081 - Surviving the Accident Was Only the Beginning with Jesi Stracham

In this episode, Jesi Stracham shares her inspiring journey of resilience and transformation after a life-changing accident that left her paralyzed. As a mindset and nutrition coach, adaptive athlete, and author, she emphasizes the importance of perspective, faith, and taking ownership of one's life. Through her experiences in adaptive sports and her relationship with God, Jessie illustrates how to overcome obstacles and find purpose in adversity. She encourages listeners to embrace their challenges, seek the good in every situation, and recognize that their circumstances do not define them

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Transcript

McKenzie Piland (00:04)
On today's episode of My Valley, His Victory, we have Jesi Stracham She is a mindset and nutrition coach, adaptive athlete, and author of Power in the Rule. She helps busy individuals transform their lives from the inside out by focusing on discipline, perspective, and ownership. Her story of resilience after a life-changing injury is a powerful reminder that your circumstances don't define you, your actions do. Thanks so much for being with us today, Jesi.

Jesi (00:31)
Thank you so much for having me. I'm stoked to be here.

McKenzie Piland (00:33)
Yeah, absolutely. I love everything that you just summed up in your bio there. I think that there are so many good things that I am excited to jump into, but would love for you to just share with the listeners a little bit more about yourself and who you are.

Jesi (00:46)
Um, so my name is Jesi Strawham. I have multiple businesses. I co-own a wellness facility in Lake Norman, North Carolina, where we serve our local community on healing their best for as long as possible. Um, cold plunge sauna, things like that. I co-launched the first fitness app for wheelchair users called Wheel With Me Adapt Fit. It's the first of its kind as far as being a downloadable app. And I founded a nonprofit for wheelchair users to help them achieve independence because so many

of us end up living on government assistance and I just want people to go live independently. Like there's so much more to this life than crumbling under the label of disability and so my goal is to help people see there's so much more than their wheelchair. And if you guys couldn't tell, I use a wheelchair.

McKenzie Piland (01:32)
Yeah,

absolutely. So with the fitness and kind of all of these like healthy lifestyle things that you do, I know we'll talk about it more in the towards the of this podcast, but you know, you haven't been in a wheelchair your whole life. Was some of these, you know, lifestyle and health and wellness and fitness things, were those always a part of your life or kind of has this been born out of your season in your wheelchair?

Jesi (02:00)
I grew up racing off-road on four wheelers and things, but I also lived very reckless. I was unguided. And so I just did what I wanted when I wanted. And it honestly took me gaining 30 pounds after the accident that made me find fitness. I found adaptive CrossFit and I was like, wow, if I'm working out, I should probably fuel my body right. Not only physically, but mentally. And so I started really paying attention to not only what I was consuming through my mouth, but also through my eyes, ears.

and all the above into my brain. And it's like, what am I feeding my mind? Is it good quality things? And I realized that I had been feeding it this victim narrative that wasn't actually accurate and that there was so much more to this life than being a victim of what I'd went through and that I could find a purpose and another side on it. And that's what I really turned to God. mean, it took me about five years into the accident to be like, okay, you can have my life now. What do want me to do? But I just, definitely will say that.

Going from being an atheist to the day before the accident I was saved, to having some kind of higher power, knew there was something there, to actually giving your life fully to that power. It's unbelievable how much when you just let go of the steering wheel and literally let Jesus take the wheel, right? ⁓ The guidance that you gain, the perspective, the clarity, just, it feels like it comes natural. And a lot of people refer to that as flow state. And I believe my flow state is where I'm connected with my creator.

McKenzie Piland (03:28)
Yeah, my goodness, I love that.

I think that that is so important and I love that you bring in some of those things that I feel like we hear outside of Christianity, that flow state and that productivity and all of that. it's like, man, those things only really come into play whenever you're solely connected to your Creator and your living and purpose and all the things. So that's so good. ⁓ So you've obviously been involved in a lot of things since your accident ⁓ and ⁓ specifically in the

adaptive world. I would love for you to talk just a little bit about that and you know about some of the things that exist out there for people that ⁓ you know are in a wheelchair or need things to help them get outdoors because it seems like you are really not letting this accident hold you back. You've done tough mudders, you've done you know mountain biking, water sports, hiking, all the things. ⁓

Yeah, I would just love for you to share like how you found some of those things, what is out there, like what you wish people knew that you can still do after being in wheelchair.

Jesi (04:36)
You

could literally do anything from being in like being in a wheelchair and do anything out there. think driving is the number one thing that people are always shocked about. Um, I don't drive a van. have a really cute Mercedes SUV that I just whip around. And it's so funny when people see me park in an accessible spot and they're like, Oh, this young girl is using this. Um, but adaptive sports saved my life. I think the first year or so of my injury, I really focused on walking again. And when you get a spinal cord injury,

the chances of you walking are less than 3 % and the chance to you walking like you did before, again, less than 3%. And so it's like, I had to eventually let that go and be like, what does this wheelchair life have to offer me? What can I do from this chair? And I found the world of adaptive sports and I've probably tried every adaptive sport under the sun from ⁓ both snow and water skiing, ⁓ tennis, archery.

