#373: Wendy’s Inspirational Story: How 3 Near-Death Experiences Inspired Her Personal Growth Journey

Kevin Lowe: What's happening? And welcome back to another amazing episode here on Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

Kevin Lowe: Today, I have the pleasure of being in the studio with none other than the amazing Wendy Feldman.

Kevin Lowe: Wendy, welcome to the podcast.

Wendy Feldman: Oh, my gosh. Thank you. Thank you so much. So super excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah, well, Wendy, I'm excited to have you here. I'm excited to get to share your story.

Kevin Lowe: And I want to kick off our conversation today with a question of, we're going to obviously unpack all the different elements of your story the stuff you've gone through but given all that you've gone through in life where you sit today how would you describe the person you are today

Wendy Feldman: So we have an hour when 20 minutes what do we have like three hours because i don't know, you know today i am a very i think i'm a very different human than i was 20 years ago 30 years ago.

Wendy Feldman: And in the sense, I feel actually more, I'm 61 and I feel more myself, better in my own skin, just happier with who I am as a human, as a person, as a mom than I really have ever felt.

Wendy Feldman: And I actually look so forward to the future.

Wendy Feldman: And I know that sounds, could sound so, I don't want it to sound like looking through rose colored glasses because clearly there's so much in the world going on, but I really feel like I got 40 years ahead of me and I look at it in a, with a very different lens that I have in my life before.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. I love that very much. Well, I guess my next question is, is something that I'm going to say is, is a chapter of your life and that is cycling.

Kevin Lowe: How did you get started in, in, in cycling? Yeah.

Wendy Feldman: Thanks for asking that question. That was a very huge, as you know, that was a really big part of my life.

Wendy Feldman: So I started cycling, gosh, in probably 2003.

Wendy Feldman: And it was, you know, I always loved riding a bike.

Wendy Feldman: And so, but I got really into the, you know, I always loved riding.

Wendy Feldman: When I was in college at UC Santa Barbara, everyone rode their bikes around.

Wendy Feldman: So you had this cruiser bike, you know, your two wheel with no gears or anything.

Wendy Feldman: And that's how you got around town.

Wendy Feldman: You know, you just kind of went at night, middle of the night, whatever you're riding your bike around. And that was the mode of transport.

Wendy Feldman: So I always loved it then. And I kept going. When I lived in the city, I would ride over the Golden Gate Bridge on my mountain bike and do some mountain biking. I just loved this sport.

Wendy Feldman: But it was really like in 2003 when I wanted to get into road cycling.

Wendy Feldman: Very different, right? You're on a very lightweight bike with little tiny, skinny little tires, you know, and there's not much between the rubber of the tire and the road underneath you.

Wendy Feldman: It just became a passion of mine and I started riding and one of my really dear girlfriends that she used to race and so she and I would ride together and so one time we did this we did a hundred mile ride and you know it was a coordinated ride and I was on my still on my same mountain bike that was heavy heavy and she was on a racing bike and you know we're we did the whole ride and she I'll never forget she said to me I am so afraid free when you get a get a get a real road bike because I can't believe you

Wendy Feldman: did this on this on this tank it was it was the mountain bike I had since I was 20 you know so it was just like this jalopy it was a jalopy and I I remember we ended up you know you started at this high school where the race started where the ride started and Kevin we got back to the high school, I was so sick of that bike. I left it there. I said, I'm done with this bike.

Wendy Feldman: I just left it. I thought, I don't care who takes it. It was like, it's not an habit because it had taken me through so many rides.

Wendy Feldman: And I'm like, that's what I'm getting. So that's when I bought my first road bike. And then I just had the bug.

Wendy Feldman: I had the bug and I just, it was challenging.

Wendy Feldman: It was freeing. it was fun it was community i met so many neat people sometimes you'd go out you'd ride up beyond you know on the road on your own i'd go out for three or four hours during the day kids were at school and i'd go out in the day and i'd ride and i'd go out on my own a lot sometimes i'd ride with people but you always meet someone on the road you meet someone cycling on the back hills or back roads and i live in a place where you could just from my house jump on and ride for 75 miles You know,

Wendy Feldman: just go and a beautiful territory.

Wendy Feldman: But you meet people, you know, you just meet them, you sit and chit chat, you ride for a while together.

Wendy Feldman: They peel off, you peel off or you and you continue writing.

Wendy Feldman: And sometimes you become friends and you write again or you don't. You say goodbye.

Wendy Feldman: You never see them again. You know, it's just kind of a cool little world.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, I guess I can't help but hearing you just this idea of freedom in the cycling.

Wendy Feldman: Freedom.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Yeah. Amazing.

Wendy Feldman: Think total freedom yeah yeah yeah it was it was freedom in a sense of um i think just i it also you know connected me so much with nature and because in nature and out in the universe there is freedom it's open it's open territory right the sky's the limit i mean that's just the term you use but it's true i mean it's just vast it's open so you can get on the bike, the sky's the limit. You can go as fast as you want. You can go as slow as you want. You could ride with people. You could ride on your own.

Wendy Feldman: And when you're out there, you're just, you're literally right in touch with nature because you're, you're, you're riding right alongside the terrain.

Wendy Feldman: You're riding right alongside the beauty of the plants and whatever it is and the smells.

Wendy Feldman: And, and I just saw so many things that I might not ever even notice in a car, you know, just really cool.

Wendy Feldman: Very, very cool. A sport. Very cool.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah, absolutely. Now, did you ever get into racing or always just more enjoyment?

Wendy Feldman: Yeah, no, great question. No, I never got into racing. I rode with a lot of people that raced. And so I learned from them.

Wendy Feldman: And I would ride in big Peloton groups once a week.

Wendy Feldman: Usually I'd go on this coordinated ride. It's like usually 30 or 40 people.

Wendy Feldman: And these people were great.

Wendy Feldman: They were really good cyclists. So it was challenging for me because, you know, you're riding, your wheels are right on there.

Wendy Feldman: You know, and so it was, I learned a lot on how to cycle.

Wendy Feldman: I learned how to be a very strong, good cyclist, you know, how to climb and how to do all that. And, but yeah, no, it was purely enjoyment.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah, I love it. I love it so much. Now, during this time of cycling, before we ever even get to your own incidents, did you ever witness any crashes of while you were out with others?

Wendy Feldman: I really didn't. And I mean, I see people, never anything bad, let's put it this way.

Wendy Feldman: I mean, you might see people fall or, but never anything tragic that would have ever made me go, oh gosh, I mean, I was fearless and that's the weird, that's the crazy thing.

