My First Ladies' Luncheon by Felicia

“My name is Felicia, I am relatively new to the clubhouse, and recently went to my first ladies’ luncheon. My injury was sustained three years ago during a surgery to remove a brain tumor. What was supposed to be a routine 3-5 hour procedure resulted in a massive right hemisphere stroke, five additional surgeries, left-sided paralysis, a medically induced three week coma, seizures, and the bleak prognosis of “at best, she’ll be a vegetable!” An emergency transfer to the top rehabilitation hospital in the nation specializing in spinal cord & brain injury rehabilitation all of which I had to be told about, when I woke up. I thought I was in the recovery room from the initial brain surgery, when in reality the aforementioned had occurred, I could not breathe, eat or walk on my own and had to relearn how to do each  so “ I woke up like this”  has a much deeper meaning to me than Beyoncé’s superficial  vain and  “flawless” message. In my former life, as I refer to my life pre-stroke I worked with several private practice  OB/GYN offices as a phlebotomist that was requested by everyone.  One of the bonuses of working for a private practice in the healthcare field is the many delicious lunches and on occasions dinner outings provided by the pharmaceutical reps it was during these times that staff became more than just coworkers and could enjoy each other’s’ friendship relating through OMG!-stories about the husband, children,  and past life experiences, These friendships   showed up strong during my injury and were one of the best supports  throughout recovery. The ladies’ luncheon reminded me of those fun times and the beginning building blocks of great friendships I look forward to attending many more!”]]>