Episode 76

THE GRATEFUL GODDESS AND A STROKE OF LUCK With Karen Pulver

Episode Summary – THE LESSONS THAT LOCKED IN SYNDROM (STROKE) AND A CANCER DIAGNOSIS TEACH YOU. In Episode 76 of the Shining Brightly Podcast Show (links in the comments) titled, “THE GRATEFUL GODDESS AND A STROKE OF LUCK” I am joined by the GRATEFUL GODDESS herself – Karen Pulver. We talked about her wanting to become a teacher and then life got interrupted first by a non-Hodgkin B cell Lymphoma diagnosis then lightning struck as she suffered a mid-brain stroke. Her perseverance and resilience are inspiring as she continues to work on her speech, memory and balance every day.  Always a teacher, she has turned to coaching to help others get “unstuck” by setting boundaries, being kind to oneself and others. Come listen, download, share and review this beautiful show.  KEEP SHINING BRIGHTLY ALWAYS!

Mentioned Resources –

Website - http://www.gratefulgoddeesses.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GratefulGoddesses1

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-pulver-78b48610/

Instagram - @gratefulgoddesses

Instagram - @thegspot24

Coaching email contact - karenpulver@yahoo.com

About the guest – Karen Pulver is a multifaceted individual with a remarkable journey. She is a podcaster, model, actress, mother, teacher, wife, cancer and stroke survivor. Karen's passion for empowering women led her to create a women's group in Chicago called Grateful Goddesses. Within this group, women gathered in various venues to listen to inspiring speakers and engage in activities curated by Karen to enhance their lives. In 2009, Karen established Grateful Goddesses, and in 2011, she faced a challenging diagnosis of cancer. Despite this setback, Karen drew strength from the gatherings and utilized the skills she acquired to navigate her rehabilitation journey both physically and mentally. Subsequently, Karen dedicated herself to teaching young children, witnessing the joy in their eyes as they learned to read and write, fostering their confidence and pride. In 2019, Karen revitalized Grateful Goddesses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic by launching a podcast of the same name. This virtual platform allowed her to connect with individuals worldwide, expanding her knowledge of life's physical, mental, and spiritual aspects. Recognizing the value of personal interactions, Karen initiated a weekly live show on the Pulver network, engaging with her audience and incorporating their feedback into her podcast episodes. Inspired by her experiences, Karen pursued coaching at the Adler School of Psychology. In 2023, she faced another health challenge with a stroke, drawing upon the tools from the goddess toolbox for her rehabilitation. Karen's resilience and positivity SHINE through as she continues to interview and coach individuals, particularly those navigating health challenges. She believes in moving forward while allowing herself grace to heal. Karen's dedication to helping others discover their potential, from children to adults, is guided by the motto, "You always had the power, my dear, you just had to realize it." As Karen embraces her role as a beacon of positivity and empowerment, she embodies the spirit of growth and transformation.

About the Host:

Howard Brown is a best-selling author, award-winning international speaker, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, interfaith peacemaker, and a two-time stage IV cancer survivor. He is also a sought-after speaker and consultant for corporate businesses, nonprofits, congregations, and community groups. Howard has co-founded two social networks that were the first to connect religious communities around the world. He is a nationally known patient advocate and “cancer whisperer” to many families. Howard, his wife Lisa, and daughter Emily currently reside in Michigan, and his happy place is on the basketball court.

Website

Http://www.shiningbrightly.com

Social Media

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/howard.brown.36

LinkedIn - https://wwwlinkedin.com/in/howardsbrown

Instagram - @howard.brown.36

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Transcript
Howard Brown:

Hello, it's Howard Brown. It's the Shining Brightly

Howard Brown:

Show. Oh my goodness, I have a very dear friend, a very special

Howard Brown:

guest, Karen Pulver, how are you and welcome.

Karen Pulver:

Thank you so much, Howard. So glad to be here.

Howard Brown:

So nice. It's so nice to see you. You've got such

Howard Brown:

an incredible story that I want to share with the audience

Howard Brown:

tonight. And, you know, you've, you're really an incredible

Howard Brown:

person. And you're beautiful inside and out. I want everyone

Howard Brown:

to know that right now, as we become friends, and you've done

Howard Brown:

coaching for me. So I just say I want to say I really appreciate

Howard Brown:

you, and thank you for coming on. All right, so let me tell

Howard Brown:

you a little bit about Karen. She is the multi faceted

Howard Brown:

individual. And you have had a remarkable journey. You are a

Howard Brown:

podcaster a model actress, a mother and a teacher, were going

Howard Brown:

to ask about that little more detail about that. A cancer and

Howard Brown:

a stroke survivor. Karen's passion for empowering women led

Howard Brown:

her to found a women's group in Chicago called the grateful

Howard Brown:

goddesses. Within this group, women gathered in various venues

Howard Brown:

to listen to inspiring speakers, and engage in activities curated

Howard Brown:

by Karen, to enhance their lives, what a beautiful mission.

