Stories Hidden in Plain Sight: One Woman's Journey Beyond Survival

Stories Hidden in Plain Sight: One Woman's Journey Beyond Survival

What if one of the most inspiring stories you've ever heard was sitting right in front of you?

In this powerful Season 2 finale of Becoming Lotus, I sit down with Nadia Lendel—a woman I met through an ordinary encounter that became an extraordinary conversation.

What began as a simple introduction revealed a story of courage, resilience, reinvention, and unwavering determination.

Before arriving in Canada, Nadia had built a successful career in healthcare in Ukraine, working in a busy hospital while running her own thriving private practice. Then war changed everything.

Faced with the unimaginable decision to leave her home, her career, and the life she had spent years building, Nadia chose to begin again. With two children, two suitcases, and a belief that a better future was possible, she arrived in Canada ready to rebuild her life from the ground up.

In this heartfelt conversation, Nadia shares her journey from healthcare professional to newcomer, from uncertainty to opportunity, and from survival to creating a life filled with purpose once again.

Together, we explore:

• The reality of leaving home during a time of war
• Starting over in a new country and learning to adapt
• The courage required to rebuild a career and identity
• Motherhood, sacrifice, and resilience
• Why nothing we experience in life is ever wasted
• The power of self-belief and continuing to move forward
• The wisdom behind Nadia's philosophy that "moving is continuing life"

More than anything, this episode is a reminder that every person we meet has a story. Stories of struggle. Stories of hope. Stories of becoming.

Sometimes all it takes is a simple question to uncover them.

As we close Season 2, I invite you to remain curious. Strike up a conversation. Ask a question. Listen deeply.

You never know what story might be hidden in plain sight.

Thank you for being part of this journey. I'll see you in the fall for the next chapter of Becoming Lotus.

Until then, have a beautiful summer filled with growth, learning, connection, and adventure.

Until next time—keep rising, keep blooming, and keep soaking it all in. 

 If this episode spoke to you, please share it with someone who might need to hear it and it would be greatly appreciated if you would  take a moment to write a review.
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📖 Explore my book I AM LOTUS and my life coaching offerings at tamaraoshaughnessy.com

  Instagram – @soakingitallin 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Becoming Lotus Podcast. If you've landed here, it's probably because something in you knows that there's more. More to life. More to you. This is a space for those who feel like they're still becoming, still blooming, and still figuring it all out. It is my hope that this podcast awakens something in you. A passion for life and for the infinite possibilities within it. I'm your host, Tamara O'Shaughnessy, and I am honored you're here. Today I bring to you a very special episode. An important one that beautifully brings season two to a close. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit down with a woman I met during one of those ordinary moments in life. But I've come to believe that people enter our lives at exactly the right time for a reason. To teach us something, to challenge our thinking, to make us pause and to look at our own lives a little bit differently. For most of my life I've struggled with being shy. I'm not one of those people who make small talk. I don't strike up conversations with strangers on an airplane. I could easily spend a week in a strange place and not get to know one single person. Over the years I have grown out of this to some extent, but it is through this podcast that I have really learned the value and honestly the thrill of getting to know people's stories. A new skill that I'm getting to know. I now go out of my way to speak to people. Now I find myself striking up random conversations in the most unexpected places. While in the shuttle car back to the dealership after my car was serviced, or the young teenager working at the checkout at the grocery store, the woman who I was referred to for a massage. I've learned that simple questions can open a door. People let their guard down, they feel seen, they feel heard, and often what they share has the power to surprise us. It may change the way that we see the world, how we think. We never know what stories are hidden behind the faces that we encounter every single ordinary day. Nadia Lindell was one of those extraordinary people who I was privileged enough to cross paths with. From our very first conversation, I knew I wanted to share her story with you. By asking questions, I learned her story. I learned her struggles, her resilience, and her unwavering determination to build a life that she can be proud of. A massage therapist, a medical professional with three uh medical degrees, a woman who had built a successful career working in a respected hospital while running a thriving private practice. And then she made one of the most difficult decisions imaginable. She left it all behind. Leaving the Ukraine during a time of war, she came to Canada to create a safer future for her children. She arrived in a country where she didn't know the language, caring little more than courage, hope, and a willingness to begin again. Nadia and I spoke for nearly two hours. Every part of her story felt important, which made editing this conversation incredibly difficult. In order to create an episode that would hold your attention and fit within a reasonable time frame, I had to make some tough decisions about what to include. What you will hear today are selected pieces of a much larger conversation. The stories, the lessons, and insights that didn't make it into this episode won't be lost. Over the coming weeks and months, I'll be sharing additional moments and bite-sized clips across social media so that more of Nadia's wisdom and journey can be heard. Being able to share Nadia's story with you today as the season finale feels especially meaningful. In many ways, it bookends the bridge, that space between what was and what will be. Her story, one that closes a chapter and begins another, beautifully parallels the evolution of this podcast. Becoming Lotus has always been about growth, resilience, and becoming. And just as Nadia has found the courage to begin again, this podcast is evolving too. And when we meet back up later in the fall, you'll find a slightly different direction, a deeper exploration, and what I believe is a profound message, one that has been quietly taking shape throughout this entire season. Season two has explored growth and possibility and resilience and the space between who we have been and who we are becoming. Nadia's journey embodies all of those things. Her story reminds us that we can endure hard things, that we can keep dreaming even when life doesn't unfold the way we planned. That within each of us is a strength far, far greater than we often realize. Not just the ability to survive, but the ability to thrive. And perhaps most importantly, it reminds us that sometimes the bravest thing that we can do is begin again. So now I'm going to stop talking and let Nadia's story and her wisdom and her passion speak for themselves. Welcome to Becoming Lotus Podcast, Nadia.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Thanks you for the opportunity to be here today and enjoy this amazing podcast with you. Uh yeah, I'm so excited to uh share my experience and my view. I appreciate you, Tamara.

