There’s a moment many caregivers reach where they realize they don’t feel like themselves anymore. That moment changed everything for me.

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 and 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. 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 and 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.

I called my Employee Assistance Program to schedule therapy but 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 wasn't helping anyone.

What I learned about the space between surviving and truly living

I later found language for what I had been doing most of my life.

Not just getting through hard moments, but building the ability to meet them before they took everything out of me.

That’s what I now call Prosilience.

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 share 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 transplants, a decade of family caregiving and countless medical crises
• Professional training: Certified Personal Resilience Practitioner and Prosilience Coach
• 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 here with a perspective shaped by years of doing this work in real life.

I also work with health systems, nonprofits, and organizations supporting family caregivers through speaking and workshops.

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 themselves again.

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.

You don’t have to figure this all out today.

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...

Start with what’s draining you.

A short check-in to help you see where your energy is going and what might bring even a little relief.

Takes just a few minutes.