Howard Brown:

So in 2009, you established the grateful goddesses, and then you

Howard Brown:

actually started to share your challenge of being diagnosed

Howard Brown:

with cancer, we're going to talk about that, and I'll let you

Howard Brown:

share a little bit more about that. But you grew strength from

Howard Brown:

this group yourself, even though you were actually basically

Howard Brown:

leading it as well. In 2019, as the pandemic hit, you launched

Howard Brown:

the podcast of the same name as a virtual platform, because we

Howard Brown:

weren't gathering, but you were bringing together people all

Howard Brown:

over the world. And you are basically expanding, you know,

Howard Brown:

the the physical aspects, the mental aspects and the spiritual

Howard Brown:

aspects of dealing with the pandemic, dealing with, you

Howard Brown:

know, being a woman and, and also a mom and in the pandemic.

Howard Brown:

And these personal interactions on part of your weekly show,

Howard Brown:

allowed you to really learn from them, and you all became, you

Howard Brown:

know, a tight knit group. And next phase of your life, you

Howard Brown:

actually turned all this wonderful knowledge to be a

Howard Brown:

coach, and you actually at the Adler School of Psychology, and

Howard Brown:

then all of a sudden, you were struck down again, with a

Howard Brown:

stroke. And we're gonna, we got to talk about that, because this

Howard Brown:

is an incredible story. But you gotta have all this in your

Howard Brown:

goddess toolbox and you rehabilitate yourself, your

Howard Brown:

resilience, your positivity do shine through. And that's why

Howard Brown:

you're shining brightly with me tonight, and you've navigated

Howard Brown:

these health challenges. And you are moving forward, and you're

Howard Brown:

helping others. And at the end of the day, that's really what

Howard Brown:

it's all about. And so you have a motto here, you always had the

Howard Brown:

power, my dear, you just have to realise it. That's beautiful.

Howard Brown:

And you're a beacon of positivity, empowerment, and you

Howard Brown:

embody the spirit of growth and transformation. So that's a

Howard Brown:

beautiful introduction. But tell me something that we may not

Howard Brown:

know about you. Let's share a little secret about Karen. What

Howard Brown:

do you got for me?

Karen Pulver:

Well, I can tap dance.

Howard Brown:

Oh, I did not know that.

Karen Pulver:

I know you didn't. And I love to dance. And I took

Karen Pulver:

tap dancing when I was young. And when the pandemic hit, I

Karen Pulver:

ordered these tap dance shoes. Because you know, we couldn't go

Karen Pulver:

anywhere. So my basement and I put music on and I just tap away

Karen Pulver:

and it's really fun.

Howard Brown:

And it's therapeutic to

Karen Pulver:

it's so therapeutic.

Howard Brown:

Oh my god. I did. That's a great surprise. You're

Howard Brown:

tapping? Oh, that's awesome?

Karen Pulver:

Yes.

Howard Brown:

Well, take me through a little bit as far as

Howard Brown:

maybe roll back a little bit, you know, to either your

Howard Brown:

upbringing or actually you became a teacher. And that's

Howard Brown:

like the noblest profession there is. Tell me about how you

Howard Brown:

became a teacher.

Karen Pulver:

Well, I was not a good student. I didn't learn to

Karen Pulver:

read till I was in third grade. And I was a teacher looking back

Karen Pulver:

at my childhood, I believe I must have had a learning

Karen Pulver:

challenge because I could not seem to pick it up. I had a lot

Karen Pulver:

of trouble and my mom took me to a tutor. Finally in third grade,

Karen Pulver:

and I connected with her and she just really encouraged me a lot

Karen Pulver:

of it was confidence, I think. And I finally learned to read so

Karen Pulver:

as I got older, I realised that I wanted to help kids, you know

Karen Pulver:

who would be struggling and to overcome whatever it was that

Karen Pulver:

they were having challenges in school, and that's one of the

Karen Pulver:

main reasons why I became a teacher. I loved working with

Karen Pulver:

kids. I love being with kids. I love seeing their eyes light up

Karen Pulver:

when they learn something, because kids are not gone

Karen Pulver:

through all the social stuff that adults have. So like, you

Karen Pulver:

know, they love to play and I love to play. As you can see, I

Karen Pulver:

love to tap dance. So I just have fun being a teacher. And I

Karen Pulver:

also know that I'm really helping these children.

