There’s Learnin’ in the Hurtin’

As December rolls in, many of us find ourselves looking back, taking stock of the highs, the lows, and everything in between! Reflection can be humbling. It can also be healing. This year, for me, it’s been both.

2025 has been one of the toughest years I’ve faced in a long time. I started the year battling a thyroid issue that caused me to lose a significant amount of weight in a very short period of time. I felt weak – physically drained and mentally shaken. Just as I was getting out of the fog, I faced a torn retina, which came with all the fear and uncertainty anyone with low vision knows too well! And on top of the health challenges, I was navigating some difficult moments with my co-founder and friend, Mike.

It felt like everything was hitting at once.

But struggle has a way of revealing what truly sustains us. For me, it meant doubling down on the things I could control – moving my body, building back my strength, putting my trust in the amazing doctors at the Duke Eye Center, and having the hard, but honest conversations that strengthened my partnership with Mike.

Little by little, brick by brick, I climbed back, and I can honestly say this year came out roses!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a song on repeat: “Nosedive” by Post Malone and Lainey Wilson. There’s a line that hits me right in the chest every time:

“I hit rock and dropped the shovel.

Clawed my way out past the rubble

Do my best stay outta trouble, heaven knows

Sometimes the picture it ain’t perfect

But there’s learnin’ in the hurtin’.”

Those words sum up my year more than anything I could write. But having hit rock eight years ago, before coming to LCI and launching Ablr, I believed I could overcome this nosedive. I had learned to stop digging. To stop beating myself up for what wasn’t in my control. I believed I was able to claw my way forward – it might be slow and imperfect, but I believed I could do it again. And I did!

But as I look toward the new year, I’m grateful more than ever, for the people around me who offered support, grace, and love. I’m grateful for the Ablr team who continues to push forward, for our partners who believe in the mission, and for the community that reminds me daily why our work matters, because every thorn has it’s rose!

If you’ve had a tough year too, I hope you hear this:

You don’t have to pretend everything is perfect. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Sometimes surviving the storm is the victory. And every struggle teaches us something that makes us stronger, more resilient, and more connected, and you too will see that there is beauty in the nosedive too!

Here’s to a new year, one built on lessons learned, challenges overcome, and the belief that even when we hit rock, we can drop the shovel and climb out again!

Wishing you strength, hope, and clarity as we close out 2025!