Learning to Blink – Victoria Arlen’s Story

How do you go from a vegetative state to becoming a gold medalist, ESPN host, and Dancing with the Stars contestant?

Victoria Arlen shares her unbelievable journey of survival and resilience with Emily. Diagnosed with two rare neurological conditions at 11, Victoria was locked inside her own body for four years, unable to move or communicate.

But through faith, family support, and sheer determination, she fought her way back to life, learning to blink, speak, and eventually walk. This powerful conversation explores overcoming trauma, the importance of celebrating small victories, and living with purpose.

Victoria’s story isn’t just about recovery—it’s about embracing life’s hardships, finding joy, and inspiring others to do the same.

Listen For:
04:59 Learning to blink: A small action that started a massive comeback
11:57 Launching Project Walk Boston: A family’s mission to provide hope
23:36 Learning forgiveness after medical mistakes
55:33 Dancing with the Stars: Sitting in her old wheelchair for a special performance

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Guest: Victoria Arlen
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Transcript

Emily Cave Boit (00:00:01):

Hey everyone. Welcome back to the second episode of You Are More with Emily Cave. I want to thank everyone who listened to my first episode. I want to thank Jenny Lyons for her review and rating of five stars. She says that she's really looking forward to more episodes and really enjoyed this episode. So like I said, I love reading your guys' reviews. I read your guys' dms and comments and they mean so much. And remind me why I'm doing this podcast and I hope to hear more of your guys' stories or eventually have some of you guys on the podcast as well. Our next guest for episode two has one of the most inspiring and impressive stories I have ever heard. Not only is she a Forbes under 40 author, speaker, gold Medalist, ESPN host and Dancing with a Stars Contestant Victoria. When Victoria was 11, she was diagnosed with two rare neurological disorders. The doctors were skeptical that she would live. She spent the next four years locked in her own body. She could hear everything that was going on, and eventually through a blink, people would realize that she was still there. She learned how to eventually not only talk again, move her arms, but eventually walk again too. As I said, her story is beyond impressive and inspiring, and Victoria's outlook at life is a reminder that she is more than the original diagnosis that the doctors gave to her at 11.

(00:01:56):

Do you want to start by telling us a little bit of your story?

Victoria Arlen (00:02:03):

Do you want the Cliff Notes version? How much time do we have?

Emily Cave Boit (00:02:07):

You can say as much as you want.

Victoria Arlen (00:02:10):

Sure. Yeah, I can give you, I

Emily Cave Boit (00:02:13):

Love to hear it all.

Victoria Arlen (00:02:15):

Love to hear it all. Okay. So yeah, I've had an interesting journey to get to here actually by most medical standards shouldn't even be here. So when I was 11, I got these two really rare neurological conditions. So my brain and spinal cord were essentially attacked by myself, by my body, these two auto neuro conditions called transverse myelitis, ni disseminated in step myelitis. So I went from being this completely healthy 11-year-old to being unresponsive and in a vegetative state within three months. So doctors essentially told my parents I wasn't going to make it, and then if I did make it, the Victoria they once knew was never coming back, so they should either plan a funeral or look up facilities and put me away and move on with their life because I was never going to become a functioning member of society. I was never going to talk again.

(00:03:13):

I was never going to walk again, nothing. And thankfully, I come from a very feisty family that refused to give up on their child. So my parents against all medical advice said, all right, well, we're not giving up on our child. And so when things got stable ish, they set up a hospital room and our living room. And so for four years, my parents took care of me and I was in and out of the hospital. What they didn't realize is I was locked in, so I was completely aware of my surroundings and knew what was going on. I just couldn't move. I couldn't let anyone know. So in that time, I kind of wrote an obituary, but I focused more so on this bucket list of what I was going to do if I came out of it. And in that time, there was real moments where my family didn't think I was going to make it, but they were just convinced that whatever time they had left with me, they were going to make the most of it.

(00:04:11):

And so my mom was like, every day was a gift and we were just going to be grateful to God and be grateful for the time we did have with you. And all through my brothers felt the very same way too. And then four years into it, I regained the ability to blank and my family just went to the ends of the earth to just try to help me and empower me to give me the best chance at surviving. And then we got this miracle through blinking that allowed, I have these giant eyeballs, and that allowed me to be able to let my family know that I was in there. And then that was kind of the small blink of hope, if you will, that allowed me to let my family know, Hey, I'm still here. And that was the beginning of the fight back, which was not an easy fight back, but I learned after that how to talk.

(00:04:59):

I learned how to sit up, I learned how to navigate the world in a wheelchair and just slowly started making my way back. That was in 2010. So the world had shifted a little bit from 2006, 2010. And then from there, I just kind of just started figuring it out. I went back to school in a wheelchair after missing four and a half years of school. And high schoolers are not known for their empathy. So I was a very interesting ordeal coming back as the coma kids. So sports became kind of my outlet to be able to have a safe space. I didn't find that at school, and I had a lot of catching up to do. So I really, I'm one of triplets, so I was really trying to graduate on time with my brother, so I really focused on that. And then sports, I grew up playing hockey, so I obviously couldn't skate at the time.

(00:05:55):

So I was thrown in a sled and started playing sled hockey. And then it was my hockey coach that was like, Hey, you should keep up with this whole swimming thing too. I heard you're pretty good at it as well. And so it was just I was playing sports and going to school and just trying to find my way in a world that I'd missed out on for quite some time, and I didn't want to be on the sidelines anymore. And with that two years later, I found myself not on the sidelines and competing for the USA team and swimming and doing pretty well in London and really achieving this lifelong dream of not only representing my country, but being able to win a gold medal and a couple silvers, but be able to just see my family cry, tears of not sadness and tears of joy.

(00:06:44):

And all of us as a family realized, Hey, we are going to be okay. And that was two years after that. And then that opened up a lot of doors. It also opened up the door of my story that I was not expecting to be revealed. At that time, I was only 17, so I wasn't ready to be this inspiration to people. I was just still trying to get through high school with that. I didn't really know how to navigate that, but I was just still trekking along and then trying to figure it out and had these plans. I was going to go be a pediatric neurologist and ended up going on these different speaking and media tours. And then that brought me down to this place called ESPN. And from there I was asked if I had thought of a career in broadcasting, to which I kindly declined and said, no, I'm actually planning to go be a doctor.

