It’s amazing how you can go about your daily routine and suddenly everything can instantly change. This is what happened to me…
It was hot, summer’s day and I was on my summer break. I was working in a local Catholic Primary school at the time and loved it.
I was feeling energetic and was in a productive frame of mind and so even though I am by no means a gardener by nature, I decided to tackle the rose bushes in the front of our house. Truth be told, I had been asking my partner to cut them down, but for one reason or another he hadn’t got round to it. So, I decided to take things into my own hands and do them myself. Besides, there’s only so much waiting around a girl can do.
I had bought some gardening tools from a local store and although these seemed pretty heavy, I thought they’d do the job, so off I went into the garden. Even the neighbour was surprised to see me as I got to work cutting down the stubborn rose bushes. He smiled as I continued, determined in my pursuit to clear these enormous rose bushes. I must admit it was a lot harder than I thought; particularly as I got to the lower branches, they were very thick in size and even with the heavy, metal tools took some effort. I could feel the pressure and the weight taking its toll. Nonetheless, I carried on.
I stopped to get a drink of water and found that my right hand was physically shaking so much that I could hardly hold the glass of water. It didn’t feel right. Before I knew it, my wrist had swollen up completely. I tried taking anti-inflammatory tablets and putting ice packs on it to ease it. I rested it for a while and realised that I needed to get it checked out by a medical professional and so off I went to the doctors. The doctor thought it was a sprain at first and referred me to hospital, they gave me a splint to wear and stronger painkillers. By this time, I was panicking because I realised that I was due back at the school to start the next term. I turned up wearing a splint and the headteacher sent me home. For the next few months it seemed I was in a constant process of trying to work with my hand and getting sent home because I simply couldn’t do much.
I kept seeing various doctors and after numerous tests was told that there was nothing they could do, an operation would be too risky, given the location of the damage. I saw at least three different doctors who confirmed this. I was devastated!
Not only was it so frustrating- not being able to do basic things, like washing my hair, dressing and cooking; but now it seemed I couldn’t work either. The school kept me on for a while, but eventually it came to the realisation that I could no longer work there because I simply couldn’t perform the duties. I mean I needed my right hand for everything as it was my dominant hand. I felt like my world had fallen apart, I felt helpless.
I kept going to physiotherapy session; funnily enough it was during one of these visits that I regained hope. I was sitting in the waiting room and I had bought myself a sparkly bracelet to cheer myself up after feeling down for so long. The receptionist complimented me on my bracelet. As I walked back home after that visit, I thought about this and it really uplifted me and made feel good. Later on, that evening it suddenly dawned on me that I wanted to make others feel just as special. I decided to start selling bracelets, so that’s what I did.
First, I sold a few to friends to see how they went. I had a positive reception and before I knew it I had a website and started selling more. The idea evolved from there and I focused more on wanting to make women feel special and so the business became a jewellery and accessories business for special occasions. Before I knew it, it began winning multiple awards internationally and my pieces started being featured in a number of popular publications.
I often think back and wonder if it hadn’t been for that accident with my hand I would never have taken the leap to build a successful business where I am helping others look amazing and feel fabulous.
What looked like a failure turned out to be a path to success.