've known of me is that I've had that condition and it just has gotten like slowly crept up, that is to say, like the pain slowly crept up up into a point until it just like started I hit that hill and then like I crashed and burned. So I do think my, my family was pretty sympathetic and you know, if I had to remind them cause you know we would they would want to do something or whatever and I just say like I just can't, like I just can't. So you know, either I'd have them go on without me or we would just take like like if we went on a family walk, we just take a short family walk. So I just I think I also I have a tendency to when I'm feeling pain, I really kind of bottle it up.
Speaker 2:I don't want to like be a burden to everyone. So I definitely felt like a burden all the time. I actually had to like plan my social engagements, engagements like two weeks ahead of time, because that's how much time it took me to muster enough energy, like to conserve enough energy in order to even go have like a coffee day with girlfriends or something. I just it would just take me so much energy just to get ready, get dressed, get get myself out of the house. This was before brace. Before I had my brace, I was always conserving energy, like I was building up, saving energy for like two weeks time at a time. So I actually I feel like I I kind of lost friends Because they just they didn't understand what I was going through and, to be fair to them, I didn't really vocalize very well what I was going through.
Speaker 2:So I'll give them that benefit of the doubt. But in other instances I just think that some people don't have the patience because they don't know what it feels like to be in my body and they. So my disability is not like very apparent. Um, I don't, I'm not like missing a limb or anything like that. So you know, they just see like, oh, I'm a young, healthy looking woman. Um, why, why can't she just like meet me for coffee or whatever?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's gotta be tough. Um, and I was talking about this with another friend of mine not too long ago how it's so hard for us women to ask for help, how it's so hard for us to reach out to other people because one, just as you mentioned, we don't want to be a burden on anybody, we don't want to disrupt their time, we don't want to. We feel like we're going to invade on some sort of whatever right, and so we tend to bottle things up and we do that a lot in any situation. But it's specifically in situations where we feel that perhaps they're not going to understand what we're going through, because, you're right, we're not walking in each other's shoes. We can have an idea of what it might feel like, and sometimes we have to be very descriptive, we have to give scenarios, we have to elaborate, we have to create a story in order for them to kind of get it.
Speaker 1:When you were saying earlier that it can be you know where, the mobility or the sensation, the feeling, I remember about two years ago, maybe it was I broke my toe and of course it's nothing compared to what you've been going through, but having to walking in a boot, having to walk in crutches, having to move around, still be mom, still, you know, go to work, still do all of the things, and just because of a toe I felt like, oh my God, I can't. You know, this is just too much for me. So I'm only imagining how much for you, how hard that was, because sometimes it's hard to move around, it's hard to get to places and it's hard to just do things because there is a pain that's involved, not to mention you've got to find ways to move around. So you have to adjust and adapt and all of those things. But then not just that, but the people around you even have to adapt to it, and some don't want to adapt, some don't want to. They feel like they're being held back for whatever reason.
Speaker 1:You know, they get impatient, feel like, like this is just too much, Like I ain't got time for all of this.
Speaker 1:And it's hard because then we do like you said you start to lose the people in your lives. I can speak on my journey. When you know, I was going through my second marriage, which is where a lot of the domestic violence came into play, and I didn't want to share that with people. So what did I do? I would be quiet, I would isolate myself. I would make excuses as to why I couldn't go anywhere, or if it was just a very painful moment in my life, I just didn't want to get out of bed because depression would keep me in bed a lot. I knew that I had to muster up enough energy because I did have to be there for my children, but that was all I had energy for was just to be there for my children, and so depression started kicking in and all of these other resentment. You know, I'm feeling resent. I'm resenting everybody else. I'm resenting my children. Sometimes I'm resenting a lot because it's like it was just too much for me to cope with at moments, you know, and I would have those moments of frustration. So was it like that even for you, where you would have those moments of frustration where you want to be able to tell people what's going on and you don't know how, and then you eventually you'll find someone that you can just really open up with and share that information with them, but even then, do they really understand?
Speaker 1:There's moments today where I will share things with my husband and stuff or how I'm feeling, because of course, I'm older than my husband, so I'm feeling some things before he's getting there. I have a 10-year headstart from him from feeling anything. I feel like he's starting to catch up, though, but he wouldn't understand certain things and he would get very, very frustrated. Like, right now I'm going through menopause. I'm cause I'm 50, 40, you know, right, so I'm going through menopause, I've had the hot flashes, I have these things, I have whatever, and you know not to get too specific, but I am experiencing a lot of dryness. So even having intercourse with my husband gets to be a little bit hard and it can be a little bit frustrating for him, right, because he doesn't understand. So during your journey or during your moments of your pain, your physical limitations, and stuff your moments of your pain, your physical limitations and stuff.