Howard Brown:

Yeah. And I mean, here's the thing, you're like a

Howard Brown:

renaissance woman because you're a model and an actress. And, you

Howard Brown:

know, you've done quite quite a lot, and you've been through a

Howard Brown:

lot. So the grateful goddesses Okay, how did you come up with

Howard Brown:

that? And it's, it's really cool. And I have to tell you,

Howard Brown:

I'm gonna confess I, you know, as you invited me to your show,

Howard Brown:

and present my cancer journey with another young woman's

Howard Brown:

cancer journey, it was a great honour to be on your show. I am

Howard Brown:

so grateful for that. And thank you, but tell me how it all

Howard Brown:

began and why you did it.

Karen Pulver:

Well, I was a teacher and a mom of three kids.

Karen Pulver:

Ah, well was my kids were getting older. I was working

Karen Pulver:

part time as a teacher. But there was something missing. I

Karen Pulver:

wasn't sure what it was. I knew actually, that I wanted to model

Karen Pulver:

when I was younger, be a model and an actress. So I first did

Karen Pulver:

that I first took some acting classes, I had some headshots

Karen Pulver:

done. And that was great. And that was fun. And that's today,

Karen Pulver:

I do a little bit of that. But I still felt something. I couldn't

Karen Pulver:

quite pinpoint what it was. So one day, I dropped my kids off

Karen Pulver:

at school, and I just decided to go for a walk. And I walked in

Karen Pulver:

walked into city, and I just stumbled upon a dance studio.

Karen Pulver:

And I went in and I signed up for a cardio strip tease. And I

Karen Pulver:

know it sounds like crazy, like, are you going to strip No, it

Karen Pulver:

wasn't stripping, it was dancing and moving around. She just

Karen Pulver:

called the cardio striptease to get women's attention. But it

Karen Pulver:

was such a freeing fun activity that I decided that even though

Karen Pulver:

I was a dancer, I never danced like that. So I felt so elated

Karen Pulver:

stepping out of my box. And that was, you know, a small box

Karen Pulver:

because I was a dancer. So I thought, How great would it be

Karen Pulver:

if I could bring this to people and really encourage them to try

Karen Pulver:

something new and to learn new things. So that's how the

Karen Pulver:

gatherings formed. The Grateful goddess name was just when I was

Karen Pulver:

in the shower once and I was just feeling so grateful. And I

Karen Pulver:

don't know, maybe I was using a goddess razor. I don't know.

Karen Pulver:

It's called plus, no, it was I feel really like, like, we all

Karen Pulver:

are goddesses, like we're all just to have so much in us that

Karen Pulver:

needs to come through. And that's how that happens. So

Karen Pulver:

these were gatherings in the city of Chicago with different

Karen Pulver:

venues. And it was a really great experience. And we learned

Karen Pulver:

a lot of things from different guests. And then as I mentioned

Karen Pulver:

to us, I then had cancer. So that halted things a little bit.

Howard Brown:

I know it and so any any shows that stand out or

Howard Brown:

any any lessons from interviewing so many people and

Howard Brown:

meeting and gathering to

Karen Pulver:

Yeah, first of all, just just the fun topics.

Karen Pulver:

You know, we we covered fashion, I had some fun with finance,

Karen Pulver:

finances, but teaching us you know how to handle finances. But

Karen Pulver:

that was good, because you feel really empowered that you can do

Karen Pulver:

these things, and make up and all of those kinds of things.

Karen Pulver:

But I also interviewed women and men. This was my first interview

Karen Pulver:

was this gentleman Jason rebel and he wrote this book.

Karen Pulver:

Eternity. He's a vegan chef. So I learned how to eat. I was for

Karen Pulver:

two years. I tried it. I liked it. But I still, you know,

Karen Pulver:

switch back. I learned from I just have a few books of people,

Karen Pulver:

Ellen Schwartz. B actually talks about lessons in life. And just

Karen Pulver:

like, we can't change the challenges we face, but we can

Karen Pulver:

change how we deal with them, for example, right? So a lot of

Karen Pulver:

those kinds of lessons came through. This was one of my

Karen Pulver:

favourite interviews. It's Dr. Edith Eger, she's a Holocaust

Karen Pulver:

survivor and a psychologist and she wrote the choice. And she

Karen Pulver:

talks about, you know, she survived Auschwitz every day,

Karen Pulver:

she'd get up and make the choice of how she was going to live her

Karen Pulver:

her day. And she had hope, and having hope is something that

Karen Pulver:

has gotten me through my challenges. That's probably the

Karen Pulver:

biggest lesson that I've learned is from her. But you and I share

Karen Pulver:

that because the last chapter of my book, which you know, is

Karen Pulver:

called sharing hope, so, we that you that's the fuel that gets us

Karen Pulver:

through for sure. So now, you're diagnosed with cancer. Do you

Karen Pulver:

want to share some details? Well, as a matter of fact,

Karen Pulver:

today, April 1 Is my cancer Versary you didn't know for

Karen Pulver:

listening a cancer Versary is the year wealth every cancer

Karen Pulver:

survivor does different but this was the day that I got the phone

Karen Pulver:

call. My whole world stopped. I actually felt like I was in the

Karen Pulver:

best shape of my life. And everything seemed to be running

Karen Pulver:

really smoothly with the kids and everything. And I had a bump

Karen Pulver:

on my back and I didn't know what it was. And it was it. She

Karen Pulver:

kind of felt like a mosquito bite. My husband, he's like, get

Karen Pulver:

it looked at. And I had three doctors three, tell me it was

Karen Pulver:

nothing. Don't worry about it

Karen Pulver:

grew and it got blacker and harder and weird. So I said, I

Karen Pulver:

just want to get it out. So I went to a surgeon who then said,

Karen Pulver:

