lystn

Lindsay tells the story of her husband going into cardiac arrest in the ICU a few weeks ago.  So much packed into this episode that we think will be interesting and valuable to you. 

Lindsay talks about these lessons learned (and more)… 

-Family is amazing, the best! 

And you can double that feeling by finding friends who become your family too. 

-When it comes to your health and the health of those you love, you have to always ask questions and lean into how you feel.  Not because anyone isn’t doing their best, but because everyone has their own set of experiences and you aren’t their only patient.  Must listen to your body, and must keep pushing for answers and get more people involved if you aren’t moving in the right direction. 

Go in to the doctors at the first sign of something weird, don’t wait. 

-The little things don’t matter. 

where attention goes, energy flows.  Anytime anything annoying or negative came up, I told myself, nope, we don’t have the bandwidth for that. No attention goes there. 

It’s amazing how powerful this is in protecting your mental headspace (which I’m all about).

-Positive thinking heals you faster. 

When things were going downhill quickly last Thursday, I told all his doctors… we aren’t telling him anything he doesn’t need to know today.  They were trying to figure out why his organs were failing quickly but as more bad news came in, I had them tell me, not him. Because if you are told you are getting worse, you believe it and your thoughts become that.  But if you’re told you are on the path for healing, you believe that and that becomes your reality. 

-Train daily to be tough. 

I haven’t always been good under pressure but this time I was. And to be honest I’m proud of myself. 

I’m proud that I didn’t crumble and was able to stay strong in the most heartbreaking moment I’ve ever been faced with… and to get the right people there to help him and then be ready to support him. 

-You can control your thoughts. 

As I’ve needed to really put on my big girl pants and be strong this week, I’ve realized how much you can actually control your thoughts. The minute I would get to where I could lose it totally I thought, we aren’t going to go there right now.  And I stopped, no crying or replaying all of the what-ifs. 

I still believe in feeling alllll the feelings and getting it all out (if you listen to my podcast you know this)… but I also know there’s a time that it can serve you and times when it doesn’t.  When it’s a time that doesn’t, controlling your thoughts can be the most powerful thing. 

-Love your people hard. 

After each procedure and scan and episode, I hugged and kissed Craig so hard and told him how much I loved him.  Over and over.  

It made me think about doing this more.  I never want to get too caught up in routine that I skip over kissing my peoples faces and hugging them and telling them how much they mean to me.  Even if they already know ❤️

Answering questions! 

-what did you tell the kids and how did they handle it?

-how did you take care of the kids?

-how can he prevent it from happening again?

-what were the warning signs?

-what gifts did friends give that were helpful or what did they do?

-how did you keep the emotional exhaustion from wiping you? I would be curled up in bed

-As an ICU nurse, I’d love to hear what you found helpful and not helpful with nurses 

-what’s craigs long term prognosis 

-How are you holding up?

-How you kept from falling apart when he was in the hospital

-Did you feel comfortable leaving him alone in the hospital?

-What heart irregularities was he born with? 

-Have some wisdom for food in a crisis, I feel like you weren’t eating McDonalds. 

-How much did you tell each of your kids and how did you keep your composure?

-Who took care of the kids during that time? 

-How do you manage being strong for your kids while also being emotional and scared?

-How you advocate for him without seeming rude or overreactive?

-what is top strategy you used to stay calm and strong?

-How to navigate check-ups and hereditary stuff

-how do you balance taking care of kids, Craig and yourself during this time 

-how do you not live in fear after?

-the initial stage when you aren’t sure whats happening and have to trust the doctors 

-how to radiate down to earth positivity always but handle life when it gets so scary

-do you keep all the info organized in a book?

-how to balance internet research of it 

-how can you have a plan in place for emergencies like this? 

-What is his health plan moving forward? 

CHEERS to your good health and happiness!