You have 8 near death experiences in 3 days. Yes, you read that correctly. Hi, let me introduce myself. My name is Allison. I was born with athetoid cerebral palsy(CP) and have been a disability advocate from day 1. My faith and the color purple(the actual color purple that is, although the movie is good as well-just ask my sister who can recite the entire movie by heart) are two pillars in my life. In December 2014, I had an experience, 8 to be exact, that propelled me to change my life dramatically.
In 2011, I graduated from MIT with a PhD in economics. I landed my dream job, was living independently in a beautiful, accessible apartment and had a wonderful support system. Then slowly, ever so slowly, my health began to change. This culminated in a serious illness in December 2014 that resulted in 8 near death experiences in less than 1 week. I don’t know about you but, “near death” is about as near to death as I want to get for several decades!
So, with a newfound courage and a deeper understanding of the Divine, I took a leap of faith and let go of my “dream” job to focus on my health: mind, body and spirit. Now, as someone with a typical Type A personality, who is very goal oriented, switching from a career path with clearly delineated markers of success to the unknown was scary, to say the least. But the alternative, battling for my life, dependence on prescriptions to remain remotely stable, and the inability to partake in all things(say it with me) purple, was simply unthinkable.
As I started on this path, I began to explore various opportunities and modalities I never tried before, or that I had only tried as a child, and began to uncover things about myself I hadn’t given much thought to. I have begun to learn so much by applying my well-honed research skills to, well, me! I started sharing what I was learning and discovering with friends and family. A few months ago, several people suggested I start a blog to share this journey with others. I was unsure about that idea, mainly because I don’t know where the journey is going… Can you write a blog about something that is unfolding as you write? I have finally come up with my answer… Yes. Here we go!