Well, I can take it out. But you know, you're gonna have a really

Karen Pulver:

big scar. I'm like, I don't care. Just get it out. So she

Karen Pulver:

took it out. And then a week later, they had biopsy biopsy,

Karen Pulver:

because that's what they do. Yeah, just precaution. And I got

Karen Pulver:

the phone call that I needed to come in. And then I was

Karen Pulver:

diagnosed with B cell non Hodgkins lymphoma, and I needed

Karen Pulver:

radiation. And that was my cancer that

Howard Brown:

you did not have chemotherapy. You just did it by

Howard Brown:

radiation.

Karen Pulver:

Yes, I actually had what a lot of people said

Karen Pulver:

was the good cancer to have I mean, cancers, cancer, I I

Karen Pulver:

personally don't think that any cancer is a good one to have.

Karen Pulver:

However, it was slow growing, I caught it. Stage one. Had I

Karen Pulver:

ignored my gut instinct to get it removed, it would have

Karen Pulver:

probably spread and got to a you know, so I people listening.

Karen Pulver:

Just take precautions if you have anything that you're not

Karen Pulver:

sure about. And even if doctors right three tell me it was

Karen Pulver:

nothing. But if you feel it, go check it out.

Howard Brown:

Oh, 100%. Now I had T cell lymphoma, which was

Howard Brown:

blood cancer of the lymphatic system. But I was stage four,

Howard Brown:

and I had this big red and purple golf ball come out of my

Howard Brown:

cheekbone. And that was my towel. And if it didn't come

Howard Brown:

out, I wouldn't be here because I wouldn't have known because I

Howard Brown:

actually felt pretty good. And I was in the best shape my life

Howard Brown:

when I was 23. Then I also I agree with you 100%. So I have

Howard Brown:

to tell you during my you know, my motivational speeches that I

Howard Brown:

do I stop in the middle, and I tell everyone, if you're not

Howard Brown:

your best you, okay, what are you doing, and during the

Howard Brown:

pandemic, people didn't go to their doctor's appointments, so

Howard Brown:

they didn't get their mammography, they didn't go to

Howard Brown:

their lady doctor, they didn't get men for prostate or all of

Howard Brown:

us for colonoscopy, or even go to the dentist you're getting

Howard Brown:

screened, gives you a better chance, okay, if anything bad

Howard Brown:

happens, and I also agree with you, there is no good cancer,

Howard Brown:

bad cancer, it's pretty all bad. For the most part, it's tough

Howard Brown:

when you get those, you know that that phone call. And then

Howard Brown:

lastly, I we're just coming off of colorectal cancer awareness.

Howard Brown:

And all the cancers have colours, long is white and

Howard Brown:

breast cancer is pink, colorectal cancer, Evans, blue,

Howard Brown:

prostate is teal, there's all colours in the wheel. And I wear

Howard Brown:

blue almost every day if not, or I have a little blue pin, lapel

Howard Brown:

pin. And it's also for the people in treatment. Because I

Howard Brown:

will tell you this radiation, surgery, chemotherapy, the side

Howard Brown:

effects clinical trials, all that is no fun when you're in

Howard Brown:

treatment, no matter if it's just, you know, something that

Howard Brown:

is being treated. That's fairly small, a large all matters. And

Howard Brown:

lastly is that I wear blue to commemorate those that lost

Howard Brown:

their cancer battle that their cancer burden came to great and

Howard Brown:

get called to heaven. So I agree with you so much on that. And

Howard Brown:

what did you learn from that is that one you learn to get

Howard Brown:

checked and follow your gut. That was that's the key.