Speaker 2:How did that at any point affect your marriage? I guess I would just say like, yes, I certainly had frustrations, but I really withdrew all those feelings. I really kept them to myself, all my worries and concerns like my family they only know now because maybe I mentioned it like in passing to someone else I really kept all those frustrations and concerns that I was most worried about to myself, like the fact that I was thinking about what options could I do? Should I look at getting a knee scooter? Would that work? A wheelchair, you know how would I work out?
Speaker 2:You know, being in a wheelchair in my own home, I was just kind of mulling all these things over before I even dared to express them and I ended up never expressing them actually. So I don't think my husband or my children really knew the extent that I was struggling inside, because I really kept it all to myself. I, I just I was just consumed with worry every single day and you know, just even to share, like so if I can even share it with my own family, imagine me trying to share it with any friends. Like that did not happen. I didn't, you know, I didn't even tell my friends, like when we're scheduling anything, I would just, I would just look at my calendar and say well, you know, I can schedule something for two weeks from now.
Speaker 2:So, that's just how I operated. I really just internalized everything.
Speaker 1:How have you been able to get through that? Because now you're speaking about it today, like you're on here and you're you're you know you're being vulnerable. You're being very transparent about what you had gone through. Why speak up now?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, because I just want other people like, at least for my social circle, my friends, my family and anyone who knows me, like you know. I want them to understand I was in a very difficult place in my life that I I didn't feel at liberty to share. I should have actually Um, so that's one element is that I do want if I was ignoring anyone that was without intention.
Speaker 2:I really withdraw and I withdraw hard, Um, especially when I'm dealing with pain. I don't really want that, but that's how I feel. The other part of that is because I know other people have struggles and have a hard time, like you were mentioning. Especially women have a hard time asking for help. I mean, I wish, I wish I would have given a chance to others to demonstrate their ability to help. I never gave given a chance to others to demonstrate their ability to help. I never gave anyone that chance. So anyone that I fell away with, with their friendships or whatever it might've been on me actually, because I never gave them that opportunity to be there for me. When you're struggling, you know, yes, you're going to find out who your friends are. There's some element of that, but you have to give people the chance first. So if you never do anything, then they don't even have the chance, the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 1:And that's fair to say, because a lot of times, like you said, we, when we do share information because there were people that there were in my life that I did share with them what I was going through and how I was feeling, and they got tired of hearing me, which I understand, looking back now, why they were tired of hearing me. Because to them it was, the answer was very obvious you need to leave, you need to get away, you need to make a change, make a choice, right. And I wasn't there yet, I wasn't ready mentally, I was not ready to do that. And so, of course, they would decide and say you know what? I can't do this anymore. You know, that's just too much for me. And then, when it got to that point in my life where I was ready now to speak up not only just to speak up, but to speak up and make a choice I knew that I needed to do something different. And so a whole new set of people were in my life that were there for me to help me overcome and get through and jump all of those hurdles in order to get to where I needed to get to. And even now, to this day, some of those women in my life that were there for me during that season are no longer in my life, like they kind of like fell off, not because we don't talk or there was anything that happened that was wrong, but it's just like God knows when to put people in your life for a season and there's a reason, and I know that if I were to see them or if I would to talk to them and stuff we would pick up like right where we left off. Of course, conversations are going to be there for you.
Speaker 1:It's just that we didn't know how to help you because you weren't communicating to us how you needed for us to help you.
Speaker 1:You know, we kept telling you, we kept giving you suggestions, we kept giving you this, we kept giving you that and you weren't listening, or or perhaps what we were telling you you weren't ready to hear yet. Yeah Right, and so I would tell them. You know, I've told them not that long ago. You know, now that they see me where I'm at today, they're like we knew you had the potential, we knew that you could be all of these things that you want it to be, but I think you needed to find that voice for yourself first, before we could even step in and help. And I think that if you would have been ready, we could have been there for you a lot more. And that's what it sounds like to me like with you. You know, you, you want to share information, but you just don't know how they're going to receive it, and so we ourselves convince ourselves that it's just best that we just not say anything.