(00:07:38):

And then I watched a live taping of SportsCenter and had this light bulb moment. And then after that was like, and so I started job shadowing. Yeah, I was like, this seems pretty cool. But I grew up watching it. I grew up watching. I just never thought this was something I could do. Some really incredibly kind anchors gave me a chance to job shadow and just learn the business. And I was still getting all my gen eds done online, so I was still on my path to go be a neurologist. But I was like, well, in the meantime, I'd love to learn and I love telling stories, and I'd probably prefer to tell someone else's story than my own. I'm not the biggest fan of telling my own story. And there's some really cool people that have really amazing stories. And honestly, there was just the, I didn't think I stood a chance to be honest, and I just kind of kept knocking on doors and meeting really cool individuals.

(00:08:33):

And then it was this really, these two really amazing producers who just one day I was going into a meeting and saying hello, and they invited me to be a reporter, and we were covering the special Olympic World Games. And so there's going to be a lot of really cool storytelling. And that was essentially my blink moment there where I really had this opportunity of a lifetime. And so I deferred from going away to school for another year, and then nine years later, I'm still there. And I've gotten to tell stories that I couldn't even have dreamed of before that and continue to have a career there that I can't even imagine. And my whole first year at ESPN was also when I started kind of this journey of learning or attempting to learn to walk again. And I was told I would never walk again.

(00:09:25):

And I was okay with that because I also was told I wouldn't survive. So I was perfectly fine with my pimped out wheelchairs. I really was. But I also, my family hadn't forgotten this promise they made me, which when I came home from my first day of school, I was bullied so badly. I literally, I couldn't even contain my tears for the car. It was to a point where I was shaking so badly with how badly I was treated that first day because my family didn't see me any differently. My friends didn't see me any differently. So it was hard for me to see myself any differently. And then I step out into the world and I go into school and I was very much different.

(00:10:10):

And so when I came home, I felt so broken, and here I survived all these things. And then high school was the thing that was going to break me. And my parents promised me, and they're like, we're going to work on helping you get back everything that was taken away from you, and we'll leave no stone unturned. And so in the midst of all that, we had gone out to California and discovered activity-based therapy, which is just different neuromuscular type training for any type of neuro and paralysis type and paralysis causing conditions. But there's really nothing like that on the east coast at the time. And so we had gone out there and realized, this is groundbreaking and amazing, but we can't live out here full time. We live on the east coast. And so my mom actually called my dad and she had this epiphany, God just was like, Hey, da.

(00:11:06):

And I remember the moment too, and I look at her and I'm like, you just found your calling. And she had been a stay-home mom, but she had been really ready and searching for her next thing, her next chapter. And so she called my dad and she was like, Hey, how's it going? And the kind of, you're about to drop something where you're making the small talk, not a small talk kind of gal, just jump, just let it rip it off, rip off the bandaid. And that's how my dad is. He's like, what's up? And so she's like, remember how we talked about me going back to work and finding my thing now that Victoria's off and running, the boys are off to school and everyone's doing well? And my dad's like, yeah. And she's like, you remember when that neurologist said we shouldn't mortgage the house chasing down this impossible dream that Victoria could regain mobility or even walk again?

(00:11:57):

And my dad's like, yeah. So this idea, she's like, what if we open our own type of neuro recovery center on the East coast? And she's like, but not just for Victoria. She's like, for other families like ours who've been told that their loved one's a lost cause. She's like, because no such thing as a lost cause. I mean, if there is, let me be the poster child. And she is like, we could provide hope. And she's like, and we could create a healing space, not just for our daughter, but just for others. And she's like, I've done the numbers and I've really prayed on it. And she goes, we can do it if we mortgage the house. And then she's quiet, my dad's quiet, and then she gets feisty and Ma Arlan gets feisty and she literally goes, and if you say no, I'll divorce you and take half.

(00:12:46):

Love you, bye. And hangs up the phone. And literally I'm just like, we're about to fly, about to fly across the country. And I just go, are we about to break up our family? I am not. I'm not playing a part of this. And she looks at me and she goes, and she is a sassy British woman. And she just looks at me and I'm like, I'm not a part of this. And then my dad's calling back, calling back, and he's like, what is going on? And needless to say, my parents have been married almost 40 years. They did not get divorced, but almost a year later, they opened up Project Walk Boston. And it was groundbreaking that they did. And that was where I learned where it was just like absolute miracles started occurring there and families came from all over. And it has now become a worldwide leader for neuro recovery.

(00:13:55):

We have people that are getting better from conditions that were death sentences for people. And my mom will always text me because of a little girl that suffered immeasurable pain that this individual hug their spouse. This little girl is now running around with her brothers and all these different things. And that's where I learned how to walk and almost 10 years to the day of becoming paralyzed. And so it was just this full circle moment. And that was all in the middle of my first year at ESPN. So it was kind of this crazy thing where I'm like, I start there in a chair, then I'm on crutches, but then I'm still trying to navigate and it's very hard. I talk with my hands. So my whole first year at A SPN, I'm in a chair, but then I was always in a director's chair when I would do it.

(00:14:36):

And then as I'd be doing reports, we'd have production assistants underneath the shot holding their hands up because I'd be talking and just slowly leaning out on the shot. So there's certain things where you just see people and you just see me going like this. And even to this day, it was like last week we were doing something and I had these high heels and the legs were just not happening today. And I just literally, we were alive and we were going, and I just knew, I was like, I'm about to fall. It is about to go down. And my director was like, hold on. 20 more seconds, 20 more seconds. They knew it was coming, and I was like, I'm like nine years later we still have it. And I was this close to absolutely just taking a tumble. And I'm like, but I did it to myself because they were literally just, you're like,

Emily Cave Boit (00:15:27):

This was self-inflicted

Victoria Arlen (00:15:29):

That was six inch stiletto inflicted, or I had these boots and my director's in my ear, and she's like, cute boots, not a cute walk. I was like, these boots are made for talking, not walking hands down. It's the shuffle. And then you stand and you sit in there. But yeah, I mean there's so many pieces of my story, but this is your talking time. But that's a bit of me in a nutshell. And then the big one that kind of happened after the walking piece was a year, about a year later or a year and a half after I learned how to walk, I said yes to a dancing show, which traumatized my family because I called my mom and I was like, Hey. And they're like, Hey, my mom goes, what? And I was like, so what

Emily Cave Boit (00:16:20):

Did you do?