Wendy Feldman: There was a point where we would ride, we'd leave, you know, a group of us would go and we'd ride, like I said, 70, 80, sometimes a hundred miles in a day.

Wendy Feldman: And we would ride through traffic. We'd ride along trucks.

Wendy Feldman: I mean, you just, you know, you're, cause you had to cut through certain towns, you know, you'd be cut through down, you know, you're obviously, you're going that far.

Wendy Feldman: You're clearly, I don't live in a rural area. so you are with cars and you're at stop signs and your stop lights and you got to keep up with traffic and I just you kind of weave in between I never I just was fearless it didn't I don't know it didn't phase me I guess I just I felt so one with it and um so no I did not to answer a question on that didn't even witness my own first because I was unconscious so so I didn't see that yeah I I even missed that one.

Wendy Feldman: I even missed my own classic, you know, classic me. Funny.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Yeah. Well, would you mind talking through that?

Kevin Lowe: Because I know that, correct me if I'm wrong, that we're going to be talking about today.

Kevin Lowe: You had three different kind of near-death experiences in the span of eight years, correct?

Wendy Feldman: Two was road cycling. One was not. But yes.

Kevin Lowe: Okay. So talk to me about this first one.

Wendy Feldman: So the first one was on may 21st 2013 so you know i know you've talked in in a previous podcast about you know traumatic anniversaries and so i always know the dates of all of them i will never forget the dates so yeah it was a tuesday morning and oddly enough the night before so i was going through a difficult time in my in my marriage and we were married 20 years and the night before we My ex-husband and I had, at the time we were married, we had broken up and separated and we kind of had gotten back together.

Wendy Feldman: And the night before, the day I crashed, we had a pretty big disagreement and realized this is just, it's not going to work anymore.

Wendy Feldman: And so next morning I woke up and I used to, you know, never question getting on the bike. It's like, yeah, just get on the bike and go.

Wendy Feldman: And that morning I really questioned. I thought, I don't know if I should ride today.

Wendy Feldman: It's like, I was really upset, really emotionally, not in a good state.

Wendy Feldman: And but I thought on the other side I thought well maybe it'll clear your head you know it's maybe a good and I really grappled I stood there in the garage next to my bike going should I really ride today or should I just take a pass and I opted to ride and so I got up you know I went up on the hills behind her I live you know we always riding up in the Berkeley hills right above the Berkeley campus it's gorgeous up there beautiful and I'm riding along and actually passed a couple of riders I knew kind of waved to them.

Wendy Feldman: And shortly after I saw them, I went down this hill that I'd never gone down.

Wendy Feldman: It was very, very steep descent. I had climbed up it. So I knew how hard it was, but I'd never gone down it.

Wendy Feldman: And I turned to go down it. And again, at the top, I was kind of thinking, should I go that way or should it take the longer way home?

Wendy Feldman: And I thought, no, I kind of want to get home. I'll just take this shortcut.

Wendy Feldman: And I went down this road. And as I was going down the road.

Wendy Feldman: I started to pick up speed. And this cyclist came up behind me.

Wendy Feldman: And when you're cycling, someone will let you know they're coming up and they yell out on your left to let you know there's someone coming up.

Wendy Feldman: And he must have said it twice because I didn't hear it the first time.

Wendy Feldman: So I must have been really in my own world. And he screamed it and jostled me. And I thought, oh gosh.

Wendy Feldman: And he went by very fast. And so I kept riding.

Wendy Feldman: And I realized at that point that I was just kind of in my own world.

Wendy Feldman: I wasn't really focused on the road.

Wendy Feldman: So as I kept going down the descent, I started picking up a lot of speed and had a Garmin, you know, you had this little monitor on my bike.

Wendy Feldman: And I remember it saying about 40 miles per hour.

Wendy Feldman: And that was about the last time I remember much because all of a sudden I looked up and I went down a very, there was a very steep part of the hill that I didn't even know was there.

Wendy Feldman: It took a deep drop and he had stopped, this other cyclist had stopped at the bottom of that little hill where there was a stop sign.

Wendy Feldman: I had no idea there was a stop sign there. And there was a bunch of pine needles.

Wendy Feldman: And I, which you're not supposed to do, I slammed on the brakes, but it was such instinct.

Wendy Feldman: Jammed on the brakes. Bike like went, you know, in my head, the bike fishtailed because it started to swerve on the pine needles.

Wendy Feldman: And all I remember is literally everything went into this very, very odd, like a slow motion in a movie.

Wendy Feldman: And I literally screamed out, I'm going to die. This is it.

Wendy Feldman: And I swore and I said, I'm dying. And that was the last thing I remember.

Wendy Feldman: And thank goodness he was there because he heard me fall.

Wendy Feldman: I just went flat over. I didn't fall off the bike. I just, cause I had stopped, you know, I don't know about the slow motion. That must've been, maybe that was my brain.

Wendy Feldman: I have no idea, but I just went flat over to my left and slid on the road.

Wendy Feldman: And he, fortunately for him, he stopped, he looked back and he was like, oh my God. So he screamed.

Wendy Feldman: He didn't even have cell phone at the time. So he yelled, call 911.

Wendy Feldman: We were up in the hills and there's botanical gardens up there.

Wendy Feldman: And he heard the landscapers because he heard the blower.

Wendy Feldman: So he knew there were people there. So he started screaming, call 911.

Wendy Feldman: I was unconscious. And he took his bike and he literally threw his bike about 15 feet behind me because the road, because cars come down the road.

Wendy Feldman: So where I was lying in the middle of the road was around a corners if a car was coming down they wouldn't even had time to stop they so he put his bike back there it was kind of like a flare to say stop you know then he was able to call they were called for help and it turned out i was they put me in an ambulance and because i was in we were in kind of a dreary tree covered area and the helicopter could not land there so they had to put me in an ambulance to take me to to take me around the bend where there

Wendy Feldman: was a more of an open clearing where the helicopter could land.

Wendy Feldman: I don't even remember that.

Wendy Feldman: I had no recollection of the ambulance. Then when I did wake up, though, the first sound I heard was the blades of the helicopter going around.

Wendy Feldman: I couldn't open my eyes. They were stuck shut. I was in pain. I was cold.

Wendy Feldman: I found out I was cold because they had to literally cut all my clothes off of me because...

Wendy Feldman: My eyes were puffing up so black and blue and my ears, I was bleeding out of my ear and down my neck.

Wendy Feldman: They thought that I was totally hemorrhaging out of my brain.

Wendy Feldman: So that's why they were like rushing to the hospital, right?