Speaker 1:It's just best that we tell them what's going on, or it's just best that we don't even just complain. I mean, like what am I going to do if I complain? You know like what if I do, if I just share this with them, what are they going to be able to do for me?
Speaker 2:My husband actually said something to me that, like he says this, he'll say this once in a while, and it really dawned on me until, like the last few weeks. But he says, like, give me a chance to fail. Like if you don't bring something to him, like then then he doesn't have an opportunity to try and do better or fail at it. So it's like, give me a chance to fail. Like I should give people a chance to fail and maybe they'll surprise me. And they won't. So I, I just yeah. And I guess the reason why I even say that is because, like, when I struggled the most was, unfortunately for me, covid year. Right, it was 2020.
Speaker 2:And um, that was when I just like, I was basically like planted on the couch, I wasn't going anywhere. Like you know, I took dinner. Somehow, I don't even know how you know, I took dinner somehow, I don't even know how you know, I barely washed dishes. It was like nothing's going on, but it was COVID year, so the family was there and you know, my husband couldn't work and all that. So they were home a lot and were able to step up and help around the house where I was not able to do so, but that meant that, you know, everybody was scared and fearful. There was a whole bunch of uneasiness going on, and so, while everyone else was like worried about COVID, I was just like am I going to be able to get up from the bed and go to my kitchen this morning?
Speaker 2:I don't know. I woke up every morning like just worried about that, so I kind of dismissed COVID to some extent. I didn't know what was going on either. But for me my most basic concern was can I get up today? Am I going to be able to walk through my house today? Didn't give people that chance to know how badly I needed help. I mean, I have to blame myself because I didn't speak up and say anything and say I needed anything.
Speaker 2:So that's kind of where again, you know, give the people a chance to fail. And so when people are struggling with mobility, I guess what I want the general audience to know just people that are struggling with mobility of any sort is, you know, it's a hard thing to ask for help anyway, but maybe just have a little more compassion and maybe try to demonstrate a little patience for your friend or loved one who is um going through a hard time, even if, even if it's a temporary thing, because, like you said, you broke your toe I'm assuming you're saying you broke your big toe if you needed a boot and all of that but you don't realize.
Speaker 2:You don't realize how much your big toe provides stability for you. Now you do because you went through that. So, um, you know I chuckled because you know you're. You said your toe but like I know, because I I didn't break a big toe, but I once broke like a little toe and I had to actually tape it together with a butter.
Speaker 2:And it hurt. I was like gosh and it was my good foot, you know. So I was like oh, shoot, um, but I was younger so I was able to to deal with it and uh, but but I mean, like you don't realize, those little, those little bones in your feet are actually providing a lot of support and stability for you. So I mean even something that little like it, just it. It helps so much to show up for somebody and just say like hey, you're going through this thing, like you know. Do you need some help? Can I help you with anything around the house? Can I help provide you a meal, just like anything. And I wish I had any sort of support whatsoever.
Speaker 1:I would say that, even with the help.
Speaker 1:So I know, like I said, for the most part we we feel like we're a burden or we don't want to ask for help, we don't want to disrupt.
Speaker 1:But also, what I learned too, is it was hard for me to ask for help because I allowed for pride to take over.
Speaker 1:I was too prideful to ask for help because I wanted to be seen as someone who was strong, as someone who was independent, as someone who didn't need help, like I could do this type of thing. And I had to understand and and learn that valuable lesson that I had to let go of pride and that there's nothing wrong with asking for help or there's nothing wrong with sharing, that I can't do this alone, like I need someone to be there for me when I can't be there for myself, type of mentality. And that takes a lot for us to get to that point. So, yeah, at some level it is because we don't want to inconvenience people, but also, at the same time, we ourselves don't want to see us or ourselves as a weak person, and I think that's where we get a lot of that confusion coming into play, that we're going to be seen as weak because we feel like in that moment we're a weak person and so we don't want others to confirm that what we're already thinking.
