Ep. 052 | Story of Healing, Purpose, and Transformation with Lisa Labozzo

In this powerful episode of SOS Stories of Survivors, host Serina Dansker invites you into a space where healing goes beyond the physical and purpose is reborn through adversity. Featuring Lisa A. Labozzo, this episode reveals a deeply personal journey of resilience, spiritual connection, and transformation-reminding us that even in our darkest moments, healing, clarity, and purpose are always within reach.

To learn more about Serina Dansker, purchase her book S.O.S.: A Lesson on Love, Loss, & Survival, book her for a public speaking engagement, and discover more stories of hope, healing, and resilience, visit www.serinadansker.com.

S.O.S. Stories of Survivors — Where Survival Sparks the Soul.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Hi, and welcome back to SOS Stories of Survivors. I'm your host, Serena Dansker, and joining me today is an incredible woman, Lisa Lobazzo. Lisa is a caregiver, a healer, and someone who's been through so much loss in her life. She lost her mother, her brother, and her father. But even with all of that, she also had a near-death experience which altered her life forever. Lisa knows deep love, she knows loss, but she also knows transformation. And today's conversation is one that's so powerful that it's going to inspire you. Lisa, thank you so much for joining us today. Serena, thank you for having me. I feel very honored. Oh my gosh. This is so great. I mean, there's there's out of the darkness comes light, and you are the epitome of light. And I'm so grateful that you're here, honestly. As I. As I, my friend. Oh. So I figure maybe we'll we'll talk a little bit about you. Who who you who is Lisa Labazo, in your own words, today. And and and let's talk about maybe, you know, where you grew up and who who you are.

SPEAKER_03 1:44

Today I am uh a re I guess you could say Reiki, I am a Reiki master practitioner, intuitive energy energy worker and teacher, but so much more. You know, those are just a skill set. And then as you, you know, widen and you deepen your journey, more comes in, you know, those visions, those, those angels, you know, I I can hear, so I get all of that, and I find it fascinating to just categorize it under one title. There's so many titles. So many.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Growing up, did you always have these abilities? Where did you grow up? I grew up in Darianne. Yeah, okay. I know Darianne really well.

SPEAKER_03 2:25

Um, and so I was intuitive, but nothing like now. Nothing like after the near death experience. Um, what happened, you know, it's hard to say. Um, I'm sure we'll tap into that. But yeah, I used to always get these like um, you know, feelings, you know, and I'd share it with my grandmother and she would say, Go to church, go pray. And actually, when I was in the church, I would feel like somebody was having a baby or something was gonna happen. Or and I'd be like, This is interesting. And you know, back in those days, like I grew up very traditional Italian. So I think my father would have looked at me and said, uh, I don't know about this. Uh no, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

But that's yeah, but that's true because back in the day you didn't talk about these things. You didn't know that. Everything was taboo and you know, throughout life. So what was your life like growing up as as in Darien? I mean, did you go to college? Did you Yes?

SPEAKER_03 3:27

Um, so I grew up in Darien and I went to Catholic school for a while, then I went to Darienne High. Um, and then yeah, then I went to Sacred Heart for a while. Um, and then I finished in at Fairfield you. And yeah, it was great experiences. Um, so life just, you know, great friends, great activities, a really safe place to grow up, fun place. Um and yeah, I just had a good time. I I only knew it as what it was, right? Because what else did I know?

SPEAKER_00 3:59

Well, that's true. You only you only know what you know. And um But uh growing up, you were a sort of a caregiver as well for your family. Can you talk about that a little bit?

SPEAKER_03 4:09

Well, you know, I was probably 11 or 12 when my brother was schooling middle school and um he began to fall. Um he was in middle school and he began to fall. And one day the principal phoned my dad, my dad in a company had a credit bureau in Norwa, Connecticut, and he said, You know, I really want to meet with you. Your son is falling, and I'm very concerned. Um, and so we called him in. And so, you know, fast forwarding, they took my brother Michael to many doctors, and this one doctor in Greenwich said, I think you really got to see someone. Neurology will run some tests and things, and I'll never forget that day because we were all there. My sister was very, she's younger than me, she's six years younger. It was me and my mother, and my sister, my father, and we all had to do tests, and my brother, and then it was a long weekend. It was Labor Day weekend, and ironically, that is the muscle dystrophy telethon. And my brother ended up with a diagnosis of muscle or dystrophy.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

And how old was he when they diagnosed him?