Wendy Feldman: So that's when I woke up and I remember waking up and hearing these sounds and hearing people talking and saying, get this, do this, do this.

Wendy Feldman: And the first words out of my mouth, the first words out of my mouth were I said, I need to go. I need to pick up my kids at school.

Wendy Feldman: Someone's got to get my kids. It was the first thought in my head was, who's going to get my kids to school?

Wendy Feldman: And then the next thing I knew, I was being strapped onto a plank.

Wendy Feldman: So we're putting you onto a plank. We're going to load you into a helicopter.

Wendy Feldman: You're on your way to the nearest trauma center.

Wendy Feldman: And then from there, I was in and out of consciousness. It was, you know, so that was the first one.

Wendy Feldman: That was the first one. It was rough.

Kevin Lowe: Wow. That is really traumatic.

Kevin Lowe: Did you ever get in contact with that cyclist who had been there that day

Wendy Feldman: Yes i did i did that's such a good question i did because i wanted to know what happened and i'm trying to think oh i think because i had no idea what happened right imagine i get to the hospital i'm there for seven days no idea what had happened and nobody did you know and so i was like basically a jane doe when i I got to the hospital because what happened is, you know, when you're cycling, you have a jersey and your cycling jersey has little pockets in the back.

Wendy Feldman: And that's where you put kind of your stuff.

Wendy Feldman: You don't have anything else on your bike. You don't have a back.

Wendy Feldman: You don't have anything.

Wendy Feldman: And they had cut my clothes off. And so the police, the police that show up to the scene, they take all your belongings with you.

Wendy Feldman: So they had taken all that with me. So they put me in the hospital.

Wendy Feldman: I mean, into the helicopter. It was like literally the blanket over me, the sports bra that they left on.

Wendy Feldman: And me, that's it. There was nothing. So they didn't know who I was.

Wendy Feldman: So they literally had no clue why I was coming in as a Jane Doe.

Wendy Feldman: And because I always rode with my license and everything.

Wendy Feldman: But that was now at the police station. So I was able to then, through the police report, and contact the police, find out who was the person that gave the report. From there, I was able to reach him.

Wendy Feldman: And then I also did reach out to the first responders.

Wendy Feldman: And of course, I ended up bringing them a big thing of brownies and cookies in it because they saved my life later when I could move.

Wendy Feldman: But when I did call the first responders, like three weeks later, and when I got the name of the guy, and I got his name through a cyclist because he actually, one of my friends is a cyclist.

Wendy Feldman: He was a first responder, not on site, but he works at that same station.

Wendy Feldman: He heard all about it. That's actually, they found out who I was because he had said, and someone, that guy reckoned, I said, oh, that's when he felt me.

Wendy Feldman: And that's how they were to realize who I was.

Wendy Feldman: So but when I called and they told that first responder when he heard my voice he said wait who is this and I told him I said I was the one up on by the botanical garden he was like oh my gosh he's like oh my god he goes I he goes I can't wait to tell the guys about this he said we literally he said I have to tell you he said we put you in that helicopter and he said we all loved each other said she's not she's not making it to the hospital so she's not making it and he He was so, and I said, really?

Wendy Feldman: He's like, oh God, you were in, and he said, do you want to know? And I said, I do.

Wendy Feldman: And he told me the details and it was like, whoa. But, you know, so when I reached out to the guy.

Wendy Feldman: Poor guy. I mean, he said he couldn't even get on his bike for weeks.

Wendy Feldman: He said he had to call a friend to come pick him up.

Wendy Feldman: He said he was so traumatized that he said he sat there. He thought it was his fault.

Wendy Feldman: He said it was my fault, his fault, because he stopped at that stop sign, and he didn't need to. He had this whole thing. And I said, no.

Wendy Feldman: And he's like, no, it's my fault. I said, look, if you weren't there, I wouldn't be dead. So we actually kept in contact for a while. He was a good guy.

Wendy Feldman: He came out, and I just wanted to assure him he saved my life. He saved my life.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Wow. Now, what kind of injuries did you end up sustaining from that accident?

Wendy Feldman: So it broke my skull in three places on the left temporal lobe.

Wendy Feldman: Oh, wow. And so I suffered very, yeah, very severe traumatic brain injuries.

Wendy Feldman: Really, really horrific. So that was tough to come back from.

Wendy Feldman: That was tough to recover from really bad headaches for a very long time.

Wendy Feldman: I tore a hole in my left eardrum, so I couldn't hear out of that ear for a while.

Wendy Feldman: I fractured the bones around my eye, fractured my jaw.

Wendy Feldman: I broke my collarbone. The only bone I broke was my collarbone.

Wendy Feldman: So I do have a plate and screws in that now, permanent fractured ribs, fractured my pelvis in five spots.

Wendy Feldman: So yeah, it was a lot of fractures, but I was very fortunate that I only broke the collarbone.

Wendy Feldman: So that was very, very lucky. But at rehab was tough. You know, it was a lot of learning to walk in and my eyes were swollen shut for days. They were so swollen.

Wendy Feldman: Kevin, I got a scratch on my face. Thank God for the helmet.

Wendy Feldman: You know, thank God for the helmet.

Kevin Lowe: Wow. How long would it take you, Wendy, to really recover from that?

Kevin Lowe: I mean, to the point of getting back to, you know, quote unquote, like normal life.

Wendy Feldman: Yeah. Yeah. It took a good, gosh, eight to 10 months of really feeling where I didn't have the headaches and I didn't get dizzy and I didn't get nausea.

Wendy Feldman: I had nausea for a lot of time, just really severe, just waking up because of the head trauma. So it's just dizzy.

Wendy Feldman: And the first week I was home, we had to close off any light in the bedroom.

Wendy Feldman: And we had to have the dog stay next door because I couldn't have any sound.

Wendy Feldman: Because any type of sound is, so hard for the brain. So even in the hospital the first week, they put me in like literally a soundproof, double-doored, dark room because sound, light, anything was too much for me.

Wendy Feldman: It was brutal to see anything or hear anything.

Wendy Feldman: So it took a while. So I couldn't hear music, couldn't hear.

Wendy Feldman: I mean, I remember my son was so sweet.

Wendy Feldman: When I was able to, I walked with a little walker and I was able to go outside one day.

Wendy Feldman: He said, come on, mom, let's go in the backyard and was able to get outside and he had his music with him and he put on a james taylor song and he played it really quiet really like so quiet and i remember how you know over time we'd stay sit outside he'd walk with me and we'd sit outside and he was able to turn the music up you know he's able to turn the music and he's getting better mom you know you can you can listen a little louder now you know it's like i had to protect my eardrum and and everything so It

Wendy Feldman: took time, but I got here.