Karen Pulver:

I wanted the big a big lesson. But I also learned,

Karen Pulver:

you know, at first, I thought, Oh, I'm going to change

Karen Pulver:

everything. I'm going to change my diet. I'm going to I mean, I

Karen Pulver:

exercise every day. But I'm going to exercise twice a day,

Karen Pulver:

I'm going to do this. I mean, I just kept thinking about how

Karen Pulver:

what can I do now. But it wasn't really about that. That was kind

Karen Pulver:

of like New Year's resolution that lasts a month and then

Karen Pulver:

fades away. I mean, I like to have a glass of wine. I like

Karen Pulver:

chocolate. I like you know. But what I did do that I found was a

Karen Pulver:

big change was I've changed my mental state a lot. I started to

Karen Pulver:

set boundaries with people that I hadn't done before. I mean,

Karen Pulver:

doesn't mean but I I said no to things. I wouldn't take on as

Karen Pulver:

much as I did before because I think that stress has a very big

Karen Pulver:

part in it. And it's not that I was stressed at the time. But I

Karen Pulver:

was thinking what was it? What was it? You know? And I thought,

Karen Pulver:

well, maybe I just need to take care of my mental state more. So

Karen Pulver:

i i When I was tired, I would go take a nap. You know, you

Karen Pulver:

sometimes you fight those things because you're like, oh, no, I

Karen Pulver:

gotta be up the whole day. Well, no, I need to take a nap. I need

Karen Pulver:

to take care of myself. I need to maybe not be friends with

Karen Pulver:

that person because they're really draining. I'm going to do

Karen Pulver:

that. So all of those kinds of things from the cancer I learned

Karen Pulver:

because It's not that they told me you're going to die from

Karen Pulver:

this. But what I was told by my oncologist is that I'm on watch

Karen Pulver:

and wait. And I'm still on it. So I go every year, and that my

Karen Pulver:

life might be shortened. Well, hearing that kind of sucks. But

Karen Pulver:

same time, it's a bit of a wake up call. Because even though I

Karen Pulver:

have the, the good cancer, it's kind of like a scar and you

Karen Pulver:

don't want to like open up the wound, right? So you got to take

Karen Pulver:

care of yourself. So I learned how to physically and mentally

Karen Pulver:

take care of myself.

Howard Brown:

I love that discipline. It's really good.

Howard Brown:

And also the way that you were able to weed out the negativity

Howard Brown:

or people that were draining to you. That is hard to do. I

Howard Brown:

actually did that as well, the second time around, and it is

Howard Brown:

hard to do, but it is important to do in your time of need. It

Howard Brown:

really is. So all right, you got your life back, you're back on

Howard Brown:

track. You're healthy for a period of time. And then

Howard Brown:

lightning struck again, tell told me about this scary episode

Howard Brown:

of a stroke.

Karen Pulver:

14 years went by and you know,

Howard Brown:

you're raising your kids, you're doing your the

Howard Brown:

kids, life is good.

Karen Pulver:

When you have your five year cancer bursary, you're

Karen Pulver:

like, Oh, yes. And then when you have your 10 Oh, yes. Well, last

Karen Pulver:

year, February, again, a date. You know, April 1 Is the cancer

Karen Pulver:

one and February 12 Is the stroke one, but I was in New

Karen Pulver:

Orleans with my husband visiting my daughter and we were out to

Karen Pulver:

lunch. And I That morning, I just was tired. And I just was

Karen Pulver:

almost like a, like hungover, but I hadn't had I had two

Karen Pulver:

drinks the night before. I wasn't hungover. But that really

Karen Pulver:

lethargic feeling. We went to lunch and I wasn't hungry. And

Karen Pulver:

next thing I knew, I'm talking to my husband and my head just

Karen Pulver:

flopped down on the table. And I was what's called locked in. I

Karen Pulver:

didn't know what at the time, I didn't know what was happening.

Karen Pulver:

I thought maybe I fainted. But I was still totally alert and

Karen Pulver:

awake. So that's called locked in. So basically, I was grunting

Karen Pulver:

and crying, but I couldn't speak. I could hear I could see.

Karen Pulver:

But I, I couldn't move. And I couldn't communicate it. I

Karen Pulver:

didn't know what was happening. So they took me to the hospital.

Karen Pulver:

And subsequently, when they did the scan, they saw that I had a

Karen Pulver:

midbrain bilateral stroke. So I had a clot that had split into

Karen Pulver:

and went in, you know, the two sections of my brain. And I was

Karen Pulver:

paralysed like that for a couple hours until it cleared, it did

Karen Pulver:

clear on its own. And usually they they administer something

Karen Pulver:

called a TPA, to help shrink the clots and that's what they were

Karen Pulver:

going to do. But in the interim of me waiting for them to get

Karen Pulver:

that ready. I my body managed to clear them. And I still don't

Karen Pulver:

quite understand that. But the neurologist said to me that

Karen Pulver:

because I was in good physical health before you know I'm not

Karen Pulver:

diabetic, I don't smoke, moderate drinker exercise, eat

Karen Pulver:

well, that my body was like, almost like when you have a

Karen Pulver:

virus in your body attacks it right. So my body was able to do

Karen Pulver:

it. And I felt However, I did suffer. Because I had a brain

Karen Pulver:

injury. I do have some challenges. As a result of that.