Speaker 1:And so we realized that it was around that time that I started to learn about God and scripture and stuff, and and in that scripture is where we I learned that you know, when we are weak, god is there to provide us the strength. And I remember my favorite verse in the Bible was Philippians 4.13, where it says I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. And that is that one scripture that kind of really helped me and taught me that I wasn't a weak person. I just needed someone else to be strong for me during that time in my life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I guess I wouldn't say I felt prideful, but I was definitely embarrassed. And I have to say I've noticed that I kind of demonstrate a pattern of this type of behavior. Not that I intend to, but when I actually had my car accident and was in the hospital, I had very few visitors. The first two weeks. I had some visitors because I was in a local. I had very few visitors the first two weeks. I had some visitors because I was in a local regional hospital before I got transferred. And when I got transferred to a different hospital it was like two hours away. I seldom had visitors and so I was by myself a lot and I was remember I'm 16 years old, so I and I had many surgeries.
Speaker 2:So I really dealt with that alone in some respects and my parents couldn't even offer the emotional support I needed because my mom was like devastated that I was in the hospital and so she would break down and cry in front of me and I basically have to say, mom, you're not helping me right now.
Speaker 2:And I'd have to like kind of kick her out of my room because she's crying in front of me and I basically have to say, mom, you're not helping me right now and I'd have to like kind of kick her out of my room because she's crying in front of me and I'm like I'm barely able to keep it together for my own self.
Speaker 2:So I just kind of had that pattern of behavior of when I'm really dealing like in the sick of something like and you know, for me it's been physical pain. I just am accustomed to dealing with it on my own, even if I'm struggling and I need the help. And as a mom I certainly, you know, would wish to have a little bit more of a community in that sense, because I still feel kind of like a newbie in the town that I live in and I'm going on seven years, but I'm super involved in the community. Like I just kind of keep to myself and that's not really like me, but I've just had a struggle of trying to find, like, who my friends are and stuff.
Speaker 1:So I didn't, I didn't know who I could turn to to be honest, I don't know, in sharing your journey, what, what would be some of the lessons that you've learned along the way that you would want to share with the audience today.
Speaker 2:I would definitely say that, no matter what you do, you do have the inner strength. You can be weak, but still have that strength, and if God provides that strength for you, that is wonderful. Don't don't ever lose hope. I didn't know how strong I really was and until, like, looking back after, like I really don't. I guess in some sense I still kind of don't see what other people see when I tell them my story, but I'm like, well, I guess I did do that. Like don't, don't discount yourself and your ability, but also like, yeah, ask for help, give give people a chance to fail. Um, you know, I know it's hard to to ask for any help at all, and especially if you know you're, I mean even if it's a an emotional struggle. Just try to let people in on that and be a little vulnerable, because it's you never know. You know you may be surprised and maybe somebody offers you that support that you need. So I think that's the most important thing.
Speaker 2:How important this brace was, how impactful it has been in giving me a second chance at life, is really how it feels like. If I may say its name, it's called an exosim and a hanger clinic. There's like hanger clinics around the U? S, but this particular hanger clinic in Giga Harbor, washington, is the only one that makes it, and and there are other devices like it. I've actually, you know, been told that there's a couple other devices that are similar to this, but they're not designed exactly the same, so they might work for other people as well, depending on what their conditions are. But I just know that Exosim for me has been like a godsend really. It's given me a new lease on life, because it actually is like a hybrid prosthetic orthotic device, and so it fully supports my weight, and so that's the prosthetic piece. It supports my weight. I have my limb, but it supports, supports my weight and um, so that's the prosthetic piece. It supports my weight, I have my limb, but it supports my full weight, um, so I don't have to uh struggle when I'm walking. So I I actually use this device like all day long. Some people maybe only need it for a few hours. I I need to wear mine all day, um, as I, as long as I'm walking and standing. But it has helped me so much.
Speaker 2:And, yeah, I'm still like slowed down on some level because it's not like strapping on your shoes and like you go, you still have to be cognizant of your muscle movements and everything. So it almost feels like physical therapy every day. It almost feels like physical therapy every day. So I have to just accept that my, my new normal is I'm slowed down a little bit and and that's okay, because I did used to think like I I kind of was upset with my body, like, oh, you betrayed me, you know, but really my body was like. My body was like, hey, you know, we carried you for 20 plus years, like we just we've done the best we could. Like all my parts, you know, especially my ankle, like it did the best it could, um, in those 20 years plus, and it gave it it's all. Now it's time to give it a break.
Speaker 1:You know I'm, I'm. I'm just so glad that I was able to just meet with you and speak to you about all of this, because you know I'm, I'm pretty sure that there is a mohat out there that's really listening and probably going through a very similar situation as yourself. Perhaps need to know that they're not alone, that they're, they're someone else that is going through something very similar to what you're going through and you're opening up that door for someone else to come and speak to you when you didn't have that for yourself. I always say that we need to be the women that we wish we could. You know we could, we need it. You know, I, actually I try that.
