I Lost My Leg in April, and Gained Something Greater

There’s a rhythm to loss. A landscape. A valley.

You begin on high ground—before it happens. You’re moving, creating, leading, maybe even flying. Your legs carry you. Your purpose lights the path. There’s certainty in your steps, even in the unknown.

And then—without warning—you drop.

Loss doesn’t knock. It barges in. It tears through the map you once trusted, and suddenly, you’re in the valley.

The valley is dark. It’s steep and cold and disorienting. And grief—grief is the fog that clings to everything.

You grieve what’s gone—who you were. You grieve the leg that once carried you across the threshold of so many milestones. You grieve the simplicity of standing without thinking, walking without planning, leading without explaining.

You grieve… quietly, loudly, angrily, tenderly. And there’s no shortcut. No detour. No way to skip the descent.

April 2025: The Month That Changed Everything

I spent the month of April in a hospital bed. And let me be clear—it wasn’t a place of rest. It was a battlefield.

This was the month my right lower leg was taken.

Not lost. Not surrendered. Taken.

Taken to save what was left of me. Taken to give me a chance at life, not just survival.

In those sterile walls, I met pain like I’ve never known. I met fatigue that stole my breath, and silence that could split a soul.

I had to sit with the realness of it. The swelling. The weight of what I couldn’t do. The echo of a limb that wasn’t there—but still throbbed with memory.

I had to let go of what I thought strength looked like. Because in April, strength looked like crying without shame. It looked like letting nurses hold me steady when I couldn’t hold myself. It looked like learning to transfer, to balance, to exist in a body that now told a very different story.

But here’s what I know for sure:

I didn’t just survive that hospital stay. I emerged. Changed, yes. Scarred, yes. But broken? Never.

What the Valley Taught Me About Leadership and Growth

The valley teaches you that strength doesn’t always look like standing tall.

Sometimes, it looks like lying in bed and deciding not to give up.

Sometimes, it looks like asking for help when you’ve always been the helper.

Sometimes, it looks like loving a body that feels unfamiliar, and whispering, “We’ll figure this out. Together.”

And one day—not all at once, but moment by moment—you begin the ascent.

Your step is different now, but it’s no less strong.

You rise not in spite of what you’ve lost, but because of everything you’ve learned in its absence.

You don’t return to who you were.

You evolve into who you were always meant to be.

This Is My Truth as a Healthcare Leader

I lost a limb.

And found a new kind of wholeness.

I lost ease.

And found endurance.

I lost the familiar.

And found the fire in my soul that refused to be dimmed.

Let no one mistake the look of this body as weakness. This body is a warrior. This body tells the truth of survival, of reinvention, of unshakeable will.

From this new high ground, With a heart reshaped by pain, A body rewritten by resilience, And a spirit that has walked through fire— I see the world differently. I see nurses differently. I see leaders differently.

I become a light for those still finding their way through the tunnel. Not because I have all the answers— But because I’ve sat in the dark and made peace with it.

Because I’ve learned that healing isn’t going back; It’s going forward— Carved by courage. Paved in grace. Led by truth.

To Every Nurse, Leader, and Professional in the Valley

If you’re in the valley right now, I want you to hear this:

You are not broken. You are becoming.

And if you don’t know how to rise just yet, that’s okay. You don’t have to climb alone.

At Karma Coaching Insights LLP, I help healthcare professionals like you rediscover your voice, reignite your passion, and rise again—even in the aftermath of loss, burnout, and uncertainty.

Whether it’s helping you:

• Redefine your leadership after crisis

• Build a career rooted in purpose

• Grow your income and impact

• Or simply believe in your strength again

I’m here. And I’m walking proof that you can lose something unimaginable—and still lead a life of unimaginable meaning.

Let’s Talk.

📩 Book a free call below.

Because what April took from me? It didn’t destroy me. It gave me a new lens, a deeper mission, and an unwavering belief that healing IS leadership.

And every single day since? I rise again.

Book a FREE call with Leslie