Victoria Arlen (00:16:21):

I got asked, do dancing Good stars wants me to do the show? And my mom's like, what? And I was like, yeah. So I said yes. And she's like, you have been walking a year without any assistance. Do you realize that you have to dance that? I was like, yay, I'll be fine. First day we were not fine, Emily. I got twirled and Victoria twirled and tumbled. So yeah, I've just been, for me it's just like, you know what? We're just going to roll with it. So yeah, those are the big pieces of the main, the journey. And then here we are. I'll

Emily Cave Boit (00:17:06):

Continue. It's literally one of the most impressive and inspiring stories I think I've ever heard. You were very kind, it's just telling the truth. But going back to when you're talking about blinking for the first time, do you remember that day? Do you remember your family's reaction? And you're like, oh my goodness, they can tell now.

Victoria Arlen (00:17:28):

Yes, I remember I would have sleep cycles, and I remember my biggest thing was I didn't know if I was going to wake up, so I would always kind of be unsure and I had to let that go, that okay, this

(00:17:48):

Might be it at a certain point. And at this point in particular, I was really tired, so I was kind of like, Hey, I'm good if we don't because I'm just tired and my body's broken down and I don't have a lot left in me, but I really was. And I feel like you get to your breaking point before your breakthrough. And I think that was where I was at. And I remember I made this promise with God and I was like, Hey, my faith has really been such just a grounding thing for me. And I was like, Hey, God, I don't know if you can hear me, but no one else can hear me, but I can't do this anymore. And I think we've all had those moments too, where you just are at a breaking point. And I was like, I can't even scratch my nose.

(00:18:38):

It doesn't get any lower than this. I said, all I can do is really breathe, and even that is not really fully controlled by myself. And I was like, so I really want to live, but I can't live like this. And so I made this promise and I was like, if you give me back my life, if you give me back, but not just my life in this bed, but really give me back my life. I'll use my voice to change the world. I'll go out and help people. I'll make the most of every single moment and I'll be a testimony of what you can do, but I can't do that from this hospital bed. So I need something. I need something to get me out of here. Just start that process. And I wasn't looking to be essentially the choir angels and I just jump out of bed.

(00:19:26):

I was realistic in that. I was like, but I just needed something. I needed something to go on my way. I think the reality was hitting in me. I really had been focusing on gratitude. I had been focusing on the good, but the reality was hitting me that I don't know how many days I have left of this. And so I remember waking up and I remember I could look over and I was like, this is new. And I didn't have control of my eyes. So I remember I could go look out the window and then I could look to the wall and I could look upstairs. And so I was kind of really excited. I was like, whoa, this is fun. You wouldn't believe the excitement level of just moving your eyeballs to not be staring at random things. And then I was like, then I like, can I, oh, I can open them up.

(00:20:16):

And I was called Frankenstein as a baby. I had a big dome and a little body. And so my mom would always say to me, you've always had these giant eyeballs, and I could always tell from the time you were baby what you were thinking just by looking in your eyes. And I kept searching for you when you were sick. And I couldn't tell. I kept searching and searching and searching. And so I was waiting for her to walk in. And so she comes walking in and I'm staring at her like this. I was literally giving a talk the other day, and I just, at everyone like this, just staring at him. So I'm like, someone's going to notice at some point if someone is literally giving you just the biggest eyeballs on the face of the planet. So I'm staring at her and I'm following her throughout the room and she's not paying attention. And I'm like, woman, look at me because I don't know how long this window's going to

Emily Cave Boit (00:21:06):

Be.

Victoria Arlen (00:21:07):

So I am like, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up. I was in this, I was like, I don't know how long we have here, so I really need you to look. And so she looks at, and then she looks at me in our eyes meet, and I look at her and she looks at me and then she kind of moves and she can see I'm tracking her, but she knows I'm focusing on her.

(00:21:30):

And that's also one of the reasons why my book's called Locked In because not only was I locked in, but I locked in on Target and she was my target I was locking in on. So I'm locked in on her. And so she walks up to me and she's just looking at me and I'm looking at her and she knows I see her and she can see me, but she paused and I asked her later on why she paused. And I was like, you were about to ask me a question and you paused. And she was like, I was scared. And I was like, what were you afraid of? And she was like, for all these years I kept believing you were in there. And then I was really afraid that all that hope, because it's scary to have hope.

Emily Cave Boit (00:22:07):

It's

Victoria Arlen (00:22:07):

Scary to hold on for so long only for that hope to be diminished, especially when every doctor and nurse is basically giving you every medical reason why you should not have hope. So, and that faith and fear, they can't live in the same sentence. So whatever you're leaning towards, the other's going to get negated out. So she got afraid. So I said, your faith muscle just got knocked out. Mr. Faith went, she then she's like, then I just said, she's like I, she goes, I, she is like, I just had to believe I had to believe. And so she asked me if you can hear me blink twice. And I just went, I just kept blinking like crazy. And then she did the mom thing and they go, wow. She just literally threw hands in the air and then she started, she burst into tears.

(00:22:55):

And I still say to this day, I was like, I've done a lot of cool things. I was like, that was undoubtedly the single most powerful moment I've ever shared with anyone. But also one of my greatest accomplishments because she started asking me questions, I'm answering them and she's like, you've been in here this whole time, haven't you? And I just blinked twice. And she was like, I knew it. She goes, I knew it. I knew and I knew it. And then no one, all these doctors are coming in and they're like, this is a fluke. This is not. And they're trying to basically validate what they've been saying this whole time. And my mom's like, I don't care what you're saying. She is. And my mom's like, have you heard everything they've said? And I'm just like, exactly,

Emily Cave Boit (00:23:36):

We're going to talk. I can talk. We're not a serious conversation.

Victoria Arlen (00:23:41):

Yes. And it was like one of those things where I'm like, they better hope to Jesus that I don't start actually talking. And so then she called my dad and my whole family and then that was kind of the start of me coming out. But yeah, that was the beginning for sure.