Karen Pulver:

I mean, the cancer you don't you know, I have a scar on my back

Karen Pulver:

from the radiation and you know, you're tired, but then you get

Karen Pulver:

better, right? Oh, you feel better. But the stroke

Karen Pulver:

definitely set me back harder than cancer.

Howard Brown:

So I hadn't heard of locked in syndrome until we

Howard Brown:

had talked about it. And I mean, I can't even imagine you mean is

Howard Brown:

like being paralysed. To an extent, right. You couldn't

Howard Brown:

talk? You really move, right.

Karen Pulver:

I couldn't move. Yeah, I couldn't move. And, and

Karen Pulver:

I heard everything going on around me. And I wanted to

Karen Pulver:

scream like in my head. There was like a little girl, Karen or

Karen Pulver:

a little woman, Karen, who was talking, you know, the movie,

Karen Pulver:

Inside Out with the characters in the brain. That's what it

Karen Pulver:

felt like. It felt like there was a whole mission control in

Karen Pulver:

my brain that was totally working and going, Oh, she's

Karen Pulver:

having us things are happening hurry hurrry. But my body was

Karen Pulver:

not reacting. And then it turned on it was like when you shut off

Karen Pulver:

a computer,

Howard Brown:

reboot,

Karen Pulver:

reboots, that's what happens.

Howard Brown:

You rebooted and then the body took otherwise

Howard Brown:

they're gonna have to, you know, get in there and then also,

Howard Brown:

there's either in a stroke it's it's blood loss to the to the

Howard Brown:

brain, correct? Yes, yes.

Howard Brown:

Scary. That is absolutely scary. You It's just incredible. So I

Howard Brown:

mean, how did that going forward? I mean, again, I have

Howard Brown:

to tell you, I don't use it out of convenience. But I have a

Howard Brown:

form of PTSD. It's called chemo brain, or brain fog. And really

Howard Brown:

what it turns out is I can't remember names anymore. And I

Howard Brown:

was so good at names. But I do have trouble. So it that's not

Howard Brown:

the end of the world. But there's people that do complain

Howard Brown:

of that. I mean, I know that, you know, Vietnam veterans are

Howard Brown:

and are just regular people have seen battle habit, but a lot of

Howard Brown:

cancer patients also do have that as well. And do you have

Howard Brown:

any lasting effects? From this

Karen Pulver:

Stroke or cancer?

Howard Brown:

Stroke?

Karen Pulver:

Oh, yeah, definitely. Um, at first, my

Karen Pulver:

balance was off. And I fell quite a bit. I was in the

Karen Pulver:

hospital for a couple days. And then when they, they released

Karen Pulver:

me, they, they didn't necessarily give me rehab, they

Karen Pulver:

didn't think I needed rehab. Right away anyway. But so I

Karen Pulver:

would walk and fall, and it wasn't good. So I had to work on

Karen Pulver:

my balance. And there was a pool, at my daughter's building

Karen Pulver:

where we were staying. So I started like going in the pool

Karen Pulver:

and just walking, so if you fall, you fall in the pool. So

Karen Pulver:

my physical has definitely gotten better every now and then

Karen Pulver:

when I practice yoga, because I practice a lot. My right side is

Karen Pulver:

dominant. But my right side is, is more is less now. But it's

Karen Pulver:

the thing is how it's very minute. Like, it's such a small

Karen Pulver:

difference physically, mentally to I forget things all the time.

Karen Pulver:

But now it's a deeper, like a deeper forgetting. Like,

Karen Pulver:

there'll be a word in my head. And it's right there before it

Karen Pulver:

would be like, not there, and you just forget it. But now like

Karen Pulver:

it's like, there. And it's like stuck. And I can't always say

Karen Pulver:

it. So a lot of times I'll pause and I'll be like, okay, you

Karen Pulver:

know, like, you know, what's a call, you know, that thing.

Karen Pulver:

And, and trust me, I was really worried that it would affect my

Karen Pulver:

teaching, my coaching. My friends, being with my husband,

Karen Pulver:

I mean, my kids were getting frustrated.

Karen Pulver:

But you know, I have to remind them I did, I have had speech

Karen Pulver:

and memory processing therapy. And I've been told that, you

Karen Pulver:

know, I have to advocate for myself, and I'm also in a stroke

Karen Pulver:

support group. So I met with individuals who look like me,

Karen Pulver:

like worse, we're in our mid 50s. You know, I'm 57. Like,

Karen Pulver:

there's a few of us that are that age. And if you look at us,

Karen Pulver:

you think you're totally fine. And a lot of people say that to

Karen Pulver:

me, Oh, you look great. You're fine. I'm like,

Karen Pulver:

But I try every day, I learned something new, I try something

Karen Pulver:

new, and some things become my habits. And some things. You

Karen Pulver:

know, I just keep practising. I just keep going.

