It is devastating when a busy person who thrives on setting goals and meeting them is suddenly struck with a serious illness—a situation made worse if the person is responsible for caring for others.

Barbara Gabogrecan had always been a busy woman with a plan, one who thrived on setting goals and meeting them. In addition to her many professional responsibilities, she was caring for her blind and deaf ninety-year-old mother who was battling dementia. Her husband’s chronic back condition left him bedridden much of the time. She didn’t have the time or energy to deal with any more—and that’s when her own life was changed in an instant, when she had, in quick succession, a stroke and subsequent surgery for a brain tumour.

For many people, that would have been the final straw, but for Barbara, it was the chance to rise above her adversity and not just survive but prosper. Her extraordinary life experiences and accomplishments shaped her character, and now she shares her journey to recovery in candid detail with humour and compassion.

Barbara tells her story in the hope of inspiring those who are living with a serious illness or are caring for someone who is.