Emily Cave Boit (00:23:59):

When you were talking, it reminds me in my book I write about it, God doesn't necessarily take your broken pieces and put them back together. Sometimes he just adds in new ones and he rebuilds you during that process. And you have done such an incredible job of taking what your, I don't know if it's appropriate to call them burdens, but what has happened to you and your talents and it's totally become your calling, what you promised that you were going to change the world and use your voice and speak other people. You have done such an incredible job doing that. You really have. I'm

Victoria Arlen (00:24:42):

Trying. So thank

Emily Cave Boit (00:24:43):

You. That means a lot. That means a lot coming from you. So thank you. You have done amazing. Was there a certain, it actually makes me think I'm going to be off when you're talking about how you can hear things. I remember when Colby was dying, they said he can still hear you, so he never got to hear them. He passed away before, but we had his teammates send in videos or me talking on the FaceTime. So it brings me some comfort knowing that you could hear and that Col could hear too, but was there a song or a verse or something that kept you going and still keeps you going? They can be different, but

Victoria Arlen (00:25:31):

There's several. There's several. I am, oh gosh, the song Oceans by Hillsong is my jam. But that is a song I think that keeps me going on the regular. But the first verse is forgive them for they know not what they do. And that one was really powerful for me. Actually it was the first thing I wrote out when I was writing my book because the doctors misdiagnosed me, which is why I ended up in the vegetative state because it could have all been prevented with steroids. So they told my parents initially I was doing it for attention, so they missed this really crucial two week window where my foot was where I started having just brief small neurological shutdowns. And that was really hard because I found this out a lot later that all of this could have been prevented and I'm still 18 years later, have after effects and we'll have forever after effects of the doctors making arrogant mistakes out of their own arrogance that now the medical teams, I work with the conversations, I do a lot of pediatric medical advocacy work and I've sat with top doctors and they first thing they'll say to me is, I'm so sorry you were so mistreated.

(00:27:05):

That verse is a big one because I think in the world when people mistreat you and people go out and do that, that's such a poignant one because it is like they don't know. I think when I learned that one and the power of forgiveness, it changed my thought process entirely because I was like, if that hadn't have happened, I never would've gone on this journey. And if I hadn't gone on this journey, I wouldn't be where I am today. And if I hadn't been where I'm today, there wouldn't be the awareness there is about these conditions there. Thank God I went through it because now as crappy as it was then people are getting diagnosed quicker, there are better treatments, there is more awareness. And my family, we wouldn't be where we are today. And so it's like had we just gotten the quick treatment, I wouldn't be the person I am today.

(00:27:59):

And my mom and I have always said we wouldn't choose what we went through, but we wouldn't change it. So that was a big one too. And then I really love Proverbs three, five through six too. And there's so many I could go, I mean go on and on, but there's just so many. I think that it depends on different parts of my journey, but I remember I used to always tell myself in the midst of all of it, I remember I would just say your story doesn't end in defeat. And I would just say that over and over and over and over again when I was stuck in my vegetative state, I would just be like, my story is not going to end in defeat, so I'm not going to write this. So I'm not going to harper on this obituary. I'm going to focus on what am I grateful for?

(00:28:46):

And I have a family that loves me. The sun is shining, I have fuzzy socks. Did my mom give me bangs in my vegetative state? Yes. Is that traumatic in of itself? A hundred percent. Are we going to talk about it? Probably not. But let's be honest, Emily, was that the first thing you said to her? I feel like I'd be wrong. One of the first things I said to her was, you gave me bangs. And she looked at me was like, well, we were cutting your hair. And I was like, I remember laying there and just watching the scissors, Emily, there has been some traumatic crap that I witnessed and up there is the bangs.

Emily Cave Boit (00:29:27):

So no bangs ever in your life.

Victoria Arlen (00:29:29):

I did get them over the summer and I'm going to try, but I think it was a rebellious self to be like, I'm the captain now.

Emily Cave Boit (00:29:38):

Yeah, I took

Victoria Arlen (00:29:39):

Control and I'm going to give this a try. I tried it, didn't love it. I did it for still traumatized, but I went into, I have this amazing therapist and I walked in with the bangs and she goes, alright, so we're going to talk about this for a minute. She goes, because people get bangs for two reasons, either like they're spiraling or they just want a change up, so what is it? And I was like,

Emily Cave Boit (00:30:04):

That's actually so true. I feel things or the hair chop is one or the

Victoria Arlen (00:30:10):

Other. Or you get extensions, you get really long extensions or you go blonde or you go brunette, one or the other. I'm naturally brunette. During covid I went so blonde, I was blonde, I was blonde than Barbie, blonde than Barbie. And I was like, those who knew me were like, oh, she's spiraling, she is spiraling. And then when I got bangs, when I got bangs, no one thought I was spiraling, but there was a few text messages where they were like, are you mad at someone? And I was like, no, I'm actually not. I was just giving it oral and seeing,

Emily Cave Boit (00:30:50):

Well wellness check on the

Victoria Arlen (00:30:52):

Read a wellness check. I actually did. I did put something out on Instagram and be like, I'm actually okay. I wanted to give it a try. And then I told the funny story how my mom gave me bangs, and this was kind of me giving that a whirl in the honor anniversary of the bang of the bangs happening. I think it was like 17 years ago or whatever, 16 years ago. But, but it was those things where it was like, I don't even know we got so off target tangent, I'm so sorry. But yeah, so it's like with those, it was just focusing on the good and I think that was such a saving grace for me too. I got to focus on the good too. That's amazing. Even if it's banks,

Emily Cave Boit (00:31:32):

When you were talking, I actually posted it on Instagram the other day and I was shocked on the answers. If people would go back and tell their younger self or warn their younger self, and I was shocked on it was like 51 and 49, but 51% would go back and warn their younger selves and 49% wouldn't.

Victoria Arlen (00:32:00):

How younger though? How younger also you told made me cry when I saw that, I was like, why are you going to do me dirty like that, Emily, the amount of times you've made me cry before we even met, I was like, I'm not a pretty crier

Emily Cave Boit (00:32:15):

At all.

(00:32:15):

I feel like I go back and forth sometimes. Had I known the outcome of kolby or had you known the outcome that you would be locked in for four years, would you want to know right before then and know that you'll make it out or would you not to know at all or I go back and forth. So there's no right answer. I think it depends on the day and what I'm feeling, but I'm always curious of other people have gone through trauma if you would want to know, because I feel like sometimes I want to know and I want to go back and I want to hug her, but other times I long for my younger innocence and not knowing how hard and traumatic life can be. So it's like I see why it was a close result, like 51 and 49. I don't know. What do you think what you would do?

Victoria Arlen (00:33:15):

I feel like I've actually, that was something that was a real turning point for me in therapy. I'm such a proponent of therapy and how I'm all about it. And I'm also like, we work out every day. We need to give our brains a good workout at least once a week. And I was against it for a very long time just because I didn't understand it. And I remember a breakthrough I had was my therapist. She was like, we were talking and we were talking about innocence being taken away and I was 11

(00:33:55):

And I went through a lot of medical abuse. So the doctors and nurses, when they think you're helpless and you are in this vegetative state, they can be physically abusive and emotionally abusive to you. And so I was very much this helpless dying child who then you add insult to injury. So this innocence was taken away to such an extreme level that I hadn't really gone to her and told her, Hey, you're okay. And she made me go there and almost hug her and just say, Hey, it's okay. You're going to be okay, and I see you and I hear you and you're not invisible. You're not. And so I feel like I would go to her because I kind of have, because I feel like when you go through trauma, it hardens you in a way that you forget and let me know if you've gone through that where you forget how to just be spontaneous.