Wendy Feldman: You know that. It takes time. But the body is an amazing thing.

Wendy Feldman: The body is amazing. The power of your mind, too.

Wendy Feldman: The power of your brain. Tell yourself.

Wendy Feldman: Kevin, when being strong is the only choice you have, you get through stuff.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. I love that so much. When being strong.

Wendy Feldman: You know that. You know that. when being strong is the only choice you have, and then you know that you've been in hospital beds you know that when you're lying there you don't have another choice but strength and, man, did that make me strong? I mean, and has it kept me to just go back to that?

Wendy Feldman: And yeah, I know you get that. I understand that.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah, absolutely. Now at this point, where were you at in your personal life with your marriage?

Kevin Lowe: Were you separated at this point?

Wendy Feldman: Well, yeah, that was a great question. It was tough, you know, and, and, and now I look back and I go, gosh, you know, I mean, if I were in my ex's shoes and it was literally, I mean, Clearly, the morning that I crashed, we were both probably figuring, let's find our attorneys and let's get this going.

Wendy Feldman: So then he finds out that I crashed. And I was like, and you know, so he, I was at home. No, we were still living in our same home.

Wendy Feldman: And, you know, he took care of me and we had, thank goodness.

Wendy Feldman: I had a community of people that people I didn't even know. I mean, that's the crazy thing.

Wendy Feldman: And I think you probably can relate. People you don't even know.

Wendy Feldman: That are like distant, like parents of my kids, friends that maybe had only met once or twice.

Wendy Feldman: Oh my God, do they come out and help like support and do meals and are there.

Wendy Feldman: And I had to have full-time people watch, you know, my husband would go to work and the day and the kids were at school, but I needed to have someone with me all the time. I couldn't be left alone because of the head trauma.

Wendy Feldman: And so I always had, you know, I'd be sleeping a lot, but there'd be people in the other room just wait, you know, speak nearby if I needed them.

Wendy Feldman: So that was for a couple of because I had that. So, but, you know, once I pretty much healed, I did. I ended up, I did move out.

Wendy Feldman: I said, you know, we separated and it was rough and it was tough.

Wendy Feldman: But yeah, yeah. So that was, that was kind of going on through all that.

Wendy Feldman: So it was not easy. It was not easy.

Wendy Feldman: There were a lot of different factors going on in that recovery.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Yeah. Talk to me a little bit about the mental game, the mindset here in terms of here you are, you're a mother, you have children.

Kevin Lowe: You're cycling, you're doing the thing you love and yet While doing that thing you love, you literally almost die.

Kevin Lowe: What does that do for you and your maybe just perspective on life?

Kevin Lowe: I assume it had to have some type of impact.

Wendy Feldman: Absolutely. Huge. And I look back now and there's times, I mean, a lot.

Wendy Feldman: And I really say, and thank you for asking that question, because that I think hopefully many of your listeners can understand or relate to.

Wendy Feldman: I'm sure many can relate to because people have traumas in all different fashions.

Wendy Feldman: They come in all different shapes and sizes, colors and whatever.

Wendy Feldman: And it put so much perspective. It made me never want it made me realize that yes, I, what I'm doing, unfortunately having to break up our family, that was the healthiest thing to do for my children and for myself.

Wendy Feldman: And I think ultimately for my, for my husband as well, you know, it was not a healthy relationship.

Wendy Feldman: And so We weren't doing any good to show the kids what an unhealthy relationship is like.

Wendy Feldman: That's not going to do any good in a toxic household.

Wendy Feldman: It definitely solidified that. It also put in perspective what I learned about people.

Wendy Feldman: I learned about who you count on and what's important.

Wendy Feldman: What really matters? The stuff, I didn't care about the stuff anymore.

Wendy Feldman: Stuff that I thought was important, oh my gosh, it is not important.

Wendy Feldman: I was like, no, because I realized how your health and the ability to be able to just move your body and breathe, I mean, it changes your perspective.

Wendy Feldman: And so that day, literally, you know, May 21st, 2013.

Wendy Feldman: Really marked a day in my life that only it was one of the greater gifts in my life the three greatest gifts in my life is my three children but one of the greatest gifts to me as a human of growth was on may 21st 2013 and you know it was funny i was running at a very fast pace i was going going going always going always busy always busy and always on the bike and i'll never forget But at the time, my husband at the time said to me, you know, you are going so fast. You're moving at such a fast pace.

Wendy Feldman: And you keep up with this pace, you're going to crash and burn.

Wendy Feldman: And I'll never forget that.

Wendy Feldman: And he was right because I did crash. I didn't burn, but I crashed.

Wendy Feldman: And that is the universe's way, has a very interesting way of sometimes saying, stop you in your tracks.

Wendy Feldman: You're not ready to die. I'm not going to let you die because there's a reason that you're meant to be here, Wendy.

Wendy Feldman: But it stopped me in my tracks to say look at what's going on here yeah what's going on what are you doing and that did it that did it yeah and i needed that and man did i slow down and did did i start new things and learn new things and start to do things i wouldn't have taken the time to do before and it was really healthy for me it's really good it's really good for me yeah yeah Yeah.

Kevin Lowe: It's crazy how sometimes it takes something to happen to give us that kind of needed perspective change, you know, to get to see life differently. And that's powerful.

Wendy Feldman: Yeah. And, you know, yeah, no, no, we don't wish that. We don't want people to go through that. We don't want people to go through that. Right.

Wendy Feldman: But if that happens to you, if for whatever reason, it's to kind of remember that, look at it for what it is, take it for what it is, get through it, be strong, get through the pain of it, heal, and move on.

Wendy Feldman: And then learn what came out of that.

Wendy Feldman: What can we take out of the negatives in life? Because there's going to be a lot of them. What can we take from that?

Wendy Feldman: And how can we turn that? You know, it's the adage, you know, turn lemons into lemonade.

Wendy Feldman: But it's true. how can we take things that are negative because they're good you're gonna get you're gonna be faced with them every day all the time and how do you flip it it's like you sit all the time flip the script and it's flipping the narrative change it change up your change talk get your change talk up you know how are you talking how are you seeing things how are you saying things how are you listening how are you perceiving it that's what is going to make the difference in this world is better understanding,

Wendy Feldman: being more patient with people, not passing judgment, all those things.

Wendy Feldman: That is how we learn to grow. And that's how we become a healthier, happier, more well planet as a whole.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Yeah. I agree. 110%. So, Wendy, here's the thing.

Kevin Lowe: Everybody so far, they're like, oh, my gosh, I love Wendy.

