The moment I realized I didn't feel like me anymore was the moment everything shifted.

I was doing everything right as a caregiver—managing appointments, making decisions, holding everyone together. I was the strong one, the reliable one, the one who had it all handled.

But somewhere in all of that love and dedication, I'd lost track of who I was underneath it all.

Maybe you know that feeling.

The day I stopped pretending I was okay

I was crying into my steering wheel when someone tapped on the window to check if I was okay. All I could do was wave them away and mouth "I'm fine." I couldn’t even find the oxygen or energy to speak.

The pain I was feeling then was deep. The kind of pain that lives in your bones. I can’t even remember the exact news I’d just gotten, but it brought me to my knees. I was overwhelmed, and I didn’t know how to keep going. I kept asking why.

I had loving, supportive family and friends willing to do anything for me, but I still felt completely alone in facing these challenges.

There was this ache, this deep-seated anxiety that wasn’t going away.

I called my Employee Assistance Program, scheduled therapy—the soonest they could see me was four weeks out—so I went to my primary doctor for anti-anxiety medication to help me at least breathe.

That moment changed me. Because I realized I wasn't fine. And pretending I was wasn't helping anyone—especially not the people I loved.

What I learned about the space between surviving and truly living

That's when I discovered something that changed everything: the difference between resilience and what I now call Prosilience.

Resilience is bouncing back after something hard happens. Prosilience is building strength before you need it—preparing yourself for the challenges you know are coming.

As someone with 30+ years of chronic illness experience and 10+ years as a family caregiver, I'd been practicing Prosilience without even knowing it. I just needed to understand how to teach it.

The path that led me to you

I became a Personal Resilience Practitioner and Prosilience Coach not because I had all the answers, but because I'd found a way through that actually worked. A way that didn't require waiting for life to get easier first.

My approach combines:

• Lived experience: Two kidney transplant, a decade of family caregiving, and countless medical crises
• Professional training: Certified Personal Resilience Practitioner and Prosilience Coach
• Trauma-aware approach: Understanding how chronic stress impacts caregivers at every level
• Evidence-based strategies: Tools grounded in resilience research and real-world application
• Real-world testing: Methods that work when you're maxed out, not when life is perfect

But here's what matters most: I'm not here as the expert with all the answers. I'm here as someone who's walked this path and wants to walk alongside you.

Why I do this work

I created The Carewell Circle, the speaking work, and everything I do because I believe this:

And you definitely don't have to earn the right to matter.

This work exists for the caregiver who's tired of being told to 'practice self-care' when they can barely find time to shower. For the person who loves someone so much they've forgotten to love themselves. For anyone who's ever wondered if they'll feel like them again.

When I'm not coaching or speaking

You'll find me:

• Enjoying life in Milwaukee with my husband and daughter
• Figuring out this whole 'two kidney transplants' thing one day at a time, one decade at a time
• Finding joy in small moments (a skill I had to relearn)
• Probably drinking too much iced coffee and not enough water
• Reminding myself daily that rest isn't earned—it's necessary

I share this because I want you to know: I'm not someone who has it all figured out. I'm someone who's learned to figure it out as I go. And that's exactly the kind of guide I think you need.

Ready to find your way back to you?

If my story resonates, if you're tired of carrying it all alone, if you're ready for support that doesn't ask anything more of you—I'm here.

Start wherever feels right: