Dear Coterie,

I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to tell you a brief story about how I pushed through a tough time in my life. In a blog post I put out last month, I opened up about dealing with vertigo. It wasn’t easy, but I shared the steps I was taking to get better.

A little backstory: I’ve struggled with vertigo for years, but could keep it under control through repositioning maneuvers and minimal medication, but I’ve never experienced vertigo like this. I woke up to a spinning world. Certain movements will trigger it, but rolling over in my sleep was never one of them. It was terrifying, and I felt helpless. My husband didn’t complain once about me waking him and held me until it passed.

While my doctor did a successful job in helping me reduce the vertigo to a manageable level, as soon as it eased up, I started experiencing daily occurrences of chronic hives that previously showed up every few weeks.

After more back and forth with my doctor and a referral to allergy and the realization we needed to take some drastic measures, I temporarily stopped editing, reading, and writing because I couldn’t focus.

During these challenges, I experienced unexpected moments of joy and connection with my family. Baking bread with my son, and cooking dinner with my husband became wonderful highlights of my days. Their constant support (even when pumped up on steroids) showed me how powerful loving connections can be, even in the middle of all the craziness.

As I pen these words in March, with April in mind, I’m thankful for the valuable lessons and personal development achieved in this tough year. I have high hopes that April will give a much-needed boost to my work and creativity.

Thank you for allowing me to be part of your journey! I hope we can gather the courage to face difficulties and emerge stronger. If you’d like to know more, or contact me and tell your story, you can check out my site here.

Warmest Regards,

Lady Velvet Peterson