I've done three gun competitions where you shoot firearms and actual targets. Tough Mudders, I actually helped pave the way for adaptive athletes and Tough Mudders to create the adaptive division. So when they do their 24 hour event, you're actually recognized, you have a mileage goal, all the above as adaptive athlete. And so it was really cool to get to spend a lot of time there and play the part there. I competed on the national developmental team for wheelchair curling for three years.

McKenzie Piland (05:39)
You

Jesi (06:02)
as a sport on ice, probably my favorite adaptive sport I've ever done because it's so technical and so mental. Don't like the cold too much though, so that wasn't a good time. I just, felt like there, when I got injured, I just had to figure out what this wheelchair life had to offer. And it, this guy is not even a limit. It's beyond that. And I think our perspective of disability, when you're like, ⁓ I can't stand anymore. I can't use the bathroom like I normally do.

McKenzie Piland (06:10)
you

Jesi (06:31)
That perspective is truly what limits us. When you focus on everything you can't do and what's been lost, that's all you're gonna see. And I made a pivot about a year into the injury where I said, okay, what does this injury have to offer me? And as of right now, the current CrossFit season's in season. I'm fifth in the world in adaptive CrossFit for seated without hip for women. I've competed in 15 Tough Mudders. I've done the world's toughest mudder four times.

I found all of these things that I never knew were possible. And I think the most important thing that anyone has to realize is you have to take a risk. You have to be willing to put yourself out there and you also have to be willing to go search for what's available to you because in every region there's not the same opportunity. And so you have to be able to research, find the things and then find the nonprofits to get grants to fund it all. When I was on the national developmental team for wheelchair and whirling, I drove all across the country.

McKenzie Piland (07:23)
you

Jesi (07:26)
I've curled in probably a club in every state from Washington state all the way to Phoenix, probably every club in the greater Minneapolis area. And I camped when I did this to save money on hotels. And so I had a single person tent, I'd find a KOA, because I knew that there would be an accessible bathroom essentially. And I would call beforehand just to be sure I'm like, hey, you a shower chair in there. And they typically did and they were always so kind. I had a camp stove, my cooler.

And I literally would load up my car and just go camp at KOAs or I'd find another wheelchair user in the area and be like, hey, could I stay with you? And I knew I had an accessible place to stay. And so it really is the only limit is your mind essentially like, yeah, I can't walk. Yeah. I have some bowel bladder issues. Yeah. I have mobility issues, but I refuse to let that beat my limitation. And I refuse to let that dictate what I could or couldn't do in life. And I think too often we allow other people's perspective of us to control us.

And then we also allow our perceived limitations of our situation, whether that be socioeconomical, economical or physical, we allow those things to stop us from finding other ways to go and live the life we want to live. And that's why I started coaching. I'm like, listen, it doesn't matter in your situation. Like, on, let's get out of this mindset and actually get in that mentality of I'm going to go get afterlife, regardless of what limitations I perceive.

McKenzie Piland (08:42)
Yeah. ⁓

Jesi (08:54)
And then allowing God to guide that life and guide your decisions really is the bow on the package.

McKenzie Piland (09:00)
Yeah, absolutely. I love that you said, you know, like, they're... The only limitations are the ones that you put on yourself or the other people put on you. Like, there is so much to do, but...

You have to be willing to do the part and go out and find it, right? Like it's not just going to magically show up on with a bow on your doorstep. You know, like you have to put in the effort. You have to look for the things you have to probably be uncomfortable in some way going to those events and showing up and, know, not knowing maybe how it's going to go, but knowing that you have a place there and that's all that matters. You know, and I think that it's cool that you've paved the way for a lot of adaptive athletes to be able to do something.

of these things and I just think that that's so amazing. went to a little film festival here in Utah and it was actually at an adaptive facility and the whole film, the outdoor film series was about adaptive athletes and I was like...

Wow, how cool. Like I didn't know that you could go skiing, you know, if you had been in and if you'd, if you were in a wheelchair, like I didn't even know that that was possible. And I was like, wow, so cool. And then a guy that was on the podcast, gosh, it's been a while, but he, talked about there's a ministry called Luke five. ⁓ and it's a, ⁓ adaptive they've

to take people into the outdoors and I was just like, man, how cool. Like there are so many things out there that I didn't even know about. And then, you know, that you didn't know about until you were in your accident and you had to go out and find them. And so there's just, there's a lot out there. And I think that that's just so cool that there's no limits. Just, you just got to go and do it.

Jesi (10:39)
Well, just right outside of Salt Lake, there's

a place called the ⁓ National Ability Center and that place. Wow. That place is unbelievable. I've gotten a swore of there and it's just, is one of the coolest facilities I've been to. And I'm assuming the film you watched was full circle about Trevor Kinnison, the guy who does back flips in a sit ski and a mono ski. Yeah.

McKenzie Piland (10:44)
Yeah, I think that's where it was.

Yeah, I think so. was like, it was a couple different

films. They were like short films, but yeah.

Jesi (11:04)
Okay. Yeah. Full circle. It's on Netflix.

