Two weeks ago my life changed in an instant: I was rushed to hospital with multiple blood clots in both lungs — a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. There were no warning signs and no obvious cause apart from the trigger of a long-haul flight – and I’ve done loads of those in my life. I’m healthy, fit, and active. Yet, suddenly, I found myself fighting for breath and facing something I could never have imagined.
It was very frightening. The days that followed were a blur of medical tests, oxygen monitors, and uncertainty. Even now, as I write this, it’s still early days. I’m recovering slowly — physically and emotionally — and I’m still processing what has happened.
This experience has shaken me. One minute, you’re planning your next project or holiday or making dinner, and the next, everything stops. It’s a stark reminder that life can be unpredictable, fragile, and astonishingly precious all at once.
I’ve spent many years writing about and running programmes on the seven skills for the future and life gives us opportunities all the time to put these skills into practice. These past weeks have brought them into sharp focus in a very personal way. Adaptability, for me right now, means surrendering to rest when my instinct is to push on. It means adjusting to a slower pace, accepting help, and allowing my body and mind the space they need to heal.
Inner strength is about acknowledging fear without letting it define me. It’s about finding calm in uncertainty, trusting the expertise of others, and choosing gratitude even when I feel vulnerable.
If there’s one truth this experience has brought home, it’s that we are never entirely in control — but we can always choose how we respond. Life will surprise us, sometimes painfully so, but it also offers endless chances to begin again, to connect more deeply, and to notice the quiet, everyday beauty of simply being here.
I don’t have all the answers yet — I’m still in the midst of recovery and reflection — but I know this: I’m profoundly grateful. For the doctors and nurses who acted so quickly. For the love and care I’ve received. And for the reminder that every ordinary day is a gift.
It is not the first pivotal event I have experienced in the last two years. It is, in fact, one of three but I don’t read too much into this. It is all life on life’s terms and we always have that choice – how do we respond? What can we choose to be grateful for? And perhaps – how do I want to move forward when I’m ready?