(00:35:03):

You forget how to just, and I've learned how to do that later on where even the other day I was like, this is so spontaneous and I've learned how to be silly and all these different things. But that was something I learned almost later on in my twenties where I learned how to be silly again. I learned how to laugh again and stuff, but the demands and stress of my job and being in the public eye almost, there's a pressure already, but then you throw in the internal struggles that you already are navigating and dealing with too that it's a double whammy. And so with that, I remember having that moment and she was like, what would you want to say to her? And so I had that moment and I remember being like that, it's okay. You're going to be okay. And so I think I would, but I think I would also go back to 20-year-old Victoria and be like 10 years ago and just be like, take a breath. You don't have to hop on level 20 on the treadmill and run yourself ragged and you can ask for help and you can take care of yourself and don't be too stubborn to get help. And don't be too stubborn to ignore when you need help or take care of yourself or stop and smell the roses along the way or celebrate your accomplishments. It's like there was such this race I was running where I was like, there's not even a race going on.

Emily Cave Boit (00:36:32):

It's like you're trying to almost make up for the years. You lost

Victoria Arlen (00:36:35):

A hundred percent. I was doing that for so long and it was this trauma response that I had to keep running that I was going to run out of time and none of us know how much time we have. So why are we going to waste embracing the time we do have, which is right here, right now. What a moment it is. I stopped. I didn't know how to be present. I didn't know how to just embrace the conversation. I would be 50 steps ahead, but also 50 steps behind, but not actually having the conversation we're having now. What an awesome conversation and moment we're having right now. And so I would almost go back and be, shake myself a little bit and just say, Hey, calm me F down here. This is not going to work. And you're going to run yourself to a point where you're going to look back and be like, did I even actually celebrate that? Did I even actually give myself a pat on the back? And I had a friend of mine say, what was the last time you celebrated something you achieved? And I really hadn't for a very long time.

Emily Cave Boit (00:37:36):

It's funny that you say that because I remember when Colby passed away, one of the things my therapist told me to do is celebrate the wins big or small.

Victoria Arlen (00:37:46):

Yes.

Emily Cave Boit (00:37:46):

So huge. Whether that was showering that day, being able to get a bench, whether that was eating, whether that was being able to do an interview or do something for the memorial fund. And I still find myself, I feel like that was so instilled in me that even now I'll do something and I'll be like, I forgot to celebrate that, or Oh, I need to do that. You think about it more and one of my favorite quotes now is, and I actually had a moment regarding the quote the other day, but it was like, what a privilege it is to grow old. So many people think that when you get older, obviously there's hardships in every stage of life. There's so many hardships and what comes in different age groups, but what a privilege and accomplishment it is to go through every life stage and still be here today because you don't know when you're saying life is so short, you don't know when your life will end.

(00:39:05):

And that's another thing that's just like, yeah, really resonated with me. And I'm sure you too is what a privilege it is to grow old and appreciate, not let our trauma harden us like you said, but really have gratitude in the moment and be okay to let go When you're talking about laugh a little bit or make at the jokes, obviously we have very different stories, but similar in many sense to, and I remember the first time I laughed after Colby died and those moments and how big and important they are, and they deserve to be celebrated

Victoria Arlen (00:39:50):

Because you deserve to be celebrated. You are still here. And what a blessing that is for the world. Emily,

Emily Cave Boit (00:39:58):

I remember it's actually, I think you did, I saw something on your, I said

Victoria Arlen (00:40:05):

That about you. I think I commented on one of your things

Emily Cave Boit (00:40:08):

About that. I think you did. I love

Victoria Arlen (00:40:10):

It. Yeah, sorry.

Emily Cave Boit (00:40:10):

I appreciate it. I mean, here we

Victoria Arlen (00:40:12):

Are. Yeah, thank you. I wanted to slide into your dms for a very long time. I just didn't want to be weird.

Emily Cave Boit (00:40:18):

Oh my gosh. No, you should have sooner.

Victoria Arlen (00:40:20):

But now I'm on your podcast. So

Emily Cave Boit (00:40:23):

Now we're going to be FaceTime besties.

Victoria Arlen (00:40:25):

Here we are. Now we're FaceTime message.

Emily Cave Boit (00:40:27):

You did another podcast and I remember you were talking on it. On the glimpse that I saw and it was so important to me was when someone's stopping to ask someone, how are you doing? And actually taking that moment because I feel like we talked a little bit about this and me and you separately, but especially in the public eye and you are in front of cameras and I was in front of cameras when Colby passed away, and I think there's a lot of pressure to perform at times. And it's not always this highlight reel, I'm getting into it because my hands are going, I'm like you, I'm using my hands happens. But yeah, just the ability to look at someone and be like, how are you actually doing? I think is so important because I also think with people with trauma, you can mask it a little bit too, or you think you're doing so good because you're so much better from where you were.

Victoria Arlen (00:41:31):

Look how good it seems to everyone else.

Emily Cave Boit (00:41:33):

Yes, yes. I think that's so, yeah, that's so important

Victoria Arlen (00:41:39):

To do. It's something I've been very intentional with because I know I hid behind my smile for so long and then I hid behind every other. Every accomplishment was just another mask, another mask, another mask. And there was always an assumption I was doing so well and nobody knew how that couldn't be further from the truth. And I remember there was quite a few times where I just realized, I was like, people actually just have no idea or no clue, or I was like, when was the last time someone actually asked? And so I think this last year really having the breakthrough I had where I just kind of found that joy again and really understood it where I was like, oh, I get it now. And I was like, this is what I've been missing out for so long, because I think there was, I cheat death a handful of times.

(00:42:37):

I come out of this devastating vegetative state, I learned to walk, I'm thrown in the public, I'm doing all these things. So I was always just going, doing, doing and essentially doing all these things I had to do and then being thrown into all these things that there was never a chance for me to actually be like, well, how am I doing? What do I need? And so I really had to take matters into my own hands, but I had to, my health depended, depended on it. And also I couldn't keep pouring from an empty cup. And the more stages, the more opportunities I was getting, the more I was like, I don't know how much I've got left in my tank.