Turnout 10. Recommend watching that. It's about Trevor Kinnison. He is an adaptive skier, sit skier that has a spinal cord injury and it dives into not only his life, sit skiing, he does these crazy jumps down mountains, flips in a sit ski the whole night. But also he does a really beautiful job of showing the disability and what we have to go through on a daily basis to get to go out and live. And I think that's really the one thing that

Society doesn't understand. A lot of times we're perceived as lazy, but in reality, it's like, hey, my morning could look a lot different than yours, and it's really unpredictable. mean, this morning I had a bowel accident, either because I'm on my period or this skin infection I've been dealing with the last two months. And it's like, I've been dealing with health issues the last two months. I have these bowel issues from time to time. And what would take you 10, 15 minutes to clean up takes me about two hours. And so I...

had to pivot in my day and I still have to execute. I still work, I have a job as well. I work part time for a company while building our businesses. And so I still have my actual day job to do. I still have two businesses I'm managing and you can't stop. And I think that's the important thing is life hands us so many obstacles as a whole as a human being. Then you toss a disability in there and those obstacles look crazy and I just don't quit.

I don't let the obstacles dictate what I do or don't do. Now, sometimes it does dictate my perspective of the world. And I'm like, man, the world's a really ugly place right now. I'm like, my boyfriend and I literally just had this conversation this morning of, you know, life feels really heavy right now. It feels really hard. And he's like, baby, you know, when it gets the hardest and we're feeling the heaviest, like we are, God's about to come through with a big breakthrough. And I was like, you're not lying. The breakthrough is coming. And so it's just...

McKenzie Piland (12:33)
you

Yeah.

Jesi (12:59)
We just have to be patient in the mission and understand that if life was always good, there would be no good. And you can't grow and you can't develop into the human that you're capable of without getting through the trials and tribulations. And that's just the nature of the game. And when you can really, really accept that perspective of the world, it definitely makes the hard days a little easier to where you can, know, once you get through that really initial hard part, you can kind of.

McKenzie Piland (13:05)
Mm.

Jesi (13:27)
put a smile on, get through it with grace and understand that it's not your forever.

McKenzie Piland (13:31)
Yeah, man, I think anybody can take advice from that a little bit, regardless of whether you're a wheelchair or not. There's so much good in that. And I just love that you said, you know, like if everything was good all the time, it wouldn't actually be good. And it's like you have to have different, different feelings and different realities in order to have, you know, the good. Oh, good. So good.

So I would love for you to talk about how, you know, being out in these Tough Mudders, maybe doing some of these adaptive sports really plays a role in your relationship with Christ.

Jesi (14:06)
Can I tell you the middle of the night in a 24-hour Tough Mudder when you're borderline hypothermic and you're like, can't quit on myself and you're like, hey, I need a little strength right now. But I really think, I believe it's part of the bigger mission. I know that the more that I, I pray on everything before I make a decision typically. And I feel very guided in what I do. And I believe that my example is sharing his mission and his power.

And because I'm very vocal that like, guys, even on my good days, I'm really grateful. And I praise him for gratitude. And on my bad days, I'm praising for some strength. And I think it's important to praise both in the good and bad. And a lot of us kind of miss that. And I believe through Tough Mudders and these competitions that I've done, it's really created the path and the strength that I needed physically to

McKenzie Piland (14:54)
Mm.

Jesi (15:05)
do his work and do his mission, right? And it's given me experience to be able to develop further on that and to share the good word of like, hey, if you actually pray and listen, there's a lot of guidance happening in your life on where you should be and where you should go. But I think it's not in the competition that you get closer with Christ. I think it's out of the competition. I definitely get a lot closer with God.

in those moments where I'm training and I'm like, I just don't think can go on anymore with a health ailment. Or when life's really, really good and I'm like, man, thank you for giving me this life. Thank you for this experience. And I think that's where the bread and butter is. We're always looking at the end game as a destination, but really it's the path to get there. That's where the biggest impact is.

McKenzie Piland (15:57)
Yeah, yeah, I totally agree with you. And I think it's so important that you said, you know, we have to praise him regardless of the circumstance. We have to praise him in the good and the bad and like the, like I need, need the strength here and I know you're going to do it. And you know, all, all of that, I think that's, that's really important. And man, that's a lesson I've really had to learn just the, what you said there at the end about, you know, it's not in the destination, it's in the journey and there's so much to be learned there. ⁓

I know for the longest time I was definitely a destination person. I was like, just get to the next thing, do this thing, know, check this thing off the box. And it's like when you're so hyper focused on that, you miss what's happening in real time and in the journey. And that's been something that God showed me like five years ago. And I've been trying to slow down, but trying to enjoy the journey, been trying to pay attention and be present. And, you know, all of that. So that is.

that is very valuable to to say and to just like focus on like these goals and these things are they're all good but there may be something you may not actually reach that goal but there's still something great that happened you know it's like it's not failure if you grew in the process even if you didn't make the like goal man

Jesi (17:15)
I

that I think as humans, kind of mistake that a lot. And it's like, oh, I failed or I didn't make it. And it's like, actually, you did, you learned a lot. I wrote a book, it comes out later in 2025 and fall, and it's called Power in the Roll. And it's just a really raw, real reflection of the decisions I made all through my youth, all the way up to me getting paralyzed and beyond. And how you can see where God tried to stop that from happening.

