Inspiring Your Own Breakthrough, part 1
Greg Strom is an American writer, producer, and director. He is the creator of The Mile That Matters, a powerful influence for positive change. He is a great man and a wonderful friend.
"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality."
Plutarch, Greek philosopher
Karen Crespo entered a career in nursing because she wanted to spend her life helping people. After years of schooling, in 2011 she successfully practiced as a Registered Nurse at a prestigious Los Angeles hospital. But then, unexpectedly, Karen's health dramatically declined. The 30-year old woman was given a bleak diagnosis, and began receiving treatment for a severe form of bacterial meningitis, a life-threatening illness.
She was given a less than 10% chance of survival. In order to save Karen's life, doctors had no choice but to amputate all four of her extremities.
Karen visited a very dark emotional place after the surgery, saying, "Why did this happen to me? Why did I have to get sick? Why did they have to amputate all my limbs?" Doctors and nurses prepared her family and friends for what they presumed would be a dramatically shortened lifespan. But what they didn't account for was Karen's amazing resilience.
She survived two mild heart attacks, a blood clot in her brain, kidney and respiratory failure, and other complications. The bacteria was so aggressive Karen lost her nose in its entirety, part of her right ear, some hearing in both ears, her hair, her entire top lip, and had skin grafts on almost every part of her body.
When she finally opened her eyes after being in a coma for 15 days everything had changed. She and her loved ones realized that life would no longer be the same and that the road ahead would be long and challenging. After five months in the ICU, Karen moved in with her mother, who left her job to be Karen’s full time caregiver.
Life had become extremely difficult for this inspirational woman, but it still was no match for her spirit. She learned to use a wheelchair and access her kitchen and bathroom. She mastered how to drive a car, and focused on returning to work one day. As part of this amazing progress, a brand new, $80,000 pair of state-of-the-art prosthetic arms were especially fitted and customized, for Karen alone. The arms were very valuable to Karen as the next step in her journey to independence.
But Karen never received them. Because upon delivery, the box containing the advanced technology was stolen from her front porch - even though the items the thieves took were impossible for another person to use or even resell. They were made for the specific needs of one person alone: Karen Crespo.
'My independence got stolen off my doorstep," Karen said.
Sadly, despite many efforts made by Karen, her family and friends, the package was never returned. It wasn't insured by the shipper, and no signature was required when the package was delivered. The materials would not be replaced.
To be continued...