SPEAKER_01 6:01

Yes, and I appreciate you. I love how life teaches us stories and brings people into our life that can teach us things. And the more we talk to people and we get to know their stories, they're they're there for a reason and they're there to teach us. So when I first met you, I was intrigued by your story and knew right away that I wanted to have you on the podcast because I think your story can speak to a lot of people, even though they won't have the same experience as you have, they can learn from you.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Yes, I'm strongly believed that you meet people which need you in your life. We can get different experience from another people, how to be more stronger, how to fight. Because life is not easy, life is hard, and everything's gonna be changed. And again, I'm strongly believe that the universe sends us people to live better and improve yourself. And I think every person which comes into our life is special. Uh, I meet so many nice people in Canada because my life was changed on 180 degrees. Originally, I'm from Ukraine, and I come to Canada because happens war in my country. And I was a single mom with two kids, and I tried to rebuild my life and started from zero. I can share my experience. Canada is very supportive with newcomers, and I'm really happy that I meet you in one time. It was just a casual day, but it's very significant for me because you probably first person who was interested about my story and about my life. So I'm very happy to spoke today with you. Yeah. So it's it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Well, first of all, thank you for saying that. And I think that's one of the reasons that I wanted to have this conversation. We cross paths with people every single day, and we often only know a tiny fraction of who they are. We see the person standing in front of us, but we don't see the life that they've lived, the sacrifices that they've made, the heartbreak that they've endured, or the courage it took for them to get where they are today. And I just remember thinking people need to hear your story because it reminds us that behind every face is a life that we know nothing about. And sometimes all it takes is one question, one conversation to discover something extraordinary. I'd love to take people back to the life that you had before coming to Canada. What was life like for you in the Ukraine? And then maybe walk us through what happened when the war began. And at what point did you realize that staying was no longer an option and that it was time to start over somewhere new?

SPEAKER_00 9:14

Yes, thank you so much for your questions. So I was working as a physical rehab specialist in hospital in Ukraine more than 11 years. I also had my small practice as a massage therapist and rehab specialist. All my life I'm learning in the medical healthcare system. I love my job so much, and I'm happy to learn and work with people because I enjoy when I can help people. First time when I understand I wanna be healthcare professional, it happens when my grandfather has arthritis and he struggled with pain every day. And I had only five years old, and I realized that I wanna be a doctor, I want to be helpful for him, and probably I can find a treatment to reduce his pain. But I was so young and wasn't realized that for becoming in that profession needs a lot of learning, of course. And but since two years, I was creating my own treatment for him. It was funny because I get apples and slice them and put on his knee and wrap into the bandage, and I leave them to be with this treatment around two hours, and he strongly believed that it will be very helpful. That day was very significant for me because I promised my grandma I wanna be a healthcare professional, especially, because I was more interested in the body and how we can help our body to live the best life. He was the first person very significant in my life who believes that I can do that, and and since that day I realized that I never want to do another job. All my life I was moved to my dreams. I enjoyed learning biology in school, and I enjoyed learning anatomy, physiology. That was very hard learning, but I enjoyed every lab. So finally, after high school, I was to medical school to get my first education. It was midwifery. But uh I decided to move to university. So I never worked as midwifery, but this experience was helped me to understand women's body better.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Nadia then decided to focus her education on physiotherapy and rehabilitation, setting her on the path towards the career that would define the next chapter of her life.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