⁓ One of the biggest things I ever since I started having sexual relations, I gave my body away very freely. I seek validation through my body in the way that it was viewed, valued, etc. And so I ended up getting pregnant at 15 and having an abortion. And I believe that that was a wake up call from God, but I was an atheist at the time. And so I had no faith. didn't believe in him at all. And I'm like, ⁓ so I was like, there was a wake up call. And then

There's other stories throughout my young adulthood where just in the reflection, you can see where God's trying to wake you up and trying to make you kind of pivot in your own decision-making. And oftentimes we're looking for external things to blame essentially. And a lot of times there's no one else to blame but ourselves when you actually reflect on it. And I think it's in that reflection we see the power of the journey itself.

And we, in the midst of the journey, we often don't take that time to pause or even in the midst of the journey, we never take that time to reflect, to learn. And so we keep making the same mistake over and over again, when in reality we have control of that. We have the ability to stop that mistake from happening when we turn that loss into a lesson. But if we keep looking at life as win or lose instead of win or lesson, then we're never going to learn and we're just going to keep losing.

And I think that's really a key factor that human beings as a whole miss. It's like, you're not losing anything. You're not behind on anything. But if you're not learning, are for sure. you've got, if you learn from what you're experiencing and the decisions you make and the decisions other make that impact you now, that's where you're short cut in life. That's where you're really able to move forward and onto the next level. But if you feel like you're in this perpetual cycle of the sameness,

McKenzie Piland (19:14)
Yeah.

Jesi (19:33)
That's typically because you're not learning from the losses, you're just letting them be losses. They're actually lessons.

McKenzie Piland (19:39)
Yeah, yeah. Man, so good. I'm just like, Amen, sister. Keep, keep preaching.

⁓ so much knowledge, so much wisdom. ⁓ I would love for you to share a specific story about a way in which maybe God has revealed himself or spoken to you through the outdoors.

Jesi (20:03)
⁓ you ever wake up like six o'clock in the morning in your tent to crickets and the birds and all the nature sounds and you're just like, and you just take a moment and I would journal. So that was, I love to journal first thing in the morning, but especially when I would camp and just taking a moment to just sit in that stillness and that silence and you're like.

the wonder of this world that we get to live in and just taking that all in and really appreciating it. Appreciating the air we breathe, appreciating the greenness of the grass and the trees and the breeze. How often do we slow down enough just to really appreciate that? I will say the one place that I do talk to God and have more conversations with God and actually hear his voice is silence in the car. ⁓

McKenzie Piland (20:55)
Mm.

Jesi (20:56)
love to ride in silence. It's probably one of my favorite things to do. I feel like there's so much noise because we're constantly on computers, especially if you work from home, if on your phone, social media. It's like we're constantly consuming. And so my favorite thing is to just get quiet in the car and let God just flow to me and talk to me and make sure that I'm on the correct path. But that's really, I think the car is really my place as of recent.

When I first got paralyzed, would stop when I would do these road trips across the country. I would stop at parks and I would try to find rail trails or the greenways. And a lot of times I had my dog with me, I have a husky. so her and I would just go and explore these random parks all over the country. And I think that's again, really freeing and stilling because I would leave my phone in the car and truly just take a moment to be one with nature and be still.

And how often do we disconnect? think that's really one of the biggest things for us to be able to get closer with our creator, to get closer with where we are, to get closer with just the world itself and our energy. We are beings of energy. And if you don't take a moment to disconnect from the man-made energy and go get the spiritual made energy ⁓ that is that's outdoors, whether it's taking a walk around the block or just going outside and just sitting in the sun for a second.

That's a game changer in itself. make the kids, I'm a bonus mom, and I make the kids do this on a regular basis, especially during summer break when they wanna stay in and play their video games. Every single hour, we're going outside for 10 minutes of sunlight in your eyeballs. And they literally say to their brothers, and they're like, hey, sunlight in your eyeballs. And I'm like, yeah, we taught them right. It's good to take in that sunlight and disconnect from the screen for a second. And so it's just really...

McKenzie Piland (22:46)
Mmm.

Jesi (22:50)
We're that example for those around us as well. And I think that that's something that's under underplayed and underutilized is how much our example leads others. And it's like, wait a minute, we got to do this. And I hope that they, you know, get sunlight in their eyeballs when they're at their mom's house, too. But I hope that carries over there.

McKenzie Piland (23:09)
Yeah, yeah, for

sure. Sunlight in my eyeballs. It's so important. It's like you got to get outside at least for a little bit every day. But I do love that you said, you know, about the silence in your car, because I think so often people are like, oh, I'm just so busy. Like, it's just so hard to, you know, disconnect to whatever. Name the list of excuses. But it's like.

Jesi (23:17)
Good.

McKenzie Piland (23:36)
we all drive somewhere probably every day if not multiple places every day and having even just silence there i think so often we just want to like turn on the radio or turn on music or turn on podcasts it's like what a perfect time like you have nothing else going on other than i mean you're focused on driving but like that that is time if you say you don't have time if that's really time

do it, pray, be in silence. I love that you said kind of let your mind drift because I think for me whenever I disconnect and I am just totally out in silence, which is, you know, can be hard to do in our everyday life, like your mind does drift to different things in it. Like whenever I'm outside and I'm in silence and I'm praying and my mind drifts to people to pray about that I have not thought about in a very long time. And if I was trying to do that in

You know my normal my normal prayer time it wouldn't happen And so I think that our our mind drifting can be a good thing especially when we're in communion with God because he can lead us to different things that He may not be able to in our five minutes of prayer time that we have and we got to ask him for everything that we need I mean So I think that's a really helpful like piece of advice is like just try maybe like using your time in your car turn everything off and spend time with God there

Jesi (24:50)
or I

amazing

too because he just he talks so loud when you just silence yourself enough and stop being so distracted so loud

McKenzie Piland (25:04)
you

Yeah.

