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HOW DID ALL THIS GET STARTED?

Oh my goodness – where do we start?! Patti met Pam 31 years ago at a Lamaze class in Long Beach, CA. They have been close friends ever since! Pam was also friends with Leslie Hays, where in 1980 they worked together in Portland, OR. Pam has stayed close to each of us over the years, and most recently, as we BOTH experienced major disabilities. When Pam encouraged Leslie to come out for a Boston/Cape visit for a vacation in the  fall, she introduced us over lunch in the North End, known as Little Italy (ironic, but more on that later!) She knew we had each been through so much in our lives, and hoped that we could embrace our commonalities and also become friends.

As Leslie, a former high-functioning Director of Operations, stood in Patti’s living room telling her story from Directorship to Disabled and, unemployable over the past 5 years, Patti realized that we really did share a lot of similarities. Leslie had experienced three brain aneurysms in 2008. They only gave her a five percent chance of recovery after surgery, not to mention future probability of problems.  She has a bit of right side neglect, memory issues, and gets confused and disoriented when under pressure.    Patti could tell Leslie was sincere and offered her story/wisdom of what she had been through to connect and help her. At the time, Patti was only one year out from her stroke and just getting back to work, trying to align herself to who she knew as the old Patti and not accepting that the present Patti was different. Struggling with what was supposed to be happening in her life, she keep praying and chanting…get back to normal…back to normal…back to normal – you can do this! Little did she know that her normal was about to change drastically over the next year! Like Leslie, she had returned to work and about 10 months into it, her employer with confused and baffled looks (plus please don’t sue me in their eyes) said “nope, you’re not cutting it, you’re not the girl we hired, we have to let you go”. Surprised? No… not for Patti; she was suffering each moment trying to be THAT girl. Problem is she had no idea who THAT girl was anymore. Brain injuries are really weird. You actually look well, but your head is short circuited! It is similar to driving down a smooth road and then hitting speed bumps at 70 MPH, with your wheels ending up on the other side of the road! The outside of the car looks the same, only the passengers are asking what the hell just happened!? Also she had what is now known to me as left side neglect (thank you Pat G). She actually did not know her left side existed until she read my own story in someone else’s words – it feels like someone poured cement in her temple and is heavy down to my toes. She feels nothing, but can move it while concentrating… thanks to mirror therapy. And still can’t read new words. So, on March 24, 2014, Patti too was out of a job and did not know what to do! So she bought a cheap airline ticket to see her two friends Debbi and Paulette, figuring they will remind her of who she was.!?! Patti gets to the airport and breakdown in confusion in the United terminal. We are not talking about sobbing. This cry was coming from her toes, like a two year old! She was confused and lost. This had happened once before after the stroke. A TSA guy comes and helps her. The first guy turns to the handoff person on those little golf carts and says “this is a very nervous traveler be careful and gentle”. Patti almost laughed forgetting what she had just displayed in public.She had traveled for years on a weekly basis and cross county was nothing she was scared of! She arrives in California and stay for a few weeks. Upon her return Pam calls and says, “you remember Leslie – well she wants to go to Italy – you should go with her! She shouldn’t travel alone, nor should you! After Patti’s complete melt down in Logan airport, I knew that those traveling days alone were gone for me (mostly due to over stimulation) too! So here we go….why not? Leslie and Patti made a plan to go to Italy and both of us were ecstatic! Of course it didn’t end there! Leslie then makes a plan to take a house sitting job in Ecuador and asks if I’m game! Patti jumps on board. We had the time of our lives and managed this TOGETHER. What one of us struggles with, the other picks up the slack. While we were in Ecuador, we discussed the reality of …(since we will already be in Italy) extending our Italy trip. Why not??!! Long story short…we now have a trip booked to Rome, Paris, Normandy France then back to Tuscany….house sitting and watching pets! Follow us now to see how our lives change as we start to be the new version of ourselves and how this affects our loving families!