365 Days of Saying the Hard Stuff Out Loud

“From Get Your Affairs in Order” to “Keep Telling Your Story”

One year ago today, I started writing about something most people don’t walk away from—hospice.I spent two years there, caught in the in-between, told to prepare for the end.And yet … I’m still here.

That “impossible survival” became the foundation for everything I’ve written since.

In this past year of blogging, I’ve opened up about:

• The physical reality of heart failure—from severe swelling and breathlessness to nights I wondered if I’d see the next morning

• The emotional toll of being a hospice patient, stuck in that strange space between life and death

• The moment hope cracked the door open: a clinical trial called TRISCEND II, and a transcatheter valve called EVOQUE

• Living with an avocado-shaped heart—something that made my anatomy unique and nearly excluded me from treatment

• Black women dismissed in exam rooms and misdiagnosed for years—told their symptoms were “just anxiety”

• The fight to be heard in a system that often overlooks women, especially women of color

• My day-to-day with blood thinners, skin that tears easily, and adapting to the new normal of life post-hospice

• How I became a patient voice in innovation, bridging the gap between engineers and real-life patients

• And the hardest and most beautiful part—rebuilding a life from scratch with my husband Louis, as mutual caregivers holding each other up

I’ve opened up about my faith, my grief, my healing, and my fire for advocacy.And I’ve kept it real every step of the way—no fluff, no filters.

The response? Overwhelming.You all showed up.You said, “Me too.”You cried with me, shared with others, and helped build something powerful: a voice for the ones still fighting.

This blog has held my pain and my purpose. It’s where I found my voice again.And in doing that… I found you.

To every person who has read, shared, cried, or said “me too”—thank you.You’ve helped turn my second chance into something bigger than survival.

🗣️ If my story touched you, pass it on.Share the post that stayed with you.Tell someone who needs hope to start here.Help me keep breaking the silence.

Because I shouldn’t have had to fight this hard to live.And maybe—just maybe—your share could help someone else fight less.

#HospiceSurvivor #TricuspidValveAwareness #Inspiration #StillHere #Heart2HeartTalk #FromHospiceToHope #WomenAndHeartDisease #PatientVoice #BlogAnniversary #Love