A single mom's journey... Asking for help as I Recover & Rebound from Spine/Neck Surgery

Everything happens for a reason! That is one of my favorite sayings & I believe it to be true, 100%.

I have been an advocate & community supporter for over a decade in the Tampa Bay Community!! I take pride in connecting and sharing the stories of amazing business owners, entrepreneurs & business leaders… sharing not just their successes, but their trials & tribulations, tips & strategizes for others, to hopefully inspire, inform & encourage others to believe in themselves & pursue their dreams!

As a single woman, mother & business owner… the previous 4+ months have been very difficult. My health issues started just before Thanksgiving last year. I was sick with a sinus infection that would not go away. By early January, I was hospitalized with pneumonia for multiple days, right after the New Year Holiday.

January 15th, the first day that I started feeling better, I re-injured a spinal cord/ neck injury that I had been dealing with for the previous few years, mainly because of working on a laptop, 10-15 hours daily, every day, for over a decade.

The next morning, I was in terrible, constant nerve & muscle pain that resulted in not being able to use my right arm.

I had an MRI late January and when I received the MRI results early February and was informed that I needed immediate, urgent spine surgery with a 6-8 week recovery time, I knew I was in trouble… physically, emotionally, and financially.

I thought about creating a funding campaign at that time; however, my pride wouldn’t allow it.

After a few months of not being able to bring new revenue into my business… I had exhausted all reserves and resources. Business revenue was already reduced close to 40% over the previous couple years because of the pandemic. As I am my own back up, this situation has not been easy for me. Not to mention the medical expenses that I will be responsible for that are not covered under my health insurance.

By the end of February, I was hospitalized again for a week and underwent neck/spine surgery. The procedure was known as 'ACDF' - I had the discs removed between 5 & 6 & 6 & 7 & with implants placed in my neck. I am three weeks post-surgery with a six-to-eight-week recovery time. I am happy to say that the nerve pain in my arm was gone immediately after surgery, I was finally once again given the use of my arm without pain.

Thankfully my neck incision (where they go in to conduct the surgery) is healing nicely but I am still dealing with some discomfort, obscene high blood pressure, stress, and anxiety. I am assuming my present emotional and financial situations could very much be contributing factors to this and could possibly delay my full recovery in the designated recovery time if not addressed. I wear a ‘fusion contraption’ around my neck for four hours daily and will need to for approx. nine months in hopes that it stimulates bone growth in my neck, at this time, my neck is mainly held together by four screws.

Even though professionally, I am a voice in the community, personally, I am somewhat of a loner. With both of my parents deceased, my children are my family. No one knows of my distress, until now and I find myself withdrawing further daily as my life seems so currently, out of my control. Not to mention that my 50th birthday is early May, that alone is stressful and amplified even more under these conditions.

I have worked so hard, for so long! I realized recently that it was time to put my pride aside and speak out on what I was experiencing, as I knew others would want to help, if they knew what I was going through.

Thankfully I am unstoppable & what doesn't kill us, makes us that much stronger!!! I am struggling yes, but internally, my positivity won’t let me lay down, I have way too much work to do!! As I have joked for years, “I am a crazy woman on a mission” … in the words of Steve Jobs, “the ones crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.”

I realize that if I plan to spend the rest of my life continuing to ‘build brands for the betterment of humanity’ – helping others everyway I possibly can… I must first be able to ask for help!

As I mentioned earlier, everything happens for a reason, I believe one of the reasons is for me to become more vocal, personally… not just professionally. So that is exactly what I am doing.

I hope by sharing my story I am able to obtain the resources to allow me to focus on recovery, rebound and foucus forward. I also hope to encourage other business owners and 'workaholics' to become mindful of the amount of time that they are sitting and working without movement and their posture. This experience has been a wake up call for me, a lifestyle change that will hopefully assist with some type of work/ play balance in my life.

Below is a link to my website to learn more about me and my life missions. Thank you in advance for your consideration!!!

Never Stop Dreaming,

With gratitude today & always,

Kelly Michelle Wilson

Link to Kelly Enterprises LLC - 'Building Brands for the Betterment of Humanity' including my full bio, thank you videos, images and more...

Link to my You Tube Sharing Inspirational Stories (since 2015)

Link to my business EDGE Media on Facebook (est.2013)

Link to my linkedin profile