Episode 63: You Don’t Have to Nearly Lose Your Life to Start Choosing It
In this episode Dr. Jen opens with a personal update about the loss of her dog, a grief-filled reminder that healing often requires stepping back. The episode then shifts into an interview with Abby Brassfield, who shares the story of her sudden flu complication, 75 days in ICU, a medically induced coma, and the long process of rebuilding her body, nervous system, and sense of self.We discuss what it means to survive something life-altering and then return to a life that no longer fits the old version of you. Abby also shares how faith, community, breath work, therapy, and daily self-advocacy helped her recover and eventually build a new path as a CrossFit coach and consultant.
00:00 - Opening the show with a reminder to slow down and take care of yourself
00:28 - Why Jenette and her co-host took a week off
00:53 - Jenette shares the emotional story of her dog Osita’s decline and death
02:44 - Vet visits, testing, and the moment they thought it might be something treatable
04:40 - Grief, pet loss, and the non-transferable love we carry for specific beings
07:05 - Why taking a week off was necessary and why rest matters
09:25 - Introducing Abby Brassfield and previewing her ICU survival story
11:18 - Abby describes who she was before illness: busy, stressed, and living in fight-or-flight
13:40 - Grief, a rapid flu infection, and the start of pneumonia
14:38 - Emergency hospitalization, ventilator support, and helicopter transfer
16:30 - Medical coma, tracheotomy, and vivid coma dreams
18:26 - The near-death experience and the feeling of being told to go back
21:23 - ECMO life support and transfer to a specialized ICU
23:17 - What the near-death experience felt like and why it changed her perspective
24:15 - How surviving changed Abby’s outlook on life and purpose
25:14 - Whether trauma was necessary and how the experience reshaped her trajectory
26:59 - Community prayer, support, and the feeling of being pulled back to life
27:57 - Waking up, hearing the doctors’ plan, and fighting for her recovery
29:24 - Being told she was being evaluated for a double lung transplant
30:20 - Writing “I’m gonna get better and go home to my family”
31:18 - Learning to walk again and using visualization as part of healing
33:50 - The grief and adjustment of going home after ICU
34:19 - ICU to step-down transition and the reality of ongoing recovery
35:13 - Life at home on oxygen, in a recliner, with help from friends and caregivers
36:07 - Learning to ask for help and unlearning perfectionism
39:04 - Nervous system recovery and the tools that helped
41:29 - Becoming a CrossFit coach and finding purpose after illness
43:21 - Starting a consulting firm and rebuilding life around joy and flexibility
44:20 - How to put yourself on the list without making it all-or-nothing
45:20 - Micro moments of self-care and making time during everyday routines
46:46 - Building trust with your body through small, consistent choices
47:42 - The power of deciding to live and not giving up on yourself
48:41 - Abby’s plan to write a book and closing gratitude
Connect with the Hosts & Guest!
Instagram: @abbeybrassfield
Email: abbey@onthehorizonconsults.com
Instagram: Health In Motion Wellness , Health In Motion Chiropractic
Facebook: Health in Motion Wellness , Health In Motion Chiropractic
Websites: www.drauchter.com , www.healthinmotion-wellness.com
www.youtube.com/@gutfeelingslifeunfiltered?si=KIF1oOQm64FhEE6Y
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