(00:43:16):

And I remember my grandma before she passed, she was my best friend and that really rocked me because she was really who could fill my cup and who could help me get through it. And then when she passed, it broke me. So I really hadn't had that level of grief and I didn't know what to do. And so I was kind of in this space of searching, searching, but then I was like, I need to figure this out once in bra. And I know one of the promises I made her was that I would take care of me and she's like, you're taking care of everyone else and you're going and doing all these things and you're being this presence for everyone else, but I need you to show up for yourself. And that was a big moment for me. It took me a little while to do it.

(00:44:04):

But I remember going through that after I came out of my own storm, I realized how many of us are also going through a storm but wearing a mask of sunshine. And so I started getting super intentional with my friends, super intentional with my family of being like, yeah, but how are you? And then if I got an inch, even if my friends were halfway across the country, I would send a gift basket or I would DoorDash stuff from CVS for them to go have a self-care night or I would be FaceTiming them, I'd be checking in on them. I started to recognize and be like, and then I started to hear that they were struggling. They were going through things, being like, you're the first person to ask me how I'm actually doing or hold me accountable to the fact that I'm not doing well or I'm really run down.

(00:44:56):

And even at work, same thing sitting there and someone is just being like, Hey, how's it going? What can I do to help you? Or how can I make your job easier? And all this stuff. And I think because we're all going through stuff, and I think that was something that I got radically focused on, being intentional with being checkup on your people because you never know how, just a simple gesture of saying, how are you doing? Might just change someone's day, might save their day, might get them to get the help they need. Might even just allow them a safe space to say, Hey, I'm not doing so well.

Emily Cave Boit (00:45:42):

I agree. Okay. I know you talked about how your favorite accomplishment was, or in your lifetime, your greatest accomplish was blinking your eyes, looking at some of the many other accomplishments that you've been able to experience, whether that's author, speaker, dancing with the Stars, the foundation, you have started Forbes 30 under 30, there's a bunch of 'em. What, do you have a favorite or are they all just different in different ways?

Victoria Arlen (00:46:15):

No, they all mean gold. Medalists just jumped in on, see, there's so many. They all mean, they all mean a lot. Actually, the other day at the airport I had a team USA hat and someone was like, so are you a poser olympian or a legit one? And it was super late because the person asked me that and I was like, I had a lot of fun with this one. I was like, I just really love the sports stuff. And then walked away and they were like,

Emily Cave Boit (00:46:45):

I hope they go on ESPN and then see you on ESPN and then Google your story after it and be like, oh, I put my foot in my mouth.

Victoria Arlen (00:46:53):

There's that one. I think Indiana coach was Google me, but I literally was like, I'm too tir. Wanted to have fun with it where I just was, I just really love the sports stuff. And then they were like, yeah, that's what I figured. And I was like, back it up. Alright,

Emily Cave Boit (00:47:09):

Cool. Tell us more about the foundation. I feel like that is obviously something super

Victoria Arlen (00:47:15):

Special. Yeah, I think starting the Victorious Victory Foundation is just something that I still can't wrap my head around. I really struggled with survivors guilt when I came out of it where I very much was like, why did I survive? And other people, why did I come out of this when other people don't? And I just didn't understand it and I had trouble grasping. When you go through such traumatic ordeals as you know, and then you come out of it and you have to kind of find a new normal, but nothing about your normal is normal. And so it's this really weird, I call it this really weird double world you live in. And so I didn't understand it and I've always been more comfortable with service, like helping other people versus myself. And so I think whenever I've struggled, I've always found that being in a service of helping someone else has always helped me and reminded me, Hey, there's a bigger world out there.

(00:48:21):

And so I realized very quickly when I started walking, we started donating a lot of our equipment and a lot of different adaptive devices. And just a couple towns over from my hometown, there was a woman who hadn't been out of her bed in four years because her insurance company wouldn't pay for a wheelchair. And I very quickly went to my mom and I was like, we need to do something about this. And so we launched Victoria's Victory Foundation in 2017, and I was 22 at the time, and we had no idea what we were doing, but we were just like, Hey, we want to do this. We got this incredible executive director, you can just help us with some paperwork. We're going to just want to help people. And I was like, I just want to save the world, give everyone wheelchairs and having no idea

Emily Cave Boit (00:49:11):

What entail

Victoria Arlen (00:49:11):

The magnitude or what entailed with it. But my mom was always like, I can scholarship people to come to Project Guac, but we can't. We need to get people out of their houses. And it was a countrywide issue with how many people with mobility challenges and disabilities were just falling through the cracks with being denied quality of life care and services. And so I just was like, we have to do something about this. I was like, I don't know why I survived this, but there's a reason and I have a promise to fulfill with God. And so it's been seven years and we've given almost a million dollars in scholarships across the country from eight months old to I think 87, 88 years old recipients. We from all walks of life, all different types of disabilities, and we have a scholarship program. And so families and recipients will fill out the scholarship program.

(00:50:11):

We have a scholarship committee, and those types of scholarships can range from nursing care, from home adaptations, car adaptations from different types of adaptive equipment, wheelchairs, you name it. It's quality of life. It's amazing. So it's like everyone deserves that quality of life. Just because you have a disability doesn't mean you don't deserve the ability to have a quality of life and have the access to quality of life services, whatever that may be. And then we've expanded in the sense where we have resources. They don't give you a manual when you have a disability. And so we have just this incredible team that has bought into that mission of let's just give people hope, let's be captain of hope to allow people to say, Hey, just because this has happened, we see you, we hear you. We want to help you. mindbody and soul just give you the best chance and say your life doesn't end just because you have a disability.

(00:51:02):

If anything, here are different ways where let's get you started, let's get you going. Let's give you those wings to fly. And so our logo is our wings, and we always say that we're just giving you wings and we want to help you fly. And it's not our official motto, but it's one of those things that in the wings we have pillars of different just support where we have peer to peer mentoring, we have different resources, and then we have our scholarships. And it's been incredible. I mean, when we gave out our first round of scholarships and we got to see firsthand the recipients and the life changing, just the life changing moments that it did for families and individuals, and then even now to this day, just I think I realized, I remember leaning over to my mom and being like, okay, I understand why I lived.