Yes. my goodness. Okay, Jesi well, switching gears into the title of this podcast, My Valley, His Victory, would love for you to talk about a valley or season of wilderness that you experienced and what God taught you or prepared you for in that season.

Jesi (25:25)
Oh man, really, the accident obviously is where I got pulled out, but I think it's a two parter. So I was in a motorcycle accident, a woman made a U-turn into the bike I was passenger on and the driver didn't stop in time. So he went through the back window, broke his leg. I went over the SUV. I broke my back in two places. My chest collapsed. My ribs punctured my lungs, nicked my spinal cord. I have a traumatic brain injury and I coded twice and had to be resuscitated.

And at some point when I coded, saw my grandmother who had passed when I was a kid. And she said, Jesi May, it's not your time. You can't stay with me. I can't stay with you. But there's things you have to do and people to get back to. So you have to go now. And she sent me back. And I was an atheist up until the day before my accident. I had a longtime boyfriend and his grandmother had passed away. And so I was at her funeral. And as the pastor speaking, I felt warm calmness come over me. And I was like, wow.

There's a God and granny's going home to him. She's going to be good and she's going to be okay. And so the next day I'm in my life changing accident and my grandmother speaks to me and I just, knew that there was something more and that's honestly the only thing that kept me alive. I still lived life recklessly. It was drinking, abusing drugs, just being a hot mess express of an early 20 year old with a little bit of no guidance. And so

McKenzie Piland (26:47)
you

Jesi (26:50)
It was about five years into my accident. We're in the pandemic at this point, it's June 2020. And I didn't want to be here anymore. My body was failing me. I was having really bad shoulder issues to where I couldn't transfer, I couldn't get dressed. I was watching my independence slip away. My cousin committed suicide and I felt jealousy. A year prior to that, my niece had done it and I felt jealousy. And I was like, man, I shouldn't be feeling jealous that these individuals ended their life. Like we miss them. And so I said, you know, God.

I know I haven't been the best. I don't know why I'm here. I'm just I'm ready. You can have my life now Just take it and do what you want to do with it. Just take it I'm ready and that it was literally a prayer just like that and I'm like in tears again just at my end and it was like God said oh man bet I've been waiting for you and He just provided me with opportunity after opportunity from I Do a little bit of acting here and there and I was in this series

It came out of nowhere. And then I partnered with the supplement brand First Form that I've been partnered with now for five years, which led me to becoming a nutrition coach, which led me to becoming a mindset coach that we focus on mindset, then nutrition. And it's so cool because it led me down this path. I otherwise don't know that I would have found had I not been like, okay, what do want me to do with my life? And it was, it was loud and clear and it was through these opportunities that just kept popping up and I was

I started paying attention and stopped taking them for granted. And I think that's where I really messed up is I took things for granted for so long. And it was these amazing opportunities that would come my way. And I'm like, that's just, know, these things happen to me. But it's like, wait, no, they don't just happen to me. It's because I am so aligned with God. I'm aligned with God's purpose for my life. And God just provides exactly what I need. And it's funny, right? Because I'm sure relatable. know that anytime I'm struggling financially, or I have been.

And I was like, okay, I don't know how this is going to work out, but it's going to work out. it's like, all of a sudden the funds come through and you're like, I don't know how that happened, but it happened. And you're just like, you just keep the faith. And then all of a sudden it shows up. think that those micro moments, we'd often just kind of glaze over without giving them the thought that they deserve of Holy moly. We serve a very powerful God that shows up exactly when we need him to.

McKenzie Piland (29:16)
Yeah, yeah, amen to that. I've had that experience happen so many times. I would love for you to talk about, you shared that you kind of were an atheist up until the day of before your accident, holy cannoli, like what timing that.

you had, even if you know you weren't like truly following God yet, you had this like sliver of hope and you knew that there was more, right? Like you, you knew that going into that, ⁓ like one how it's obviously you were at a funeral and that's really sad, like how kind of God to show up for you right before that moment, ⁓ that you had your accident. But you know, you talked about, there's kind of this five years where you were in limbo of

You had your accident, but you weren't truly following God. Where did the like major lifestyle change? Because you talked about being addicted to drugs and alcohol and you all these things. Where did that shift in this timeline? Was that from your accident or?

Jesi (30:20)
I, yeah, yeah.

About the first year and half, two years after my accident, I tried to keep partying and living recklessly. And I fell on the floor a lot and I'd get stuck on the floor. And that was enough for me to be like, okay, I need to get healthy. I need to do better. So I quit drinking and I just focused on eating better. I tried probably every fad diet out there, which landed to me.

chronically under eating. And I think that as women, there's just poor diet culture. We're taught to starve ourselves to lose weight when really, we actually need to feel our body to lose weight. And it's frustrating because then we throw our hormones out of balance. It's a whole tangent I could go on on poor diet culture for women as a whole. And it's it's very frustrating. The whole beauty standard for women is very frustrating. And so it was that point, right? Like I get paralyzed.