SPEAKER_03 5:08

About nine. Yeah, and it was it was shattering, you know. It was, you know, more for my parents, you know. I think we were kind of like, you know, I could understand, I was the oldest, right? But my brother was starting to fall and and what the diagnosis was was not good, you know.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

So um so how did that um did did that change your values or your beliefs, or you know, did you just feel like protecting him since you were the sister?

SPEAKER_03 5:39

Yes, you know, he ended up um going to um Newington Children's Hospital because he had to have surgery and had to be, you know, seen by doctors and so forth, and he ended up with braces and just everything changed. Our life changed, you know. It was like you know, it was more focused on Michael. Um, of course, my sister and I got love and everything, but then we became these sisters that were like involved, right? We were involved. And, you know, being the oldest, I think um there's a responsibility that's expected. I say that now looking back. Um and so as he moved on and they had to make decisions for high school, I was in Darien High and I said to my parents, I really don't want him going to Darien High. And they were like, why? It's right up the street. And I said, Because there's a handicapped boy in my Spanish class, and the kids jump in front of the wheelchair and they tease him and they try to flip him. And I said, I just don't want that for Michael. And he ended up going to Staples and he had such a fulfilling high school even, you know, had a girlfriend for a while in the wheelchair. It's like he made the bows best, Serena, of everything he could, sometimes even more than people that could walk, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Yeah. Wow, that's incredible. He sounds like such a well, you know, grounded individual. And despite his his uh the issues that he had to overcome, or in spite of, I should say, yes, he was able to do that. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

He was larger than life. Wow. And he was funny, and he was just he was he was soothing. So it was um just a wonderful mix for him, you know.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

Let's let's talk a little about your mom. Uh, you know, I I she yeah, we talked a bit about your brother. Let's talk about your mom and dad. What were they like?

SPEAKER_03 7:29

My mom was uh more reserved, my dad was more outgoing. Um, you know, he was funny and outgoing and very big heart and big and he had a business and he was at every social event, you know, he was a social butterfly. My mother was more reserved. Um, but she took a responsibility. You know, once my brother got sick, she was home, you know, she was, you know, always on alert, you know, with him. And, you know, once he went in the wheelchair, she was, you know, had tending to that and his needs and and along with my father, but more on a daily basis when my dad was working, right? So things shifted. But she loved Michael, as all of us did. And I don't know that it was really a chore for her. She took it on as motherhood, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:12

Right. Well, that's what we do. We just, you know, nothing is too big as as a mom. You just you just do because that's why you you feel like you're here. You're you have to nurture and and take care of people. But you also took on that role of caregiver. I did. I did. Yeah. Yeah, talk about that.

SPEAKER_03 8:31

I was just very protective of him, you know. I and I felt like, you know, we since my sister was last, we had time alone and we bonded through that time, you know. And um, I had a special relationship with him. Like he was like, he was my brother, but you know, once I began the caregiver in years, he was like, it sounds funny, but almost like my son, because as he got older and I got older, you know, I my mom was handicapped and couldn't walk at a certain point. So my dad and I would make decisions, and my sister, you know, but she was married. So it was just, you know, I was very protective and very involved, very there because I was single. So it was just, you know, the way it went, right? Right.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

So your mom was handicapped too.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

I didn't realize yes. At a certain point, she um had fallen, and then she they tried to rehab her to walk again, and it just wasn't. She was a carrier, as we found out later in life to muscular dystrophy. So they say that had nothing to do with it, but intuitively I feel there was something there. You know, was did her muscles weaken? What really was it? And I don't know that we got a defined answer with that.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Wow.

unknown 9:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

It's so hard. I mean, even my mother-in-law had MS, and the diagnosis was so, so difficult to come by, you know, especially back then where the technology was not what it is today.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Um, so w what were some of the hardest moments for you during that time? I I I know family was everything for you, but do you think that stopped you from going out and just being a typical young woman, you know, in college or well, I could tell you what it did stop is I always felt a big allegiance to my brother.