(00:51:50):

And even now to see how many people have just been so generous where people maybe aren't necessarily directly affected. I was like, we don't want you to need us, but we want you to know that we're there if a loved one or someone needs us. And to just see how many people have gone out of their way to be a support and be there for our cause and what we do is really heartwarming because I never in a million years imagined seven years ago when we thought we were just going to be that little engine that we'd be able to help so many people and continue to do so and continue to spread awareness and be advocates too. And what we've been able to do on just an advocacy level alone and spread that awareness and just how people feel seen is really cool. So I think out of everything I've done, I've been really fortunate. I always say I'm making the most of the second chance. I've been very, very, very fortunately given that's the big one because that one is giving other people another chance too, and allowing people to not be on the sidelines either.

Emily Cave Boit (00:53:05):

I feel like we all thrive when we feel seen.

Victoria Arlen (00:53:07):

Yeah, yeah, for sure. It's very

Emily Cave Boit (00:53:10):

Important.

Victoria Arlen (00:53:12):

That's amazing. Maybe have just one person being like, I see you,

Emily Cave Boit (00:53:15):

And

Victoria Arlen (00:53:16):

Giving their handout to them and saying, I got you, is what that can do for someone. And that's what we try to do is say, Hey, I got you, or we see you, or we want to help you. And just that alone for someone, because there's so many few others, feel so alone and so isolated,

Emily Cave Boit (00:53:32):

It's

Victoria Arlen (00:53:33):

Amazing that that's just saying, Hey, I see you.

Emily Cave Boit (00:53:37):

No, I think that's so important, especially when people just get caught up in their every day or not even, I was somewhere not that long ago, or it was this week kind of when I was talking about that quote, and there was this older man and he was pretty sick, and he kind of made a comment to me. I was sitting there too, and he was like, keep smiling. And I almost broke into tears because it was just those comments. As cliche as they sound, I feel like you never know when someone needs to hear them. And just the impact that you can have on someone's life is so special.

Victoria Arlen (00:54:17):

You never know words and just moments, what they can do for someone good or

Emily Cave Boit (00:54:23):

Bad. Totally. Okay. You posted this. My last question for you. You posted on the Dancing with the Stars dedication night, and it was your video talking about your story. Your parents were in it. I cried. I watched it again today, cried

Victoria Arlen (00:54:43):

Again, my little quiver on national television, not intentionally. So we all

Emily Cave Boit (00:54:49):

Were crying there. Yeah,

Victoria Arlen (00:54:51):

I wasn't

Emily Cave Boit (00:54:51):

Proud of it. It is incredible. And there's one line in it, and your dancing partner is asking you if you have been back in your chair and you have this smile on your face and you're like, I don't like to sit anymore when I can stand. And I just feel like that is so powerful and just shows you don't take anything for granted. And just, yeah, that whole video and just your parents talking about you and you doing the dance and starting in the wheelchair and getting up again. I cried again today watching it.

Victoria Arlen (00:55:33):

It was wild. That was a wild experience.

Emily Cave Boit (00:55:38):

Do you think that triggered you? And then

Victoria Arlen (00:55:44):

I was actually against it at first. So our first dance, and Val's brilliant. He is absolutely brilliant. So all the dancers choreograph and design all the dances and everything. They're brilliant, brilliant minds after our first dance. So we watch the packages that you all see live. So we're standing in the ballroom while they're airing, so we have no idea what's coming on. So if you watch the very first dance, I'm watching the package that's kind of revealing me to the world for the first time. That one was more triggering. I remember I was standing there and they showed the first sick footage of me,

(00:56:26):

And I'm standing there and Val to my left down further down in the ballroom, and I'm standing there and I'm in this pink fringey outfit, and he matched the pink fringey to exactly the color that my wheelchair was and my crutches were. So we were already paying tribute to that pink, and I remember standing there. So this was the beginning that ends up at this dance. So I'm standing there and I remember having this out of body experience. I see the hospital footage, and I remember going right there and I froze, and then all of a sudden I hear Arlan, Arlan, and I immediately come back into my body like, I can't do this. What am I doing? He comes up to me and he goes, let's go change the world. He comes up to me and we start dancing. And so that's kind of the beginning of it.

(00:57:17):

And that became a dance. That was such a moment, and he started it off really slow. And then the beat drops and we take off. And if there's a video that one of my sister-in-laws took of my brothers watching it back home and they're like, oh, this is fun. Where are they go, what is happening? They just didn't expect him. No one knew what to expect. Everyone thought I was going to still be in a wheelchair because I was very private in my walking journey and was very, I was still processing it, and I was always at a desk, or I was always sitting in a director's chair, so I was very, no one knew what to expect really. And so that was kind of the start of that after that dance, he was like, we're bringing your wheelchair out. And I was like, no, we're not. And he's like, we're bringing your wheelchair out. I want to do a dance in your wheelchair. And I was like, no.

(00:58:07):

And so I lost that battle and we shipped it out and we brought it in and it was really cool because everyone there, so all this practice studios were all in one building. Everyone there. It was this really respected statue that was there where everyone kind of took time to acknowledge this part of my journey that was there, all of the fellow, because you become a family fellow dancers there. And then Val actually spent an afternoon sitting in my chair to understand what my world was like. And he was like, this is really hard and this is not, my legs are my world. My legs are everything, my livelihood. And so he eased me back into it. I hadn't sat in my chair since I started walking. I hadn't at all, nothing. Do you still have it? When I was up, I was up. I still have it.

(00:59:02):

So it's at project Walk with my mom. So she has it kind of right at the front room. And so I sat in it and we had this moment where I sat back into it and he's like, but you can get back up. But he says, he's like, I want to do this for two reasons. He's like, this is a huge part of your life that is celebrating. And he's like, and I want to celebrate this and I want to honor her. I want to honor this version of you. He's like, but I also want to honor the millions of others that are in chairs right now to show them that they can dance too. And so it was kind of one of those things that it was actually very healing to have it there and to almost be like, Hey, I love you. You got me through so much and it was celebrating you of took me all over the world.

(00:59:47):

You were this beautiful part of my life and we're going to celebrate you on Dancing with the Stars. And it was crazy when the show started, they put it out on the ballroom and there was just a spotlight on it during dress rehearsals. And so everyone just stood there and you could hear a pin drop and everyone was just like, this is a moment. And so I walked out and I couldn't do it. I was already crying and everyone just was silent as they brought the chair out and there was just this spotlight on it and you could hear a pin drop. And I'm standing there and I'm standing there and I wasn't even paying attention to the package. I was paying it to the attention that I was sitting back in this chair. And I'm like, but I survived. But I survived, but I survived. But I remember sitting there and being like, and the whole time leading up to it vows like you lipped, you lipped and we're celebrating that, but I was not prepared for my lip to quiver on national television. I was not prepared, but it was such this, I thought it was going to be so triggering, but it was so healing because literally the next day we got sent and tagged in so many videos of individuals and chairs showing up to dance studios and dancing.