McKenzie Piland (31:02)
Yeah

Jesi (31:17)
Not only do I lose my ability to stand, but now I have no core function. And so I have this belly all the time and then I lost that attract, I didn't feel attractive. And so it was like, I got two years in, my body couldn't keep up with partying. I'm immune to antibiotics. keep getting infections. I'm like, okay, something's gotta get. And so I just, found CrossFit and decided to change my whole life. And I think that's, that was the big pivot for me of like, my body just told me I can't do this anymore.

McKenzie Piland (31:46)
Mm.

Jesi (31:46)
And so

I, in that time, in that like first five years of my injury, I, after I changed my lifestyle itself, I did start going to church and I found a church that I love the way the pastor preached because he would, he would tie it into current day events, which made a lot of sense. ⁓ but then, you know, no perfect, no humans perfect, but he, ⁓

He was stepping down on his wife and we all kind of found out about it and it it ruined my taste for church again. Because this happened to me as a kid too where something happened in the church and I was like, yeah, I don't want to be part of any of that, which led me to atheism. And I was like, no, I've seen God. I've heard God. I've communicated with God. I know there's a God. Maybe church just isn't for me. And so even in that five years where I was still reckless, I was still doing the things. Like I said, I quit drinking, but then I would

dabble in other things and it was really when I made that lifestyle change pivot that I was like, okay, let's back it up. Let's put it in reverse and let's actually like start talking to God. And so I kept a Bible in my car because that's where I spent the most time. I drove probably 350,000 miles in the 10 years I've been paralyzed. California, I'm back from the East Coast all the way up to Maine, all the way to Florida in one summer on the East Coast. So like

this country, I've seen it through a windshield and the one place I knew that I could be consistent would be my car. And so anytime I struggle, I would just pull my Bible from underneath my driver's seat. And I'm like, all right, let's flip to a page. And I think even though I wasn't fully dedicated and giving my life to God, God was still showing up in my life exactly what I needed. So then when I did hit my low, low five years into my spinal cord injury, after being saved,

I was able to accept and receive him at full capacity. And I think that's the beautiful thing too, is that God never gives up on us. And God will keep trying to show his love for you. And God will keep trying to show you that he values your soul as a human. And that you are destined for so much more, something so much bigger, if you would just stop trying to control it let him take control. And just.

McKenzie Piland (33:48)
Hmm.

Jesi (34:05)
be a better person. like, no, I don't personally believe in organized religion. I don't go to church these days just because the church has deterred me so many times. I do believe in the Bible, man. That's a, it's just lesson after lesson of how to be a good person. And I tell you, it takes me like five to 10 minutes in the morning to read a chapter every morning. And I just have been flipping through on the Bible app and I just read me a chapter of the Bible every morning. And I've been consistent now for about 40 days. And I tell you,

McKenzie Piland (34:28)
you

Jesi (34:34)
It changes your entire day when you can just get in with the word, take in a lesson, and then start your day. And I think all of us have five to 10 minutes. What do most of us do when we wake up in the morning? We pick this thing up and we start scrolling it. So go ahead and scroll your butt to the Bible app, read yourself a chapter, take a lesson, absorb that lesson, and then go and co-live your day. And when you truly give your life and your time,

to our higher power, our higher power is just like, yo, what's up? Here I am. I'ma provide you with exactly what you need. What you asking for? I got you. And it's like, it's crazy because we try so hard to control it on our own and we don't have to. We don't have to.

McKenzie Piland (35:07)
Yeah

Yeah,

yeah, yeah, definitely. ⁓ When you were sharing your story, you talked about kind of that time that you were thinking about. I don't know if you ever said you were thinking about suicide, but you said you were jealous of people that had committed suicide. You're having issues with your health and you had mentioned that you had noticed you're like independent slipping. ⁓

Jesi (35:37)
yeah.

McKenzie Piland (35:49)
I would love for you to share if you've learned, if you have, I would assume that you have, I'm gonna, like what you've learned about God and like your independence and like how maybe losing your independence wasn't a bad thing.

Jesi (36:09)
So I have contemplated suicide twice since being paralyzed. Once when I was initially injured and the most recent time was probably two weeks ago. ⁓ And so super divine timing here. When I was jealous of it, I just knew that I was heading towards that dark path. And both times are all three times that it's even crossed my mind.

It's been related to my independence. ⁓ When I got paralyzed, I needed to slow down. When I lost my independence during the pandemic, I needed to slow down. Thankfully, the pandemic stopped travel, so I did. And this time, I needed to slow down. And so all three times, there's a bigger mission. And I think the way that I handled it this time was the most beautiful. ⁓

So my chair was damaged by the airline back in April and I was in a damaged wheelchair for a month before I was able to get a loaner. I had an old tear on my shoulder, which we think was from 2020, that a cyst had grown in from being on the damaged chair. And so I wasn't able to transfer without pain. I wasn't able to do anything really without pain, which then led to me dragging my butt across my tire, which gave me a skin infection on my bottom, which I've been battling since the end of May.

⁓ which then put me on antibiotics, which wrecked my gut. And then I wasn't sleeping well. And then I tweaked my neck and I couldn't move my neck for like five full days. I could even turn my head and I had never been, I hadn't been in so much pain, even after my last surgery. I hadn't, I had not been in that much pain. And so I was just at the end of it with pain, but God was telling me to slow down. And the one thing that I kept hearing is that this will pass. It's not permanent.