Howard Brown:

Yeah, invisible disabilities are real. And it's

Howard Brown:

hard for people to recognise that you've persevered through

Howard Brown:

so much. And because I've been one of your coaching clients, we

Howard Brown:

won't reveal what goes on between you and I because

Howard Brown:

that's, you know, privilege, of course, but you're an amazing

Howard Brown:

teacher. And so tell us about your coaching practice and how

Howard Brown:

you're helping people.

Karen Pulver:

I started when I was doing my live, grateful

Karen Pulver:

goddess show. So that's actually where I met you. So once a week

Karen Pulver:

wanting to incorporate, you know, I had the podcast over

Karen Pulver:

COVID. But I missed the interaction part with people and

Karen Pulver:

the teaching component. So I curated different activities. I

Karen Pulver:

had different speakers, and I had a weekly show live show. And

Karen Pulver:

I Okay, so now I'm having one of those. ....of course, it's hot.

Karen Pulver:

Well, everyone, and this is what happens. I'm in mid thought, and

Karen Pulver:

what did you ask me? What was

Howard Brown:

I asked you about your coaching practice. And

Howard Brown:

here's your keyword. Go ahead. There's your launch.

Karen Pulver:

So I had realised after the show, that people

Karen Pulver:

would stay on the Zoom, you know, by talking to one person

Karen Pulver:

and ever a lot of people would stay on. And they start talking

Karen Pulver:

to me and I'd start talking to them. And I realised, wow, I'm

Karen Pulver:

teaching, I'm teaching but I'm teaching adults now. And this is

Karen Pulver:

kind of fun. And this is Oh, look at and I've had certain

Karen Pulver:

individuals reached out to me and say thank you. You know, one

Karen Pulver:

person said that they had been inside and they hadn't gone

Karen Pulver:

outside. Of course, this was coat during COVID But she was

Karen Pulver:

very nervous to step outside. And I encouraged her to just go

Karen Pulver:

out and she went out. And that just felt really good that I

Karen Pulver:

could help you know these individuals. So I decided to

Karen Pulver:

become a coach and I studied psychology, but I didn't. I

Karen Pulver:

didn't want to do therapy. I wanted to help coaching is a

Karen Pulver:

more forward thinking type of experience. So you're helping

Karen Pulver:

people to get unstuck. And with coaching, the the problems that

Karen Pulver:

people have, aren't always what they want to work on. There's

Karen Pulver:

something deeper in there. It's not just like, Oh, what am I

Karen Pulver:

gonna do for my work? It's like, How can I be more confident? You

Karen Pulver:

know what I mean? So I love digging deeper into what it is,

Karen Pulver:

and then helping people.

Karen Pulver:

So I started the programme, and I was way on my way, getting all

Karen Pulver:

my coaching hours, and then boom, had the stroke. And I

Karen Pulver:

couldn't continue, I could barely string a sentence

Karen Pulver:

together. So I was I was depressed. I mean, I certainly

Karen Pulver:

had some downtime. And I learned to Howard that you have to allow

Karen Pulver:

yourself those downtimes. And don't beat yourself up. I was I

Karen Pulver:

was like, I'm never gonna do this. And it's like, no, no, I'm

Karen Pulver:

not don't maybe, but I'm going to rest. I'm going to work on

Karen Pulver:

one thing at a time. You know, little by little, just like

Karen Pulver:

riding a bike, just like trying a new skill. It'll be the best

Karen Pulver:

it'll be. And I continue tutoring with children. I

Karen Pulver:

continue to continue to coaching. And I haven't had

Karen Pulver:

anyone complain.

Howard Brown:

Well, I want to tell you that the thing that I

Howard Brown:

think that I only reveal a small teaser is that you took me

Howard Brown:

through my life wheel and we prioritised? That's what I

Howard Brown:

really appreciated that we got to the, you know, we got to

Howard Brown:

really what's important to me by prioritising on the life wheel,

Howard Brown:

and I thank you for that. And also, thank you for sharing

Howard Brown:

about what you do when you know you're feeling down scared or

Howard Brown:

anxious as well, because we're human. But you know, your

Howard Brown:

resilience is a muscle. Okay. And I would say that I built

Howard Brown:

Humpty Dumpty, you know, version three, oh, now I'm putting them

Howard Brown:

back together again. But we all get knocked down in life and in

Howard Brown:

business. And also in relationships, that's the most

Howard Brown:

complex one. And we have to be able to as my books as use our

Howard Brown:

light to get back up. And once we're back up, we go help

Howard Brown:

others. And this is what you've done. You're basically, you

Howard Brown:

know, model, you know, case study for my book is that you've

Howard Brown:

walked with darkness, you've learned from it, you've gotten

Howard Brown:

yourself back, and now you're helping others. And it's just

Howard Brown:

really, it really is so beautiful. And I'm so those of

Howard Brown:

you will, we'll give you in the show notes and on socials on how

Howard Brown:

to get in touch with you for your coaching because I think

Howard Brown:

it's really important. And you are so compassionate, and you

Howard Brown:

are such a good listener. So that that is what really makes a

Howard Brown:

good coach. Alright, so this is the time of the show, I'm gonna

Howard Brown:

have you put sunglasses on, if you don't mind, we're going to

Howard Brown:

put on our shades because this is the shining brightly

Howard Brown:

spotlight. And of course, you're a model. So you have the best

Howard Brown:

quote, look and shades. And I wanted to tell people how to get

Howard Brown:

in touch with you, how they should to get in touch you for

Howard Brown:

your coaching and all that now I'll include all your links on

Howard Brown:

social links as well. And then wait. And then lastly, I know

Howard Brown:

you have prepared an inspirational quote. So then

Howard Brown:

share that and then kick the show back to me. All right, I

Howard Brown:

will kick it back to you. Yes,

Karen Pulver:

first, you can reach me in many ways you can go

Karen Pulver:

on my website, and it's great for WWW dot grateful

Karen Pulver:

goddesses.com goddesses and you'll have it right written

Karen Pulver:

out. So people you know make mistakes of goddesses.com and

Karen Pulver:

also email me personally Karen Pulver pul ve r@yahoo.com. And

Karen Pulver:

my quote

Howard Brown:

I read before that you have a giveaway

Karen Pulver:

right away your giveaway giveaway is I'm going

Karen Pulver:

to give away a discovery session with me it's valued at $125 and

Karen Pulver:

we can do this by zoom and we can just get on top with each

Karen Pulver:

other and see something that you want to work through and I can

Karen Pulver:

help guide you there and then if you'd like to continue with me

Karen Pulver:

as long as you did, and we can continue

Howard Brown:

I love it alright, let's let's shine share some

Howard Brown:

inspiration with what you got.

Howard Brown:

Okay, it's hard to see out of these glasses go take the

Howard Brown:

glasses off we shine

Howard Brown:

if you can,

Karen Pulver:

you've always had the power my dear. You just have

Karen Pulver:

to learn it for yourself. So this is a bag my sister in law

Karen Pulver:

got me but this is I live by and my past and grateful goddesses

Karen Pulver:

is all about this and my life really. Because in the Wizard of

Karen Pulver:

Oz, Dorothy, all the characters wanted all of these things

Karen Pulver:

right? They wanted intelligence heart.

Karen Pulver:

Courage, courage, a brain, a brain and they kept thinking the

Karen Pulver:

wizard is going to give it to me. Oh, Dorothy is going to go

Karen Pulver:

home because the wizard is going to get and we all think that in

Karen Pulver:

our lives, right? Yeah. If only we had this then we get this if

Karen Pulver:

only this and who's going to we're going to strive towards

Karen Pulver:

someone else telling us

Karen Pulver:

We all had it at the end. They had it in themselves, right?

Karen Pulver:

Because the wizard says, well, actually, you are smart. And

Karen Pulver:

actually, you are brave. And actually, Dorothy, you just have

Karen Pulver:

to click your heels and then you'll be home. So I feel that

Karen Pulver:

we all have the power within us. And as a coach, as a teacher,

Karen Pulver:

I'm going to help guide you to find that power.

Howard Brown:

It's great. It's using the Wizard of Oz. To say,

Howard Brown:

yes, you have it within you, and you can do it. It's beautiful.

Howard Brown:

It's really is. All right. Well, this has been a really important

Howard Brown:

show. And it's, I'm just so glad you came on and told your

Howard Brown:

stories, and are lifting up others. That's that's, that's,

Howard Brown:

it's such a beautiful thing. So well, you can, you know, I want

Howard Brown:

to say I got a shout out a few folks that helped me along the

Howard Brown:

way. So my publisher front edge publishing, read the spirit.com,

Howard Brown:

which comes out every Monday, and I blog in that usually

Howard Brown:

almost every week, and then my finishing house for my podcast

Howard Brown:

is amplify you and they just make me look so good. And I want

Howard Brown:

to say thank you to them for making me look good. And then

Howard Brown:

how to get a hold of me is shining brightly.com And you can

Howard Brown:

find the book you can find the podcast and also the

Howard Brown:

motivational speaking. And then most importantly, my advocacy,

Howard Brown:

like my work in, in cancer, my work with entrepreneurship and

Howard Brown:

mentorship and leadership. And then lastly, my interfaith

Howard Brown:

relations work. And those are the things that really matter at

Howard Brown:

the end of the day. So let's all just try to shine brightly, a

Howard Brown:

little bit more for ourselves, go lift up others in our

Howard Brown:

communities in our neighbourhoods, and yes, the

Howard Brown:

world would be a better place. Karen Pulver it's been a

Howard Brown:

pleasure. Thank you. Thank you.