Emily Cave Boit (01:00:59):

That's incredible.

Victoria Arlen (01:00:59):

And so be was like, do you see what we did? We showed people it is, your broken pieces are beautiful and what you think you're broken, you're not broken at all. And so it was one of those things that it was a really cool moment. I mean it was a tear jerker, but it was a thing where it was like, let's celebrate living and show people that is actually something to celebrate and not be sad about. Or embarrassed. Or embarrassed. Yeah, it was. I think that was the thing is it's like your scars and your trauma, and that's what I respect so much about you is it's what makes you beautiful. It's what makes you you, and it's what makes you the person that you are. And when you can celebrate that and be vulnerable and be real, and when you're lip quiver on national television, it's real. And I think it's real and it makes other people feel seen too. Also, I feel like that

Emily Cave Boit (01:01:58):

Ties in even the title of this podcast when I thought about what to do, you are more than the diagnosis is that the doctor gave you. And you are more than anyone's label or what people label you, whether you're in a wheelchair, whether it's mental health or whether it's grief. Everyone has a story and I feel like everyone's story deserves to be heard, but yours is beyond impressive and inspiring and we're all so lucky to have you and follow your journey on social media through the highlight reels and the lows and everything like that. And bless our TVs with, I'm not going to lie, I don't know anything about football. And Colin played college football at Dartmouth and he was like, you have to go to a college football game. I guess they're so insane. Yeah, they're wild. He says that they're so much fun. So I may need, I'll ask him questions when a game's on. And I was like, what does this mean? What does this mean? And he gets annoyed. So I mean I just started asking you questions. I got you. Because he was like, just let me watch.

Victoria Arlen (01:03:21):

You just watched the show too. We break it down for you as well, but I got you just call

Emily Cave Boit (01:03:26):

Because I learned that college football is different than NFL football. The fields are something

Victoria Arlen (01:03:33):

Very much so. Yeah, it is a completely different everything.

Emily Cave Boit (01:03:38):

Yeah.

Victoria Arlen (01:03:39):

I actually like college football better than the NFL. I've heard that. Yeah. It's far better than the NFLI don't watch the NFL. If

Emily Cave Boit (01:03:48):

You had to pick a team who were to be

Victoria Arlen (01:03:50):

In the NFL

Emily Cave Boit (01:03:51):

College or NFL,

Victoria Arlen (01:03:52):

Oh, well, here's the thing. I didn't get brought. I was brought up in the northeast. We played you learn hockey at the age of three. So I didn't really get, no, I was in Atlanta Thrasher fan growing up because my dad coached a bunch of guys that played for, he was a goalie coach, so he coached a bunch of guys who played for all different teams. So we were always in the Bruins family section, cheering for the opposite team for whomever his players were coming in. And so they all got to know us because it was all of his goalies coming in, so it was like Thrashers rangers, you name it. So we never really had an allegiance, but the Bruins were really kind and wonderful after London. So I became an honorary, but I'm kind of a universal hockey fan. But as far as college football goes, I got to travel a couple years ago covering college football before I got my studio gang and I went to an Oregon game and

Emily Cave Boit (01:04:56):

I've heard

Victoria Arlen (01:04:57):

The duck goes on a motorcycle, so I had no idea what to expect and I was just weighing over my head. I had been trampled at Tennessee, so I was just like college football and I, we were like a couple on the verge of divorce. We were just fighting bad and I went to an Oregon game and the security guard says, Hey, you need to come with me, and I'm on the field. And I was like, I have Mike. He's like, yeah, you need to come with me. So he brings me near the tunnel. I'm like, what is happening? All of a sudden I hear this engine Rev, he puts me right in the front. This duck comes like whizzing past me. He fist bumps me and I'm like, just how the security guy is laughing. He's like, I could tell you were new here. And I was like, I love this duck. And then I had to do this thing after the game and the duck comes running over and just like puts his B go over my head. I was like, I love this duck. I am.

Emily Cave Boit (01:05:52):

Does the duck have a name?

Victoria Arlen (01:05:53):

I don't know. I think it's the Oregon duck. I think it's the Oregon duck, but I should probably know that. But I just love the duck. And so I think I am an honorary Oregon fan because of the duck, and I get a lot of flack at work for that. But I was like, you tell me of another mascot that is getting on a motorcycle coming out of a tunnel.

Emily Cave Boit (01:06:15):

Yeah, that's pretty impressive.

Victoria Arlen (01:06:15):

We'll have car and they're also number one right now, so I'm like,

Emily Cave Boit (01:06:18):

Good team to cheer for.

Victoria Arlen (01:06:20):

Yeah. So that's where I'm going.

Emily Cave Boit (01:06:22):

That's why I'm going to say my favorite team at,

Victoria Arlen (01:06:24):

Yeah, go Oregon. They're number one. They probably have a better chance of me at staying number one right now.

Emily Cave Boit (01:06:31):

Okay

Victoria Arlen (01:06:31):

You could just throw a curve ball and say, I'll give you some fun curve balls to throw at Colin and

Emily Cave Boit (01:06:37):

Then

Victoria Arlen (01:06:38):

You could have a real fun. Oh yeah. I'll give you some actually I'll facts that you could just throw out at random moments and then it'll just make it seem like you're in complete expert. I'm going to say that I

Emily Cave Boit (01:06:52):

Spent my whole time studying up on.

Victoria Arlen (01:06:55):

Yeah,

Emily Cave Boit (01:06:56):

That's

Victoria Arlen (01:06:57):

Awesome. Wifey of the year right here.

Emily Cave Boit (01:06:59):

I got you. I tried. I tried. Well, thank you. Thank you so much for chatting. I know you have a crazy busy schedule, so thank you. I appreciate you taking time to share your story and thank you for being here and thank you for being you. Thank you. I appreciate you.

(01:07:23):

As you guys can see why I told you that Victoria's story is so impressive and beyond inspiring. She not only gives me hope, but so many other people's hope and it was an honor to have her on the podcast. Thank you again to everyone who has listened to this episode. I would love to read more of your reviews on upcoming episodes, so please leave a review or a rating. I'm looking forward to sharing more stories with you guys that are so incredible. Also, if you know someone out there and they think you think that they would be an amazing guest on You Are More, please let us know as we would love to help give people platforms to inspire others.