I have this feeling that I am NOT the only person who has felt broken a time or two on this human journey. A bit over a year ago I shared my birth story in several parts on social media and wanted to share a part of this story here.

I had fallen and broken my right lower leg a week before my due date with my first baby in August 2008. So I delivered him with a large and heavy cast and had a pretty rough delivery. It was in the few hours after delivery that things really got REAL.

At some point, I realized that I had a very full bladder, thanks to the IV drip and needed to get up to go to the bathroom. So with my amazing hubby’s help, he got my crutches and started to help me stand up. Things went as well as could be expected with a ton of stitches down there, a core that was offline, and a heavy cast on my right leg when it happened.

COMPLETE loss of bladder control. ???? Yup. I was NOT OK. Things were NOT working down there and to make matters worse, I was hopping on one leg with crutches.

[Here’s a little pelvic health fact: hopping on one leg with a pelvic floor that is shot is not the best way to get around.]

I had feared having bladder and potty issues after the delivery, and here I was FACING this reality whether I liked it or not.  Tests were done of my bladder soon after and they found that it was not exactly working well at that time. This REALLY should NOT have been a surprise.  After all, I had been PUSHING for 3 ½ HOURS. Sorry bladder. I guess you got burned in the process too.

At that point, I TRULY felt BROKEN.

And I had every right to FEEL that way.  But THIS is where having been a physical therapist was a good thing at that point in my life.

• I had helped MANY other people recover from FAR WORSE in hospitals, outpatient clinics, etc get better and even to a place that was BETTER than they were BEFORE their injury. 

• I KNEW that the human body is amazing and has the capacity to HEAL and ADAPT.

• I knew that I was NO DIFFERENT and also had the capacity to heal.

THIS is what kept me from going to a dark place and feeling bad for myself for more than a few moments at a time.  And who are we kidding? I also had a newborn that DEMANDED my attention 24/7, so I didn’t exactly have much time to wallow in self-pity.

Fast forward to today, where I have helped countless women over the last decade heal from their birth injuries, resolve bladder issues, improve prolapse symptoms, help women regain their core strength, and get them back to living their life.

Often, when I start working with a client, they start at a place where they feel broken as well and honestly a mixture of scared and frustrated. But as we transition from day one where I do a thorough assessment and we discuss all that is going on to making a plan and focusing on the SOLUTION, their outlook changes. Their MINDSET CHANGES.

• Instead of a list of PROBLEMS, we see OBSTACLES to tackle.

• Instead of BROKEN, we see EVOLVING.

• Instead of feeling scared, not understanding what is going on or what can be done, we see EMPOWERED by understanding the problem and seeing a PATH TO HEALING.

As crazy as it may sound, I feel HOPEFUL for my client when I can make a good list of things that need to and CAN BE CHANGED.

• A WEAK muscle can be STRENGTHENED.

• UNCOORDINATED core and pelvic floor muscles can LEARN.

• POOR HABITS can be UNDONE.

• A nervous system in FIGHT OR FLIGHT MODE can be CALMED.

• A person without an arsenal of SELF CARE STRATEGIES can gain them.

It may be easy to see that for me, helping my fellow human is like a drug. The process of helping others to heal and evolve to a better place is one of the best sources of joy that I have ever found (besides my family of course!).

Helping women to realize that they could heal themselves is a priceless gift in the midst of a society that continually tells us that someone else or something else is the only solution to healing. But I’ve learned otherwise and seen it firsthand over and over.

The work that it takes to get there is never easy. In the hustle and bustle of life, making changes and working on ourselves is going to take commitment. ALWAYS. But it is ALWAYS WORTH IT.

YOUR BODY IS AMAZING and was MEANT TO HEAL. Meant to have the capacity to GET STRONGER.

If you are currently feeling broken and are not sure what you can do, I encourage you to have the courage to connect with a person that can help you heal. You won’t regret it when you are on the other side, realizing that you have moved well beyond that person that felt broken. Ready to continue enjoying this life.