Kevin Lowe: Oh, I feel so bad for her. but then I'm going to ask the next question and I think they're going to be like this woman is crazy she's stupid what is she thinking because you you you took the age-old thing of if you fall off the horse you got to get back on it so you did the same with the bicycle

Wendy Feldman: Yes yes oh my god yes and i kind of did it secretly too you know it's kind of like oh my god i have to do this and not let any of my family do this because yeah they're all like you're, flipping nuts yeah you're flipping nuts but and maybe it was but you know you're right you're right you're right it was kind of the get back up and do it to get off that fear and i kind of as a matter of fact i did kind of start it just for that just like okay i'm gonna get on We rode like a mile from my house, like,

Wendy Feldman: you know, just up to the school, nearby school and then back home and really careful.

Wendy Feldman: And someone went with me, you know, and they're like, okay, you can do it, you know.

Wendy Feldman: And then it was like, I can do this. And then I would do it every day.

Wendy Feldman: And I was like, oh, God, now I'm going to do two miles.

Wendy Feldman: And then I was like, yeah, I'm back, you know. And then I actually did it.

Wendy Feldman: I did it on a Mother's Day.

Wendy Feldman: I did this really cool ride with this beautiful mountain, Montaibola, which is one of the taller peaks in the state of California.

Wendy Feldman: And i used to write it you know a couple times a week i would love it it's about 4 000 foot climb it's one of my favorite mountains and they have this on mother's day they have this challenge it's called the diablo challenge where you start everyone starts it's the way you start everyone starts at the bottom and you get to the top as fast as you can and i did it and i ended up placing third in my age group so i was um in my early 50s so i ended up placing third in my age group which was awesome i was like really excited made a pretty

Wendy Feldman: good time you know not as good as i wanted But I made it up for the fact I did it, you know.

Wendy Feldman: So I did get back on. And then I started riding kind of like, you know, with my group again.

Wendy Feldman: And one day I did a group ride, that planned group ride I told you about with a lot of very strong racers.

Wendy Feldman: Silly little dumb crash, actually. I mean, we were all going slow.

Wendy Feldman: We were just starting out. It was the beginning of a 75-mile ride.

Wendy Feldman: We're probably five miles into the ride.

Wendy Feldman: Somehow, my front wheel, just by a hair, caught a back wheel of a rider in front of me. and that takes you down.

Wendy Feldman: And then like five people fell on me from behind me and I fell flat on my chin.

Wendy Feldman: And I think I must've blacked out for a very short second.

Wendy Feldman: But unfortunately, and I got up and everyone stopped and they're like, okay, you know, Wendy, you got to, we had to get to a hospital.

Wendy Feldman: And I was like, no, no, no, I'm fine. Like, no, you know, my chin was bleeding and my hand was bleeding.

Wendy Feldman: I'm like, no, no, no. You know, you guys go, it's a beautiful day.

Wendy Feldman: You guys write, I'm going to write home.

Wendy Feldman: And they're like, I don't think you should write home. My hand was starting to swell up and they're like, I think we should get to a hospital.

Wendy Feldman: And I really said, you know what? No, really, I'm really good.

Wendy Feldman: I'm all good. I'm all good. I'm fine and scraped up, but I'm going to write home and be good.

Wendy Feldman: And one woman said, no, I'm going to take you to the hospital.

Wendy Feldman: So she put me in her car and we went to the hospital and I get to the hospital and the doctor said, weren't you here just like a year and a half ago with another, didn't we see you recently? And I said, yes.

Wendy Feldman: And he said, well, we're going to scan your brain since you had a traumatic brain injury. We're going to scan it. Looks like you hit your head again.

Wendy Feldman: And I said, you know, I don't even know why I'm here. I'm fine.

Wendy Feldman: Like, please let me go home.

Wendy Feldman: The scan comes back and he comes in and he looks at me and he says, well, I have to tell you, you're not so fine.

Wendy Feldman: He said, you actually cracked your skull in the same place you cracked it the first time.

Wendy Feldman: And he said, this crack is actually a little bit worse. He said, whereas on the first time there was no blood on your brain.

Wendy Feldman: He said this time you have to actually have a little fracture on a part of the skull that is very close to nicking one of the largest arteries that goes up into your brain i'm not saying this correctly because i don't really remember i think i tuned out everything he was saying at this point but all i knew is he said if that little nick that little sharp point of the bone were to rupture that he said you you're gone so he said we're basically going to put you in ICU you.

Wendy Feldman: You're going to be completely still for 24 hours.

Wendy Feldman: And we're going to see, because there is bleeding on your brain now.

Wendy Feldman: He said, there's bleeding in there.

Wendy Feldman: And he said, we need to make sure that that little piece, that little shard, that little piece of bone can smooth out and not get close to that vein.

Wendy Feldman: And we also want to make sure that the bleeding stops. And he said, you have 24 hours.

Wendy Feldman: If in 24 hours, the bleeding stops, then I think you're going to be fine.

Wendy Feldman: If it does not stop in 24 hours, you're going in tomorrow morning for brain surgery. And I looked at him and I said, you've got to make any, and he said, you're done with cycling.

Wendy Feldman: He said, third time's a charm, you are done. And I just remember going, yeah.

Wendy Feldman: And my kids and everyone's, and that was it. That was the end of my cycling days, for sure.

Wendy Feldman: Except for, you know, being on a Peloton stationary bike.

Wendy Feldman: But yeah, the road is done. Road is done.

Kevin Lowe: Wow.

Wendy Feldman: So for your listeners, yes, the crazy lady who did get on is now no longer on the road bike.

Wendy Feldman: Yeah, they're going to say that crazy thing.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. So how did it end up going? Did we have good news and the bleeding stopped?

Kevin Lowe: No, I did not need the brain surgery. Okay, good.

Wendy Feldman: Yeah. The next morning they said, good for you. The bleeding has stopped.

Wendy Feldman: You will be here for another four days. We're keeping you for observation.

Wendy Feldman: And my chin was a mess. My chin was horrible.

Wendy Feldman: I had this big, like round chin that was, it had been like raspberry, you know, When you scrape something and it's like, but it was bleeding, but not deep, but it swelled and it was huge.

Wendy Feldman: And I don't want to jump ahead in the podcast, but I found out years later, because I kind of had this little pointy chin. I kind of found out years later what was wrong with it.

Wendy Feldman: And it turned out that that day I crashed, that there's a muscle called the mentalis muscle.

Wendy Feldman: And the mentalis muscle is if you touch your chin right now, you kind of feel that little bit down there, kind of like the bottom of your chin. You know, it's kind of squishy.

