Celebrating 12 Years of a Life Given Back: The Power to Choose
Twelve years ago, my life was spared—and I woke up to yours.
Before my accident, I believed life was about winning. Achieving. Doing. But the truth is, we are more than what we get done. We’re more than our accomplishments. We have a purpose far deeper than performance.
This blog post is a celebration. A reflection. A reminder that no matter how dark things may seem, you always have the power to choose.
Life Before the Crash: When Winning Was Everything
My identity was tied to achieving. Success in sports, business, and life drove me—but that drive was slowly killing me. I couldn’t see it until life brought me to a complete halt.
I share this story every year not to relive the pain, but to mark the miracle—and to remind you that you are not alone. We are not meant to merely survive. We are here to live fully.
The Accident That Changed Everything
A severe cycling crash left me in a coma with nine crushed ribs, a punctured lung, a separated shoulder, and a traumatic brain injury. I spent months in bed, relearning how to walk, talk, and even cut my own food.
Doctors weren’t sure I’d make it.
But I made a decision, deep in my soul: I would come back stronger.
Stronger than before the accident. Stronger than anyone expected.
And I did. Eight months into my recovery, my coach told me I was already stronger than before. The doctors had predicted three years to heal.
The Power to Choose
What made the difference?
It was the moment-by-moment decision to choose.
To choose what I believed.
To choose what I focused on.
To choose love.
To choose joy.
To choose to keep going.
Even in the darkest moments—even in a coma—our thoughts, our energy, and our spirit are at work. I believe my healing came through a mix of grace, faith, relentless support, a plant-based lifestyle since childhood, and the will to live.
But most of all, I believe it came from choosing to see purpose in the pain.
Life After Trauma: Living with Purpose
Since my recovery, I’ve committed my life to helping others wake up to their own purpose. To support high-achievers who feel stuck, lost, or overwhelmed by the very success they once craved.
Your life doesn’t have to be defined by striving. You’re here to be fully you.
We all have beliefs—many unconscious—that shape our results. When we get results we don’t want, those are invitations to examine what we believe. If you don’t like what’s showing up in your life, you have the power to choose something new.
You Are Enough. You Are Love.
Support has been my lifeline. Coaches. Mentors. People who’ve walked the road before me in business, sports, and life. We were never meant to do this alone.
We are created for connection, joy, peace, and love. And we are love—when we choose it.
You are enough—right now, exactly as you are. You don’t have to earn that truth. You simply have to believe it.
Your Mind Is Your Power
A brain injury nearly took my life. But I’ve discovered that the mind can also give life.
What you choose to think becomes what you believe. What you believe becomes what you live.
So choose. Choose wisely. Choose love. Choose truth. Choose YOU.
Wake up from the coma of doing and into the presence of being.
Be the change in your own life.
Step into your power.
A Final Word of Gratitude
One year after my accident, I stood surrounded by the people who saved my life—and I celebrated the simple, extraordinary gift of being alive.
Today, twelve years later, I still celebrate. I celebrate life, healing, and the power we all hold to transform our reality—one thought, one belief, one choice at a time.
You’re here for a reason. Don’t wait until it’s too late to find out what it is.
With love and purpose,
Debra