{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F18065687-6f04-42d6-9fed-8f0b832ced4e","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"My Story","description":"My divorce clients sometimes say, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Ashley, but you don\u2019t understand,\u201d often while pushing back on some optimistic or uber-reasonable advice I\u2019ve given. My patent response is, \u201cYou\u2019re right. I\u2019m not divorced, so I don\u2019t understand your experience, but I\u2019ve had a lot of experiences that have given me perspective. I have four broken vertebrae in my back and live in chronic pain, I have a child with a disability that affects nearly all of his life activities, and my husband has had cancer. I understand hardship, stress, and pain. Reasonableness, objectivity, optimism \u2013 those are choices.\u201d In today\u2019s podcast, I share some of my story \u2013 including the story about the accident that gave me four compression fractures in my back and Jack\u2019s birth story- and I deliver some of the best lessons I\u2019ve learned as a result. \r\n\n \r\n\nI was fifteen when my waverunner exploded, leaving me with four compressed vertebrae and a life of chronic pain. I could have chosen negativity. I could have chosen to be a victim. Instead, I chose to be a survivor. The lessons I have learned in navigating life in chronic pain and with PTSD have really yielded unwavering grit, fortitude, and relentless optimism. \r\n\n \r\n\nWhich helped immensely when Jack was born. The doctor told me that Jack had Down syndrome moments after he was born \u2013 when I was still on the operating table. My response: \u201cWhat do we do next.\u201d Sure, I\u2019ve taken many moments to grieve throughout Jack\u2019s life, but I always come back to, \u201cWhat\u2019s next? What do we do to make Jack the best Jack he can be? How do we love him more? How do we support him more? How do we make the world a better place for him?\u201d The relentless optimism \u2013 the grit \u2013 the fortitude- it\u2019s as much for him as it is for me. \r\n\n \r\n\nThese traits have yielded true team work with Jack\u2019s IEP teams and have yielded so much communication and respect in his community. \r\n\n \r\n\nI hope that in sharing my story \u2013 or little pieces of it \u2013 that you\u2019ll have some take aways that work in your team. Educate. Advocate. Collaborate. \r\n","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/e13def45-6f41-49f9-91d2-abf531c80576/8652091-1599164556720-78131d67c4efc.jpg"}