Wendy Feldman: That's a muscle right there. And that muscle pulled away from the bone.

Wendy Feldman: So if you pull yours, you can pull it down.

Wendy Feldman: My muscle permanently pulled away from the bone. Never knew that that happened in that crash.

Wendy Feldman: But it permanently pulled away. So I didn't like it.

Wendy Feldman: So you know three years ago i had gone into a plastic surgeon to see if they could do anything about that and he that's when he told me that he's like yeah you've pulled your muscle away from the bone but he said you know we can you know kind of reattach it kind of push it back up a little bit and and i was like great let's do that so on april 15th of 2021 so yes remember that, Dave.

Wendy Feldman: I went in for that surgery to have that done. And when they were prepping me for that surgery, I just wanted to have that little thing repaired.

Wendy Feldman: It's all I wanted to put it back up there where it belongs.

Wendy Feldman: And I'm supposed to be kind of relatively, you know, outpatient surgery.

Wendy Feldman: My ex-husband was there.

Wendy Feldman: He actually took me to the surgery and my daughter was going to pick me up.

Wendy Feldman: The anesthesiologist put the IV in my hand, and he said, we're just going to sedate you a little bit, get you a little calm before the procedure. And I said, okay.

Wendy Feldman: And that's the last thing I heard or knew until I woke up 36 hours later, intubated, so on a ventilator with a tube down my throat, and my hands strapped to the table or to my bed, to my hospital bed.

Wendy Feldman: And I woke up and my ex-husband was right there by my side.

Wendy Feldman: And the first thing I heard him say into my ear was, you really do have nine lives when he said, you really do have nine lives.

Wendy Feldman: I remember thinking, what is he talking about?

Wendy Feldman: And I couldn't talk, you know, but it's like, you know, poor guy's got three of these with me.

Wendy Feldman: But I got to tell you, you know, that was scary.

Wendy Feldman: So I never had the surgery. By my mind, I never had this. I still have the muscle that's hanging off of my chin.

Wendy Feldman: But yeah, yeah. So they over-sedated me and my lungs collapsed basically and almost died again.

Wendy Feldman: And I am very, that one, incredibly lucky to be alive from. So they rushed me back to the trauma center, which is the same hospital that I've been in.

Wendy Feldman: It saved my life. I had to have two lung surgeries as a result of all of that. So yeah. Wow.

Kevin Lowe: Wow, wow, wow. Now, how long after the second crash on the bike was this surgery?

Wendy Feldman: That was about seven years, I guess, seven years.

Kevin Lowe: Okay.

Wendy Feldman: So it was all within about a nine, ten-year span, I'm thinking.

Wendy Feldman: I mean, I always think it's eight years. I think it's always about, it was 2013 to 2021.

Wendy Feldman: So I guess that's nine years, so nine-year span.

Wendy Feldman: So the second crash was 2015, and then this was 2021.

Wendy Feldman: So you're talking seven years, seven years, roughly seven years after.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So the time in between. Yeah.

Kevin Lowe: When you basically were told no more cycling, but you found a way to keep cycling, but without the fear of crashing on a stationary bike.

Kevin Lowe: Talk to me a little bit about that.

Wendy Feldman: Well, that's where the magic, that's where you turn that lemon into lemonade.

Wendy Feldman: So I loved the road. I mean, it was really hard to get that up because it wasn't just the bike. It was the community I'd met, the people I'd met, the people it's like, you speak a similar language. You know, it's like, it's your tribe, it's your people.

Wendy Feldman: And so I missed that. I really missed that camaraderie. That was hard.

Wendy Feldman: That was very challenging. Like I needed to find something new, you know, that is going to give me that.

Wendy Feldman: So my kids, one of my kids said, you know, why don't you ride a stationary bike?

Wendy Feldman: And that's when I thought, you know, and I was a teacher. I was a bar instructor.

Wendy Feldman: There's like a Pilates yoga kind of instructor. and I thought, why don't I look into becoming a spin instructor?

Wendy Feldman: So I got spin certified and then there was a studio that opened right around the corner of my house and someone told me, hey, they're looking for spin instructors.

Wendy Feldman: So I reached out to her and I started, I stopped there for six years until COVID and then her studio unfortunately had to close.

Wendy Feldman: But yeah, I became spin instructor and loved it.

Wendy Feldman: I mean, and I, it was great because what I did in my rides is I would do the rides like I was taking people out on the road.

Wendy Feldman: So, you know, and I still have people that will run into them.

Wendy Feldman: They're like, I used to love that ride.

Wendy Feldman: When you take us on the back hill and you would take, and they still remember that, you know, I would kind of say, okay, well, we're going to ride.

Wendy Feldman: Cause I did so many cool rides around the area that I would say, well, now we're on this particular ride and I'd kind of mock them through it.

Wendy Feldman: So it's like, when we had to do a climb, we climbed and we'd sprint and they were tough and they were fun.

Wendy Feldman: And we just, you know, the room was a sweat fest and it was great music and fun.

Wendy Feldman: And I got such enjoyment out of that because I could really keep that, still bring that love of cycling and, you know, keep those memories of my rides and bring the little fun anecdotes into it when I was riding.

Wendy Feldman: And it made it fun for them. You know, it made an hour go by so quick and they loved it and they got a great workout and I pushed them and they pushed themselves.

Wendy Feldman: And so that became, that was actually really great. So I taught, you know, spent a few days a week.

Wendy Feldman: So that, that was really great. And then after the studio closed and then COVID hit, you know, COVID, But I ended up getting a Peloton bike and that's become my like, I love that.

Wendy Feldman: So I, that's why I'm with the cycling.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah, that's it. Amazing. So now you're, you're one of those Peloton people. I hear about you people.

Wendy Feldman: Come on, join us, join us, join us, join us. You hear about, it's true. We're this weird, funky group of people, but it's true. And then you know what?

Wendy Feldman: It's a brilliant model because you have the same tribe because when you get on the bike, it's so different.

Wendy Feldman: It's not like just riding a regular station. I couldn't just get on a bike and ride on my own. I wouldn't do it.

Wendy Feldman: But you've got, the minute you get on, their instructors are inspiring.

Wendy Feldman: They're fun. The music's awesome. And you have this little leaderboard, you know, where people that are riding with you, you have your own little special name and mine is Ladybug on Wheels.

Wendy Feldman: And you have everyone's little leaderboards name up there. So you're riding alongside with them.

Wendy Feldman: So you know there's people in there riding at the same time you are, and whether it's a live ride or virtual.

Wendy Feldman: And so you always feel like you're with people. You're not like pushing against them, but you're riding with them.