And I think so often we allow our pain to be permanent when it's not permanent unless we allow it to be. It's a season. And I did all the things. I got my neck to loosen up. Now I'm still dealing with the skin infection, thankfully. Finally got an appointment with dermatologists to really get to the bottom of it. And I'm like, okay, I just got to keep trucking. I just got to keep trucking. And I think that's the biggest difference between anytime the thoughts cross my mind in the past, anytime I've struggled in the past is

My perspective switch of I know this isn't permanent, it's gonna pass. I know I need to slow down, so I'm actually gonna slow down and take that time. And then I know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's up to me to take that action in my life to get that light. No one's coming to save us. And I think so often we put our faith into other people.

into God and we put this responsibility onto God and other people to save us when in reality he only saves those that work for themselves and that put the effort in themselves. And so if you keep waiting for someone to save you, if you keep acting entitled and like you're indebted and that God's indebted to you, just the other way around my friend, like we are definitely indebted to him to share his mission, share his glory, to spread the good word, to get more people to

believe and just be better humans. That's what it comes down to. At the end of the day, that is what faith comes down to is just being a really freaking better human and taking care of each other and just stop being a big jerkasaurus, a big entitled jerkasaurus. It's so frustrating. It's like we are not entitled to anything, anything in this life, not our health, not our privilege, not our job, food, a house, nothing. And yet we walk around like we're entitled to it all.

And so when it gets taken away, we end up feeling this victim mindset of poor me, feel bad for me. When in reality, it's like, okay, how can I rebuild? I have to take responsibility. I have to put in the work. No one's coming to save me. And when you, I when you accept that, it just makes life a lot more easier when you do have those hard times. But yeah, like I definitely would be lying if I said there aren't times where I'm like, man, this life is really hard. I don't want to do this. I really don't want to do this, but I know that I have no choice.

McKenzie Piland (40:08)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Jesi (40:24)
Because it's not my decision. At the end of the day, who am I to take this life I've been granted? It doesn't matter how much I don't want to live it. It's still, it's not mine to take.

McKenzie Piland (40:36)
Yeah, yeah, I love that you said that, you know, we're not, we're not, we don't deserve anything. The only thing we deserve is death, you know, but, but Jesus has given us an opportunity to, to not get that. And everything else is just icing on the cake, man. I,

I love just how vulnerable you are about the experiences that you've had and just about, you know, even like, hey, like, you know, I had a thought about this a few weeks ago and it's, it's not a like, ⁓ I'm good. I'm healed. I'm done. I'm never have a hard time again. Like, no, there's still hard times. There's still things that are challenging. are still seasons after seasons that we're going to go through that are going to be continually hard. But I, I love what you said, you know, about that. They're not going to last and that, ⁓

there is always that light at the end of the tunnel, but you said you have to go and find that light, and a lot of times, whenever we are going through hard times, that's the times that we like.

You know, disconnect ourselves the most from God, I feel like. it's like, no, we have to be seeking that out and we have to be looking to him and listening to what he has to say. And, you you said in your situation, it was, hey, I need to slow down. are things that are happening that I'm not paying attention to. Doesn't matter what else is going on. Like I need to, I need to think about these things and I need to, you know, take care of my chair and my butt and my whatever else you said was hurt and all

things like it's like there are there are signs that he's giving us but we have to slow down and we have to pay attention and we have to work through those things that are that are causing us ⁓ problems.

Jesi (42:14)
And you know where you

typically find that? In the silence in your car.

McKenzie Piland (42:21)
Yes, yes, yes, yes. ⁓ So Jesi, you have, I've seen you say this on Instagram that, you know, getting in this accident and becoming paralyzed is one of the best things that's ever happened to you. And I think that that is crazy for anybody to think about. ⁓ And so just would love for you to like kind of wrap a bow on that thought and just like how, how this

has been the best thing that's ever happened to you despite all the hard.

Jesi (42:50)
So from a personal standpoint, I was living a very, very reckless life before I was injured. Again, giving my body away freely, I was abusing prescription drugs, I was drinking every day. I was just hot mess express all around going down the wrong path. And so it forced me because my body couldn't keep up with that lifestyle anymore. It forced me to change and to stop and become the complete opposite of that, which I'm so grateful for every day. I...

I genuinely can say I love who I am. And I think that that's really cool because I couldn't have said that before I was injured. ⁓ On the grand scheme of things, if I make this the greatest thing that ever happened to me, I can't be upset about it.

can't be mad about it. Yeah. And I think that when I truly embrace that, because it is it gave me so much more opportunity than I had before I didn't want a business I worked for someone else. I didn't know how strong I was. He didn't know what I was capable of. And now I'm like, dang, if I my legs, like I took that for granted. I do more from this chair than most people that walk to and I'm like, dang, could you imagine if I wasn't spending your three day three hours a day being paralyzed?

have those extra three hours, shoot, but we gotta capitalize and make the most out of this. And I think it's important to understand that we have one life to live and it's up to you to squeeze every single ounce of this life out of it, regardless of your situation. At the end of the day, society out there, the life, the world, it doesn't care that I use a wheelchair. My businesses don't care that I use a wheelchair. Things still have to get done, things still have to be accomplished. And so when I'm like, you know, this is the greatest thing that ever happened to me because it gave me perspective of my strength.

