My husband and I found Lifebook in January of 2018. He had been diagnosed with CIDP, and we believed he was on the road to recovery, and that Lifebook was a great way to celebrate and move forward with our lives. Little did we know, that over the next year, Lifebook would become more to us than just another class: it would not only change our lives, but provide us with a lifeline to get through one of the most challenging times of our lives.
As we created our Lifebooks and Life Vision, we were so excited to dive deep and take a good look at the categories in our lives. It was very hard for me to figure out my purpose, and strategies in many of the categories, but I persevered and did it. My husband kept it short, sweet, and simple, and seemed to power through. As we made it through to VIP status, we found that we were hesitant, mostly due to funding and medical bills, but it felt really important and gave us a purpose, especially as my husband’s neuropathy began to take a downturn.
In July of 2018, my husband was diagnosed with POEMS Syndrome, and his health began to deteriorate rapidly. And despite all this, if you looked at my Lifebook scores, I was still living an extraordinary life. Why? Because Lifebook gave me the tools to create the strategies to handle it. Instead of freaking out or freezing up (as was my past pattern), Lifebook taught me to be creative, figure out what worked best for me and my family, and to look at our situation in a new light.
It enabled me to be flexible and create new strategies where needed that best served me and my family. How was I able to best support my husband through this challenge? How could I be the best parent in this situation? The techniques in the Emotional category enabled me to be supportive, keep a healthy outlook, and keep on going. Looking at our relationship through the Lifebook lens enabled us to get creative when his energy was waning, and helped me to look at my own self and go in 100%. The Financial category was so beneficial when the medical bills were coming in. I knew that I needed to maintain good health, so that I could be there for my husband.
We have been Lifebook members for over a year now, and thankfully, his results are pointing to recovery. Our lives are still filled with unknowns, and he still has another year at least for the neuropathy to continue to heal. One day, we hope to meet Jon and Missy in person, to be able to hug them and thank them for their decision to create Lifebook – because it has been that integral and influential in our lives.
People always ask us, how are you managing to stay so positive through this? How have you managed to get through this without giving up? How in the world are you dealing with this the way you are? The answer: Lifebook.