SPEAKER_03 10:17

So I felt like there were times that I thought maybe, you know, I was working for companies in California, but I was I was stationed in the Northeast, right? Maybe I'd love to like, you know, move to Cal California or out west. And I just couldn't do it. I couldn't be that far away from Michael, right? Like I felt like, you know, if an ambulance came, he wanted one of us in the ambulance with him. You know, we were like a lifeline, a love, a very deep love that kept him going. So how could I be across the country? So, you know, when I traveled, I would land because you didn't have airplane mode. Then you'd have texting. No. So I would land and I'd call as soon as I landed. As soon as I went up, I'd call. Like, you know, I couldn't stay in communication all day, but it was always on my radar. Always on my radar. Is he okay? Or if he became sick when I was away. You know, there was one time I was in um New York City. We had, you know, twice a year, you know, the shoe shows and shoe markets and so forth. And and I called and he was in an ambulance and he was unconscious. And so, you know, you just don't miss those those events. Those, you know, your your job is hinged on that, right? And I my, you know, the vice president goes, Lisa, go back to Connecticut if you need to stay. But it's those times that you're pulled, you're pulled because you know you need to maintain your life career. However, you have someone that you love, and that voice, right, was important to Michael, and I'll and I'll share a little later how it was important to me when I was in ICU. So every step of the way, I I started to learn more about why things were so important when people were sick, when it happened to me.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Well, let's let's let's talk about that a uh a little bit about um, you know, your I I don't know where in the course of your life how what order of things were your was your family still here when when you when they were. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 12:13

Michael was at my parents' house in Darien with around the clock nurses on a ventilator and auction. He was, you know, he could speak and and everything. He was very aware, but he was there, and my dad and my mom were, you know, my mom couldn't walk, but she was there at the house of my dad. My sister was married with children, and I was living in Darien in my own house at that time.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Yeah. So so take me back, take me what, if you don't mind. Just, you know, I am fascinated by this. Talk to me about what happened that day.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

So that is very uh I'm gonna give you a snapshot. Yeah. It's very interesting. So I had been um interviewed just ironically for this vice president's position with Jolie. You probably know the apparel brand. Yes, of course. And so um they were just starting out the footwear division, and someone had called me, head under called me. I was out in Las Vegas, and they said, You have to go and interview. And I said, you know, Randy, come on. Like I'm a million. So anyway, long story short, I end up going out, and the whole experience is crazy. The driver says to me, gives me like the whole, you know, pros and cons of this man I'm uh interviewing with. He takes me back to the airport, he looks in the rearview mirror and he goes, You've got this job. I'm like, what? So then that was before the accident. I'm like, what? What? So I end up going back home, and lo and behold, in like two weeks, I was offered this position with almost everything I worked hard for, Serena. Everything. Years and years and years. And I thought, and the funny part of this is you want to talk about manifestation. I kept envisioning myself as a vice president, and I never knew why. Like I just loved that, you know the title of the case. The title and the ass, and and also the responsibility and be able to train people, maybe a different way to see things through a different side of eyes, right? Because there's a lot of different so I ended up with it, and I ended up the night, the day of the accident. I was on my first, I'd already uh no, I didn't give notice yet. I was taking a stay-at-home vacation. I said, Let me get everything all set for when I, you know, resign. And that night was the night that I was going to visit my dad's best friend in the hospital. He was buying dying of bone cancer. Oh God. I I I don't recall, but I was told by nurses because I knew a lot of people in the hospital because Michael being there so often, that I was very upset and they encouraged me not to drive. I decided to drive. I was in a loner car, my car was being fixed, and I was cut off on 95 and I flipped. Oh my god. And the airbags never deployed. And so the seatbelt was wrapped around my neck, not allowing me to get oxygen, so I was blue. And I had a very bad head injury, right? And the car's upside down. So the manager of the paramedics heard the call. And he was outside of the I was outside between nine and ten. And he thought, you know what, I intuitively I better go and get her go to her because by the time the ambulances and rescue get there, she'll be dead, you know. And he did. He, you know, he slit the seatbelt, got me breathing, and and I interviewed him because I'm writing a book. Um, and he said that he held me to the roof of the car to keep my airway open. And we he wrote in with me, which is not the norm. They usually do not, but he said he I couldn't sustain, you know, to keep my airway open. So he was afraid that I would code.

unknown 15:37

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 15:37

Believe it or not, I end up going into ICU um because I was so critical, and I ended up coding up there. So wow. But craziness, like just another snapshot is before I get there, there's this traveling nurse, and he hears about the accident and he says, My gosh, I hope I get to help this woman. Well, let me tell you, he became an amazing force for me to survive. Like he took on extra shifts, you know, we had this connection that was so bonding, and I'm so thankful for everyone in Stanford Hospital. But he was Wow. And I see you, you know.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

So, so do you so you but you actually flatlined. I mean, did you so do you did you have an out-of-body experience? Do you recall any of that or no?