So in Ukraine, I has established my small practice, and I was very busy as a specialist because I was working for hospital and for my own. And I had so many clients. I treat people with disabilities, I treat kids with special needs. I did treatment after surgery, after neurological issues and pathology. So, and I was very busy. I was working six days per week, but I enjoyed my life. I enjoyed to be busy, honestly. My phone never stopped. And I was a regional specialist, which means I was just one person who can do it in ARIA professionally, which it's sometimes difficult mentally, and also it's a very high-demand job. It's very hard physically to do with people, especially in Rehab.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

So you had a career that you loved, you were helping people every single day, you had your hospital position, your private practice, and a life that sounded full and purposeful and really meaningful. And yet, despite all of that, you made the very difficult decision to leave it all behind and begin again in a new country. Can you take us back to that time? You know, what was happening in your life and what ultimately led you to make the decision to come to Canada?

SPEAKER_00 13:41

So, why we decide to move to Canada? Because it happens war, and we always had surrenderants and attacks, and this completely changed all my life and all my practice because uh the people was not able to come anymore in quietness. For example, one time happens, I did a session for my client, and we start hearing sirens, which means uh bomb is going to this area, and my client just moved on from the table and tell, you know what, I have kids, I'm sorry, I have to go home because I have to be with them. And I understand that my practice was fully destroyed because for massage therapy and the body therapy session needs to be um in good mood, to be quiet, not rush. I mean, it's a special environment which we're supposed to create for patients and they will be feel more safe. So I decided to move out from Ukraine because I want to give my kids a better future. People were very upset, and nobody knows what we can do, why it happens, and how we can change our life. Everybody tried to save his life firstly, for sure. So I decide to move on. And finally, after a couple months, I get my two suitcases, two kids, two backpacks, and I was in the airport in uh Budapest preparing to fly to Canada. So you just left? Uh I just left my apartment. I just leave everything. I lived all my life in Ukraine, but I was strongly believed that first is safety, it's a good mental environment for my kids for better growing, for learning, for understanding. Because people in Ukraine still struggle with a lot of issues. For example, we still not have electricity in winter time, and it's impossible. I I cannot understand how much people struggle with it. For example, they are putting tent into the room to be in in good temperature for kids. So it is impossible to live the same life like we had before.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

As Nadia shared this part of her story, I found myself trying to imagine what that must have felt like to leave behind your home, your career, your friends, your family, and everything that's familiar, to pack your life into two suitcases and take your children by the hand and step into an unknown future. As a mother, I can't imagine the weight of that decision, the fear, the uncertainty, but also the courage. The courage to walk away from absolutely everything that you've built in the hopes of creating something better for the people that you love the most.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Yeah, it was really emotional, it was hard for sure, but uh I was always know myself that I'm so powerful, I'm a strong woman, and I'm knowledgeable, and uh I will find myself because uh I never I never be lost in that life because I gave my main skills, my hand and my brain are working well. So it was um very stressful because I never learn English. When I come to Canada, I will speak only two words hello and how are you? So most of my friends tell me that you are crazy, you're going to the country which you cannot speak, but I was strongly believe that I will learn English first and I will be okay because I know that we can do everything. We can start from zero and then we can become more powerful. Just we have to work with it. We have to be, you know, it's only fair in your hand. If you are fair, fair will control you. But we don't have to be in fair. It's possible to start new life everywhere. With Mike knowledge now, it's easy for sure. Because I had a lot of experience. And I'm happy now that I choose Canada for because I feel here you can do everything that you want in your life. When I arrived, I first thinking maybe I can change profession because I don't know, for becoming a registered massage therapist or healthcare professional, I have to spend a lot of time here to back again to my previous profession. But with my background, it's nothing impossible. I meet one woman, she tells me that you never be a therapist here. It's impossible. And um but she don't know me.

SPEAKER_01 19:19

Oh, exactly. I love that. We can do anything. You know, it's such a simple phrase, but there's so much truth in it. Not because everything's easy and not because there won't be obstacles along the way, but because we are often capable of far more than we give ourselves credit for. When we believe in ourselves and when we're willing to learn and to adapt and to keep moving forward, so many incredible things can happen. And you know, your story is just such a beautiful example of that. So that was just in 2022 that you came to Canada. How did you learn English?

