Jen's Perspective Blog

This is me — My last trip to a beach. I never liked it that much anyway.

You’ve heard the saying, “life is short.”. I can atestt to that. I started this blog to share my experiences with the world. At 32, I was married, with a pretty good job even in a bad economy. I focused on my career, paying the bills, and trying to divide my left over time between sleep and my family. After a burst brain aneurysm, I woke up in the hospital and learned I just lost two months of my life. Very close to not waking up again and very lucky to be able to function close to normal.

I lost my income, job, independence, health and my ability to do some very simple tasks like drive. I decided to make some changes. I’ve never neglected my family, but they did not always get priority. I decided to speak out. In the months leading up to this I was at 4 doctors appointments for what what we thought was just high blood pressure. I only learned later about the statistics that said because I was a woman, slightly overweight, and a smoker, I was in a high risk category. Did you know 1 in every 5 women will suffer a similar fate?

After all the ups and downs I came out extremely lucky. While I cannot physically handle driving or even my old line of work, I’ve refocused my life. I strive to make positive, lasting moments. Never leave things unsaid and spread as much joy as possible. I try to remind the world through my works that time is precious gift, and warm memories are the only things that travel with you.