Last year, I almost lost my life.
That sentence still catches me.
Not because I am being dramatic, but because of how real — and how fast — it all happened. One moment, I was returning from my daughter’s wedding. I was still carrying the emotion of that beautiful day — the dance we shared, the joy of seeing her step into a new chapter. The next, I was lying in a hospital bed, with my organs shutting down and doctors preparing for emergency life-saving intervention.
No matter how strong you are, how prepared, how experienced — you do not walk through something like that unchanged.
And if you are wise, you do not walk away from it without sharing what you have learned.
This blog series is about that.
About what it means to begin again.
Not from the top — but from the truth.
From the moments that stop us, reframe us, and call us into deeper clarity.
This post is about one of the biggest lessons I had to learn and re-learn last year:
Health is not a backup plan. It is the foundation of everything.
When the Body Speaks Louder
It started like a lingering virus.
I developed a fever shortly after returning from the wedding. I thought it was the flu. I went to the doctor. I was told to rest, hydrate, and give it time. But after twenty days, the fever hadn’t lifted, and I knew something was wrong.
On the morning of April 6, I told my husband Graham, “Something is not right. We are putting a bandage on something that is more serious. It is time to take me to the hospital.”
That decision saved my life.
Once I arrived, things escalated quickly. Tests revealed that my organs were in the process of shutting down. Within hours, I was given blood transfusions and emergency treatment. Sequestered to quarantine.
Next came two weeks in the hospital — an experience that would permanently shift my view of health, leadership, and strength.
The Doctor’s Words
After I stabilized, one of the specialists on my case, Dr. LeTellier, came into my room.
I thanked him and his team for saving my life. For acting quickly. For knowing what to do when I could not advocate for myself.
He paused and said something I will never forget:
“Yes, we responded quickly — but what gave you a chance to survive was you. Your body. Your mind. Your foundation. The reason you are still here is because of your physical and mental strength.”
That stopped me.
It reframed the entire experience.
My first instinct was to feel betrayed by my own health — How could this happen to me, of all people? I worked out. I ate clean. I prioritized sleep. I meditated. I lived intentionally.
But that wasn’t the failure. That was the preparation.
I did not survive in spite of those habits.
I survived because of the habits.
When Leaders Ask, “Why Bother?”
I know I am not the only one who’s had that thought.
Maybe you’ve had it, too — after a diagnosis, a loss, or burnout.
You work hard to take care of yourself, only to find yourself face-down in a season that wipes you out anyway.
And you start to wonder:
- Why bother exercising, eating well, resting, and doing the inner work — if this can still happen?
- What’s the point of discipline if there are no guarantees?
- Why keep trying if even my best efforts don’t protect me?
Here is what I want you to know:
You do not take care of your health to guarantee that nothing will happen.
You take care of your health so that when something does, you are equipped to meet it.
That is not just semantics. That is survival.
Health Is Preparation, Not Insurance
In leadership, we prepare for everything — budget cuts, client losses, team transitions, market disruption.
But too often, we treat our health like an afterthought. A luxury. Something we will “get to” when the pressure eases.
But life doesn’t slow down just because you need it to.
And health is not something you can “catch up on” when crisis hits.
By then, it’s too late to build the foundation.
You either have it — or you don’t.
And I am telling you firsthand: the strength I had built before April 6 gave me the resilience to survive what happened.
That is not dramatic.
It is biological.
It is leadership.
What Strong Leaders Get Wrong
Joe Polish, a friend and thought leader, uses a metaphor that has stuck with me ever since I heard it:
“If you had a million-dollar racehorse, you would not run it into the ground. You would feed it well, rest it, protect it, and give it time to recover — because its performance depends on its condition.”
Well, you are the million-dollar racehorse.
And yet — how often do we treat ourselves like we are replaceable?
Skipping meals.
Running on adrenaline.
Calling five hours of sleep “enough.”
Brushing off warning signs and calling it dedication.
That is not leadership.
That’s neglect.
And eventually, it catches up.
If I hadn’t taken care of my body for years — even when it felt inconvenient — I don’t believe I would be here to write this.
This is not fear driven. It is responsibility.
One of the lies high-achieving leaders believe is that we can get away with it — the extra hours, the missed rest, the always-on lifestyle.
Because we are strong.
Because we have done it before.
Because people are counting on us.
But here is what I know now:
Strong doesn’t mean invincible.
Committed doesn’t mean self-abandoning.
Capable doesn’t mean immune.
The stronger you are, the more responsibility you have to protect your ability to lead — and that means protecting your health.
Not just for you, but for the people you lead, love, and serve.
Because when your health goes, everything else stops. Whether you like it or not.
The Shift in How I Lead
This experience didn’t introduce me to the importance of health – it reminded me of a truth I have believed and practiced for years.
Your health is not something to fit in after everything else is done.
I now see, more clearly than ever, that health is the system that supports everything else I do.
- Better decisions? Come from a regulated, rested body.
- Clearer thinking? Comes from less stress and more margin.
- Stronger relationships? Come from showing up fully present.
- Sustainable leadership? It is only possible when you are not constantly depleted.
This is not about perfection.
It is about responsibility.
And it starts with presence. With listening. With responding earlier.
Your body will always speak. The question is: how long will you wait before listening?
A Leadership Check-In
So let me ask you, leader to leader:
- What are you putting off in the name of performance?
- What has your body been trying to tell you that you have silenced?
- Where are you leading on fumes and calling it focus?
- And — if a health crisis came to your door tomorrow — would your body be ready?
- Would your life be ready?
These are tough questions.
But they are the right ones.
Action Steps: Leading with Health at the Center
Let me leave you with a few ways to re-center your leadership on what matters most — starting today:
1. Schedule your health like your most important meeting
Do not fit it in. Protect it. Your quiet time, your workout, your doctor appointment, your rest — these belong on your calendar.
2. Check your override reflex
Are you ignoring signals — fatigue, pain, stress — because they are “inconvenient”? Start treating those as information, not interruptions.
3. Build margin now
Do not wait for crisis. Create rhythms of rest, recovery, and nourishment that give you capacity for the next storm.
4. Say no without guilt
Sometimes leadership looks like boundaries, not busyness.
5. Remember: you are not replaceable
Your vision needs your vitality. Your people need your presence. Your future needs your health.
This Is How We Begin Again
You don’t need to get it perfect. You just need to get honest.
Health is not a reward for finishing your to-do list.
It is the foundation that makes your to-do list possible.
Start treating it that way.
This is how we begin again — with clarity, with courage, and with care for the one body we have been entrusted with.
You are the million-dollar racehorse.
Run like it.
Rest like it.
Live like it.
Coming up in the “How to Begin Again” blog series:
Blog Three — The Power of Community and Prayer: Healing Doesn’t Happen Alone.