gave me endless opportunity. And because if I view it as the greatest thing that ever happened to me, even on the bad days, it won't consume me in a negative mindset. I will not become the victim because for a while there, it was the worst thing that ever happened to me. And I didn't like that version of myself and I didn't like that version of life I was living. So what happened if I made it into the greatest thing that ever happened to me? ⁓

McKenzie Piland (44:56)
Yeah, yeah, that's so good. That's such an interesting, I've never heard that perspective before, but I think it's so good. If you make it the best thing, then you can't be upset about it. And I think that's challenging my mindset right now. I'm like, whoa, that's crazy. ⁓

So obviously you went through, you know, a super severe accident, have a huge life changing, life changing event for somebody who's going through, you know, something similar. Maybe they, ⁓ you know, just got, ⁓ maybe they just got paralyzed or they're, you know, had some accident where their mobility has changed. ⁓

whatever the case may be, what is a word of advice or piece of encouragement that you would give to that person who's in the middle of it?

Jesi (45:52)
I think it's

any struggle, losing, I look at getting paralyzed like losing a parent or losing your job. Or like, yeah, I might use a wheelchair for the rest of my life, but my feelings around it are temporary if I allow them to be. And your feelings around what you're going through are allowed, you're allowed to feel them, but you can't stay there. And you have to find another side and get on the other side of it.

But if you stay there, you're going to stay in that misery. I think at the end of the day, everyone struggles and life is hard for everyone. And it's our perspective of that struggle that really dictates how bad it really is. And so don't let your struggle become your identity. You're so much more than what you're going through. You're so much more than this hard time. And if you keep fighting and working, there's a good chance it's going to get harder before it gets easier. But eventually you will find the other side.

McKenzie Piland (46:33)
Mm-hmm.

Jesi (46:44)
And it won't be so bad. It doesn't have to be bad. It's not a bad life, it's a bad moment. And moments pass if you allow them. Now you can keep recreating the same moment, but if it's a bad one, why do you want to stay there? You deserve more. You deserve to be happy. And you deserve to live this life to the fullest and get as much as you can out of it. Just find the good in it and keep moving forward. Because even if it's a...

McKenzie Piland (47:11)
you

Jesi (47:13)
Listen, it might not be a big good. When I first got paralyzed, can I tell you what got me through? I have a seat everywhere I go. My shoes don't get as dirty. Parking, awesome, most of the time, if you can find a spot. ⁓ Amusement parks, I get a ride time. I don't have to wait in line, and typically I get to go to the front. Concert, same deal, special privilege. People typically treat you better, or you're invisible, which is also cool, because then you can eavesdrop and get around, people watch.

The whole nine. I think that there's when you choose to see the good, there's so much more of it than bad, but you're going to get what you're looking for out of the situation and out of life. And so if you don't want to stay in that negative mindset around whatever you're going through forever, start looking for the good in it.

McKenzie Piland (48:03)
So good. Man, that we've said that time and time again and it's just so true and I love that, you know, it may be the silliest things, you know, I just love your attitude about this whole thing and you know you said like my shoes aren't even that dirty. Like you probably don't really have to go through shoes anymore. you know, it's like that's

Jesi (48:22)
I don't wear a-

McKenzie Piland (48:26)
Like the way in which you can just like make light of that and like find the good in those tiny little things I think is just is just so cool and man. I've just really really enjoyed this conversation I've really enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about you and just Man, just your perspective on things. I think is is so

I keep saying the word good, I needed to pick a different word, but it's just so valuable and you just, there's a lot of wisdom in what you've gone through and the experiences that you've had. And ⁓ man, just, I just am so inspired by, by you and all that you're doing and just your mindset around like, you can't let the things that happen to you define you. Like keep going, find something different, move on. Man. ⁓

So Jesi, I'd love for you to leave the listeners as we wrap up just with where they can find more about you, where they can find more about your businesses, and more about the book that you're writing or that you wrote. It sounds like it's maybe a done deal.

Jesi (49:23)
It's available on Amazon, Barnes

& Noble, and then the publisher's website, which is excited. So go to your favorite retailer and type in power in the role and you will find my book, which I'm so excited for. ⁓ And then my name is Jesi Strawham. Looks like stretch them on all platforms. So it's J-E-S-I-S-T-R-A-C-H-A-M. You can find my brick and mortar business at Freedom LKN.

You can find my fitness app at Wheel With Me, Adapt Fit. And you can find my 501c3 nonprofit at Wheel With Me Foundation. ⁓ and if you gain value today, support Mackenzie. Bear my valley, his victory with your friend. ⁓ share exactly, you know, what value you gained from today's show. And, know, if you're like, man, that thought, that perspective just really shifted mine. Be sure to share that with a friend. That's how these podcasts grow.

McKenzie Piland (50:02)
beautiful.

you

Jesi (50:19)
know, Mackenzie spending her valuable time giving you guys some value. So least you can do is share the show with a friend.

McKenzie Piland (50:25)
You're so sweet.

Well, thank you, Jesi, again so much. like I said, I've just really enjoyed this conversation and just all of your mindset and all of your wisdom.

Jesi (50:35)
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.