Speaker 2:I try to do that. I, you know, when someone has a death in their family or anything, I, I actually like I sign up for the meal train. I do all of that because for me, I wanted. I know how, how hard it is to ask for help, so I just want to just say like, okay, I'm going to do this for you so you know they don't have to ask someone feel better. But I, I'm like you actually, I I genuinely mean it, because I don't, I won't just tell, I don't just tell anyone, um, like, hey, you can call me or text me at any time. Those people that I tell that to, I actually um, have a special alert for so that if my phone's on do not disturb their, their notification will still go through. And I cause, I genuinely mean it, I care about you that much.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you so much. I don't know Cause we're running out of time, but thank you so much for taking the time to share your story, um, to share the lessons that you've learned, and I, you know, I commend you because I personally, during those times of COVID, I had to experience being a stay-at-home I mean, well, stay-at-home mom doing the homeschooling, because I used to be a stay-at-home mom and I absolutely loved it, but I wasn't a homeschooling mom and that drove me up the wall, because in those areas I am not the most patient person at all as a mom.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely. You know you need something. I'm going to be there, I'm going to support you, but when it came to teaching, that was not my area. I said God did not give me the heart to teach and that was a struggle for me, but we got through it and we, we made it work and so I learned a lot of valuable lessons. So I commend you for just that alone, thank you, to have the energy to get up, to have the energy to be there for your parents and then to be a homeschooling mom, like I can't even imagine all that you were going through during that time. But I want to just say kudos to you for that. Thank you. You are definitely what you know, we, we say when, when I talk about mommy's on a mission, you know, and it's not so much about moms, because I have this, I share that a lot. You know, mommy, and for the Latina community, mommy is a mujer that is capable and willing to do anything you know beyond and more Well, it's like a term of endearment.
Speaker 1:It is a term of endearment you know and so, but it also for me, it signifies you know, because every day we don't know what struggle or what we're going to have to go through, right, and sometimes it can seem so impossible to achieve, but when we do have the community, when we do have the support, when we're able to ask for help, that's what it's all about. It's about coming together and building that community, and so I'm so thankful that you were able to share your experience with us, share your journey of what you've been having to overcome throughout your adult life, overcome throughout, you know, your adult life. And just to say that, if there's anyone that heard this episode today, if you feel like you resonated with this, please share it with another woman. Please share, it can benefit from it as well. And if there is anyone out there who wants to reach out to you, alma, how can they do that?
Speaker 2:do that. Well, I love Instagram and I actually do share my mobility journey. I have actually two Instagrams. I have my, my normal one, with, like, I post my family stuff or whatever, my artwork and all that stuff, so that one's called at the firecracker D, and then my, my mobility journey is called at exosynstagram because it, you know, it's a, it's a play on the Instagram plus the device I have which is exosyn.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for joining me today. Um, it was such a pleasure speaking with you and I'm so, uh happy for you and you know. Continue on with your journey, continue to share your story and maybe one day you'll be willing and wanting to write a book and share it with the world.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:You know, yeah, yeah, you know. So any last words.
Speaker 2:Oh, yes, no, just thank you so much. It's been an honor to be on your podcast because I've been listening I'm listening in chronological order and I love every single episode. It just really does speak to me, and so, ladies, if you only just catch this one, go back and start from the beginning. Your podcast is wonderful. I love it. So I honestly it's just an honor to even be to be represented in your podcast as well. I'm pretty stoked, thank you for that.
Speaker 1:All right, ladies. Well, this is the end of the episode. Once again, please share this and I'll see y'all next Saturday on the Mommy on a Mission podcast. I'll see y'all next Saturday on the Mommy on a Mission podcast. If you are hearing this message, you've listened to the entire episode and for that I want to say me gracias from the bottom of my heart. If you would like to dive deeper into today's message and would like to connect with me, send a DM on Instagram, at HolaMommyOnAMission, or Facebook at MommyOnAMission. You can also find me at MommyOnAMissioncom. I hope you've enjoyed this new episode and if you did, it would mean the world to me if you would subscribe, share this podcast and leave me a review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tune in next week for some more words of motivation, inspiration and encouragement on Mommy on a Mission podcast.