Wendy Feldman: And so it feels really good. And it's really become that, you know, where I have the bike is in my bedroom, and I've got a big, really big window next to it.

Wendy Feldman: And so, and I look out all into trees in my backyard.

Wendy Feldman: And because I back up to wild open space, it's like, honestly, I leave the window open.

Wendy Feldman: And I just feel honestly, it's my own little way of, I feel like, you know, I kind of feel like I'm back, I'm back on the road and I ride for a long time and short, whatever, it doesn't matter.

Wendy Feldman: It's like, I get that same, I get a very similar feel. It's really, it's really neat, Kevin.

Wendy Feldman: I have to say, I found this and I am grateful, I'm grateful to Peloton for this because it's given me that for sure. And I know it's given a lot of people that.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah, I mean, I think that's really powerful.

Kevin Lowe: And what I think is really amazing is, is I can't help but be so grateful that you were able to find that because I know for myself, you know, when I went blind, I grew up on the back of a dirt bike and I rode dirt bikes my entire childhood.

Kevin Lowe: And I mean every day from I'd get home from school immediately I'd jump on my dirt bike or four wheeler and it was hard to lose that you know and so to hear that you were able to find a way to come up with something new obviously it's not the same but you found something new you found the tribe I just think that's really amazing and I think it speaks a lot about just you as a person of your ability and willingness to adapt to new situations and to, you know, make the most out of it.

Wendy Feldman: Yeah. You know, you just said the word you said is adapt. And that, I got that word because that's exactly right. As you.

Wendy Feldman: I admire you. And for anyone who knows you is listening to you and listens to you.

Wendy Feldman: You're a hero in my eyes, what you have gone through in your life and what you have done and what you've created, this little empire you've created.

Wendy Feldman: You're really an amazing, you are, you are true grit. You are so inspirational.

Wendy Feldman: And I find you to be fascinating, but it's true because in life it's about adapting.

Wendy Feldman: And that is what, how I work with my clients. It's things are going to happen, but it's you adapt and we can all adapt to change.

Wendy Feldman: And it's how we look at it because yeah, things are going to happen.

Wendy Feldman: And initially it might seem scary. It might seem like, how am I going to deal with this?

Wendy Feldman: It certainly was when I realized that my marriage wasn't going to work.

Wendy Feldman: I didn't think I'd be here at 61, that I'd be single having to recreate my life and start over.

Wendy Feldman: And I'm sure you didn't think, you know, when you were 15, you didn't think you'd be where you are today. But look what you've created.

Wendy Feldman: Yeah. And look at the gifts you've brought to so many people.

Wendy Feldman: And so you've adapted. And I think that if as humans, just as animals do out in wilderness, you adapt.

Wendy Feldman: You camouflage. You adapt yourself to your surroundings.

Wendy Feldman: And you find the positive in it because there is a positive in it.

Wendy Feldman: All you do is go outside and breathe the fresh air and look up at the sky.

Wendy Feldman: Nature has a very incredible way of bringing some power to your mind and your body. and it's free, it's free, it doesn't cost anything.

Wendy Feldman: Go outside, go for a walk, get out in nature, go by yourself, listen to it.

Wendy Feldman: Here, what are you listening to? What do you hear? Smell, what do you smell?

Wendy Feldman: What is going on? The sight, the sound and the smell and the feel of it is enough.

Wendy Feldman: And it's so empowering and it's so healing for our bodies, so healing for our mind.

Wendy Feldman: And I just, I cannot express enough how important it is to really let yourself be outside and, you know, and take nature's there to give mother nature.

Wendy Feldman: She's amazing, amazing thing.

Wendy Feldman: Like it's there for us. It's right there for us.

Wendy Feldman: And it's one thing that I think, you know, I would love more people to take advantage of mother nature, take advantage of our earth. It's a beautiful place and honor it and take care of it the way we want to honor and take care of our bodies.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah, absolutely. So that makes me think that you need to get onto Peloton and they need to do one of those crazy like 4D experiences where it starts like spraying water at your face or shooting wind at you, making you think, you know?

Wendy Feldman: Oh, I love it. Yes, because I used to ride in the rain too. Yeah.

Wendy Feldman: Craziness. I mean, I didn't want to, but sometimes I wouldn't get home in time.

Wendy Feldman: And then rain would come in. It was like, oh, God.

Wendy Feldman: And I get, you know, but I had a couple of days where I was like, you know, that I didn't like because I do not like writing the grounding.

Wendy Feldman: But yes, you're right. We can totally have the wind, the rain.

Wendy Feldman: You can have truck sounds and everything.

Wendy Feldman: Oh, my gosh. Yes, you can really make it really, really virtual.

Wendy Feldman: You know, people like, you know. yeah well.

Kevin Lowe: You just you just let me know wendy i'll come over i'll set up a box fan in front of you that'll be the win i'll have a little horn behind you

Wendy Feldman: You know, i know i wish you totally you can be my you can be my little wingman you can be back there doing all that yeah i'm gonna get one i'm gonna get another one have you come over i'm gonna have you ride exactly that would be because the fact that you were the fact it wouldn't be so fun the fact that you were a dirt biker so you get it you get that freedom of being on that being outside you love that right and you get that you know that that kind of i don't want to use the word that that rush but it's it is it's

Wendy Feldman: a certain it's a feeling of openness you know and i get it now like i hike so now hiking's become a big part of my life long walks you know or just hiking and just being again where it's challenging i challenge myself it's not easy it's hard to do some of these things, you know, I can't go as far, I can't go 70 miles, but you know, I can at least get a good chunk in.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. I think it comes back to the theme that we've spoken about of freedom, you know, freedom. Yeah. Yeah.

Kevin Lowe: Well, talk to me, Wendy, about what you do today with your career as a, you know, I think you do like fitness and wholeness instructor.

Kevin Lowe: Talk to me a little bit more about that.

Wendy Feldman: Yes, yes, yes. So I have been a fitness instructor for 15 years, so I still teach and I love that.

Wendy Feldman: And it gives me just, I love, I love educating. I love teaching.

Wendy Feldman: I love supporting people, love helping people find their true inner self, their best self, and to feel the best self.

Wendy Feldman: And I love to inspire just like you do. And so I became a health and wellness coach because I really felt that kind of brought all my things together.

Wendy Feldman: And that's what I do now. So, you know, building that little, that business of health and wellness coaching and it's holistic, right?

Wendy Feldman: So it's not just about physical nutrition.

Wendy Feldman: What are you putting in your mouth or how much you, you know, what kind of movement are you getting in your day?