SPEAKER_00 19:58

Yeah, so uh I go past by Canadian Tire Store because store is the best place to learn English. And I decide to come in and ask, maybe they have uh opening for position. I was able to work uh on any position because I need a job, I need money to pay my all expenses for myself and for my kids. I come to the store and ask general manager, and he was looking on me and understanding that I will give you a job, but you don't speak English, you know only a couple words. So the most of jobs are related to speak with people, especially for a salesperson. You have to communicate with customers and help them. But I tell them, I will do any job. What do you want? I can be in the warehouse, I can be in packaging, unpackaging room, I can be on the floor, I can be a cleaner, I just need any job. And he tells me, okay, I give you a chance for two or three months, and I will see how will be your progress. And I tell them, for two months, you will be happy you hired me because I'm the best worker, I'm really a hard worker person, I love work, I enjoy uh speaking with people, I enjoy to help them. So I was really happy uh to help every customer. I enjoyed this job, honestly. It was very good. And the staff and managers were so supportive to me, they helped me a lot. And another thing that we don't have to use phones or translate in the store because. Because it's not very good when customers see you using translate. So my brain was working very rapidly, and it was a huge emotional stress. Sometimes I was thinking, oh, please don't come to me. Don't ask me nothing because I'm frustrated. I don't know how I can help.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

But at the same time, you knew that it was something that you had to do.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Yes, for sure. But I asked them, just show me a picture. What are you looking for? Because I have very nice eye memory, and I had in my brain everything. I remember it where it is, on which line it is that product. So, for example, it was very funny sometimes, and there was so much funny story about, but in Canada, people are so polite and so patient, immigrants, and they understand that you learn English and they appreciate it. I always tell them, sorry, I'm from Ukraine, I'm learning English. I probably don't understand everything what you said, but I will try to help you. If not, I will ask my staff to help me with it. So it was very supportive. Only after a couple months, I learned so quickly the name of around 15,000 products. So firstly, I was work on a kitchen department and I learned everything about kitchen. Then I was working in hardware, and then my manager decided to move me to the sport, which was like, please, I know nothing about that product. And yeah, month finally I know everything about all attachments for hockeys, for uh for soccer and for heavy liftings, for anything. It was an amazing experience, honestly. I was from the medical field, but I learned so much different new skills. For example, I learned how to make sharper discate, I learned how to do balloon order, I was preparing balloons for clients, and it was amazingly. I never did it in my life, but my orders were so pretty, and clients were appreciated. And then I was learning how to color it paint, which was another tricky, tricky skills for me because I never realized I can learn to do that in my life. And finally, in last year, they are moving me to the auto department and tools department, which was absolutely so. I go past through every department. I learned so much new things, and I'm so appreciated. It was uh excellent job for me. Since two months, we had Haydn customers who come to the store to check about how is the service in Canadian Tire. And then the guy he was from Alberta. I was in my kitchen department and he tried to ask me about Grass Streamer. I was fully confused because I don't know nothing about Grass Streamer. I never had them in my life. I never see how they look like. But my skills from healthcare always helped me. So I know where it is, and I was supporting him to the line in the seasonal, and I meet another worker and tell them, hey Dan, could you help me? I have clients for your department. And then he tells that he is also working for Canadian TAR. And I was like, Oh, if you work for Canadian TAR, why you ask me? You're supposed to know different models for grass streamer. And I was like, it seems strange. And I back to my department, and after a couple hours, the manager uh asked every worker to come to the front of the store and tell that Nadia and then they were about the best support staff in the store. So we were made a huge impact for the Haydn customer because he told that she doesn't know properly what is that, but she was supportive and helpful, and she just not sent me to, oh, it's on a line 12, for example, or 11. And he mentioned that I was support him and find another professional who can help them, and it was very significant. And after that situation, my general manager was always telling me, Oh, you're doing a great job. He never realized that I can be uh so smart and learn more quickly than he was thinking. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

So when you left the Ukraine as a medical professional and then had to get a job at Canadian Tire, was there any part of you that was I know you had to do it because that's what you had to do to make an income for your family, but was there any part of you that was um that felt like maybe the job was below you?

SPEAKER_00 27:42

Of course, yeah. I was like, first my work day in store was like, what I'm doing here. I'm a medical professional with three medical degrees, and I know my job perfectly. What's going on? My life was completely fall down, as I feel, at that time that I started from zero, and yeah, so usually I was always step the ladder. At that time, I just fall from ladder down, and it was very upset me emotionally. It was so hard to understand that it's another type of job, yeah. But in Canada, very good that every job is appreciated by people. So it doesn't matter what you are doing, uh always every day when I go to work, I was tell myself it's temporary, it's just experience. You here for learn language, you here for get everything you can from this job, and then you have to move. So it wasn't feel like a trap, it was feel like one more step into the ladder.

SPEAKER_01 29:08

It was putting things into perspective and looking at the big picture, the bigger picture.

SPEAKER_00 29:14

Yeah, yes, exactly. And I understand that it's again it's communication between co-workers, it's communication between the customers, and I can uh I understand I can meet the people who can help me to move uh step to the ladder. We never know, yeah. And yeah, I understand that I will work perfectly as much as I can here, but I never uh give up to become back into my profession. So I was continuing to learn medical English. Since one year I went to the college for two months program for learning medical English. It was so interesting for me. It was hard because sometimes I was learning until 2 a.m. after job, and it was not really funny, but I enjoy it. I enjoy it, it was stressful, but I know for what I'm doing that. This is the huge um huge powerful point in my life because everything you are doing is for something, even the worst scenario. If I never will use it, it's okay, it's for experience, it's for become more you know, uh consistent with everything, so it's fine. I'm always appreciated to learn something new.

SPEAKER_01 30:50

Yeah, yeah. I think that's one of my favorite sayings is no matter what you do, you're going to learn something from it. And even if you don't use it right now, it will come in handy down the road. Everything that we experience will have a part in our life. Every experience has value, every chapter teaches us something. And you know, we may not know it in the moment why we're learning a particular lesson or walking a particular path, but life does have a funny way of connecting the dots later on, connecting those threads. Yes, exactly. Nadia continued to share her story with me. But what struck me most about it is that she never stops moving forward. While working as a PSW to be able to get herself back into healthcare at the same time as holding the job at the Canadian Tire to support her family, she was also continuing her education and laying the foundation for her next chapter. You know, eventually that path led her to osteopathy, which quite honestly could be an entire podcast all on its own. And having personally been on her treatment table myself, I can tell you that there's a reason that I call her the body whisperer. She has an incredible ability to understand what the body is trying to say and to help people find their way back to health. Nadia, you've lived through experiences that many of us can only imagine. You've built a successful career, you've lost it, you started over again, you've raised your children, you've navigated war, you've immigrated to an entirely new country, and you've reinvented yourself in that country. When you look back on your journey so far, what has life taught you? What are some of the lessons, some of the beliefs or nuggets of wisdom that you carry with you today that you would like to share with our listeners?

SPEAKER_00 32:54

This teach me enjoyed life and choose a profession which you loving and spend time with whom you wanna be, and um do what you wanna do, enjoy your life because you never know what's gonna be tomorrow. Yeah, nobody knows. Never stop. People can start learning at 50, 60, doesn't matter. You feel free to learn when you want to move. I always tell you best investment is investment in you into your body, into your health, move and move, and moving is continuing life.

SPEAKER_01 33:38

Moving is continuing life. Life isn't found in standing still, it's found in the doing and the trying and the learning, the falling down and the getting back up again. As long as we're moving forward, even in the smallest way we're living, we're still creating the story of our lives. Nadia, I just want to say how much I admire you. Not just for what you've been through, but for how you've uh chosen to move through it. You could have allowed your circumstances to define you, but instead you've continued to learn, to grow, and to reinvent yourself while creating a beautiful life for your children. That takes courage, that takes resilience, and it takes an incredible amount of belief in yourself. I have tremendous respect for you and for the example that you're setting not only for your children, but but for all of us listening today. Thank you so much for being here today and for sharing your story with us.

SPEAKER_00 34:41

Thank you, thank you, Damar. I was so pleasured to speak with you today. It's brand new for me. I tried new things and um I'm happy because uh it's all amazing.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

Always try something new. And that brings us to the end of this episode and to the end of season two of Becoming Lotus. Thank you for being here, for listening, for sharing these conversations, and for allowing me to be a small part of your journey. As we head into summer, I hope you make time for the things that make you feel alive. I hope you continue to grow, to learn, to challenge yourself, and embrace new adventures. And perhaps take a moment to strike up a conversation with someone you don't know. Ask a question, be curious, listen. Because we never know the stories people are carrying. We never know what they've overcome or what they may teach us. And sometimes one simple conversation can change the way we see the world, or introduce us to someone who becomes an important part of our story. This podcast has always been about growth, transformation, and the stories that shape us. And over the past few months, something new has been taking shape for me as well. I won't say too much just yet, but when we meet back up again in the fall, you'll notice an evolution, a new chapter, one that I'm so excited to share with you. Until then, have a beautiful summer filled with growth, learning, connection, and adventure. Keep living your story, and as always, keep soaking it all again.