Wendy Feldman: It's, it's so much more. It's about spiritual nutrition.

Wendy Feldman: It's about intellectual nutrition. You know, what are you feeding your brain?

Wendy Feldman: What are you feeding your soul? What are you spiritual? How are you spiritually, you know, that could be nature could be it, you know, it is for me, but all these different, how are you in your career in your, in your, your occupational world? You know, how are you feeding yourself?

Wendy Feldman: You know, where do you rate them on a scale of one to 10, Where are you?

Wendy Feldman: And so that's how I work with people to really kind of find that balance because it's when we find that balance, that's when we're really whole. That's when we're well.

Wendy Feldman: Because you will learn, you can read and hear wellness experts will say, wellness is not the absence of disease.

Wendy Feldman: Just because we're not sick, just because we don't have diabetes or we don't have heart issues or cancer does not mean we're well. Yes, we may be, quote, you know, we're free of it. Yes, we're free of disease.

Wendy Feldman: But how do you just really just get on that continuum, that wellness continuum to say what makes you really well and healthy?

Wendy Feldman: And that's my quest. And that's how I feel.

Wendy Feldman: That's where I'm going. That's what I'm always going to be working toward.

Wendy Feldman: And I feel better and better now than I've ever felt. I really feel like, but I'm not there yet. I still feel like I've got ways to, you know, room to grow.

Wendy Feldman: And I want to keep educating myself and I keep learning. I want to keep educating my brain.

Wendy Feldman: And I want to keep that going. I want to keep my intellectual help going.

Wendy Feldman: So that's how I work with my, with my clients. And I work with people, you know, I've been doing podcasts more, which I really, really love this.

Wendy Feldman: I am going to be doing some motivational speaking next week at a, at a conference on these coasts. We're doing it virtually, which I'm super excited about.

Wendy Feldman: So yeah, that's kind of my, you know, and I'm a mom and my mom, that's my first and foremost love is being a mom and being, Yeah, that's what I'm doing in my world, Kevin. That's what I'm doing in my world.

Kevin Lowe: Well, I love that. Now, do you work with people virtually, like from anywhere, or is it just people local?

Wendy Feldman: Yes, yes, yes, yes. No, virtually. As a matter of fact, I do have local clients, but it's all virtual.

Wendy Feldman: We do everything via Zoom, which thank goodness for Zoom. We love that, which is nice because, you know, the sessions are 30 minutes.

Wendy Feldman: And it's kind of a nice, although, you know, I do have to say like one client will do, she does live nearby and so we walk we'll do a 30-minute walk because one of her things is she wants to get more movement so instead of us doing a 30-minute sit-down call i'm like what let's go on a walk so we walked for a 30-minute session and it's been it's been great it's really nice we really really enjoy that she really enjoys it and sometimes we'll go for about 45 minutes but it's great because it gets it kind of kills two birds with one stone you

Wendy Feldman: know it takes the time about it takes our time together and it gets it gets her outside as well so that's been really really good yeah the majority yeah majority is virtual so yes i can work with people anywhere anywhere across the globe well.

Kevin Lowe: That's amazing well for somebody who might be interested where's the best place for us to send them to learn more

Wendy Feldman: They can go to my web yeah please my website which is wendyfeldmanwellness.com just wendyfeldmanwellness.com or social media is wendyfeldman with an underscore and then wellness.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah amazing well i will be sure that is in the show notes, along with everything else on the website, all the places.

Kevin Lowe: But Wendy, I have one last question is with all that you've gone through, you know, these, these near death experiences, the personal struggles of just life, of, of marriage, of divorce, of, of being a parent, all this stuff.

Kevin Lowe: If you could talk to yourself before all of this happened, what would you have love that you could have told her knowing what you know now?

Wendy Feldman: There's a lot. And that is such a powerful, such a great question.

Wendy Feldman: I think I would say, Wendy, don't try to be perfect. Don't try to be someone you're not.

Wendy Feldman: Resist the temptation to say yes to others when it means saying no to yourself and resist that temptation to say no to others for fear of disappointing them.

Wendy Feldman: Watch the people pleasing aspect.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah. I love it.

Wendy Feldman: Just really watch out for that. I think all those things I learned in the last 10 years and especially in the last, you know, well, yeah, 10 years, I learned all about all those things that if I had told myself that younger, the younger Wendy.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah.

Wendy Feldman: I wouldn't change my life, Kevin. That's the thing. See, we evolve, right?

Kevin Lowe: Yeah.

Wendy Feldman: I wouldn't change it because I love what I have right now. Yes.

Wendy Feldman: And I've got the three most amazing children, so no, I would not change it.

Wendy Feldman: Though, it might have changed and put things in different perspective.

Wendy Feldman: Yes. You know, it might have altered different things. So, I think those things.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah.

Wendy Feldman: I think that's what I would tell her.

Kevin Lowe: Yeah, I love that. Well, you know what? It goes back to the conversation that me and you had before we ever started recording today is that we can't control what happens in this life, but we can't control how we react to it and you mrs wendy have reacted in the most amazing of ways of adapting we talked about the importance of that of evolving and continuing to evolve into the person that you've become and the person that you will be and i think it's a pretty darn beautiful journey that you've been on

Wendy Feldman: And I am honestly, I wish I could talk to you forever. It's like, I feel so, I have chills.

Wendy Feldman: The world is blessed to have Kevin Lowe in their presence. And I hope that more and more people, certainly I am all cheerleader, go Kevin, because you're a true inspiration to me.

Wendy Feldman: And today has been, has just solidified all of that.

Wendy Feldman: And I will do whatever I can to help you in your life, and build your own career and your business because I think what you have gone through and how you have flipped your narrative and how you have flipped your script is so many people can learn from that.

Wendy Feldman: And if we could all be as strong as the Kevin Lowe, I think we'd, gosh, this world would be in a really great place.

Kevin Lowe: Wendy, you're amazing. Thank you so much. You're amazing. Thank you. Yes.

Kevin Lowe: Well, for you listening today, I guess at this point I ask you, what did you take away? Did you come away inspired?

Kevin Lowe: Were you left empowered? Or maybe were you just left to look at your own life from a different view?

Kevin Lowe: Starting to view the challenges you go through is not bad things.

Kevin Lowe: No, they're just things. It all depends on how we react to it, how you react to it.

Kevin Lowe: I hope today that it left you thinking about you in your life, because that's what this is all about.

Kevin Lowe: My friend, I'm Kevin Lowe, and this is another amazing interview here on Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

Kevin Lowe: You get out there and enjoy the day. Stay awesome and live inspired.

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