SPEAKER_03 16:27

I didn't see the light, but I did see colors like lavenders and pinks and yellows. And now that I've studied and and done so much with the angels, I do believe that those were angels, like you know, Archangel Raphael is green. Yes, right? Archangel Michael's blue. Those were the colors that I was seeing. So what are the chances, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 16:50

So I feel there were angels. I felt like light beings around me. I felt a force that I wasn't familiar with.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

And and and what was that recovery like from that? I mean, just when you can't you were you had your your guardian angels, but you also had your nursing angels.

SPEAKER_03 17:10

I did, and you know, funny, I called them my angels. Funny you're saying that. I really, really did. It was difficult. Like in, you know, because I had so much medication on board, I didn't even know I was in life support. Like I remember waking up and seeing my dad and my sister, and my sister had like a board with letters, and I was like, my God, what's going on? And then I remember what she handed me a pad with a pen, and all they came across the pad was scribbles. And all I thought in my head was, oh my god, can I not put letters or words or anything together anymore?

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_03 17:44

And I did eventually, but I was I think it was just that I was, you know, very out of it because I was on extreme medications. Right, right. And then they put me back into a um induced coma because I was trying to pull the life support out in different so yeah. It was a very long and I couldn't walk. You know, I was in traction. I had, you know, I had broke my neck. So I had a fusion on six and seven.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

I had my head capped. They thought I was brain dead when I arrived. Um, and a nurse had shared with me, she said, You were your face was so swollen, you looked, you know, oriental. And, you know, they didn't even know if they'd have to do construction or not. And luckily my face came back, you know, my I didn't need that, but my head injury was for a while, you know, with wigs and sandwiches.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

And everything. Oh, honey, that's just wow. And how long would you say that it took you to from the accident till you were able to have some kind of semblance of normalcy? What happened with that job too? Oh, well, that was another fall for sure.

SPEAKER_03 18:58

So I was in ICU for a while, and then um, you know, and I got used to it. I didn't know anything else, you know. And um, then I went to step down, and then I ended up at VM Munching, which is Stanford Hospital's rehab. So it was a time. And then I had to go back to my parents, you know, because I couldn't be alone. Um and it was tough. And then I had to learn how to swallow. I learned to walk again. But the swallowing, when I tell you, was so scary because you go into choking. You feel like you're gonna choke and you have to mix. They taught me how to mix, you know, like cranberry for the first Thanksgiving with turkey and potatoes. And it was like, oh my gosh, like, can I do this? Like, I don't even want to eat. And I had lost like 20 pounds. I had lost so much weight. Wow. Because, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Yeah, because you can't eat and you or you're afraid to eat. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 19:46

And I was so I had no appetite.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:49

And uh, no, the job disappeared. The job, you know, obviously. Of course, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

Well, it wasn't meant to be then.

SPEAKER_03 19:54

That's the way I know, but it was very difficult because in the middle of all this, I was in the middle of a divorce. So I lost my residence, I lost my job, and then the job I had, you know, went away too. Right. So it was a lot of loss. And, you know, you know how important our hair is, right? So, you know, trying to have wraps on your head and and they shaved my head, you know, and and then trying to get wigs that resembled what my hair looked like now, and it was just like, who am I? Yeah what am I? Where am I? You know? It was just a very uncertain time.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

But did you uh to get through it, uh you must have tapped into something because you're pretty amazing. And I I gotta say, you have that that energy about you where I know that you were, you know, yes, all of this on the outside was was pretty horrible what was going on around you. But inside, uh I've got a feeling that that you were able to lean into your your energy, your resources.

SPEAKER_03 21:04

I did. I was feeling like my intuition became so strong. Like I was knowing things that were gonna occur before they occurred, but then I was like, oh my God, who do I tell these? And I had a friend at the time, Bob, and a friend Judy, and we had gone to study Bible study together, and they were very into it. And so those were the people that I would share a little bit with my dad, because he was open and a little bit with Michael, but um it was like a force that I can't explain, like just beings around me, knowing in this voice that was always there whispering like that everything was gonna be okay. I'm like, and you know what? My short term memory was gone for a while. So I was like, uh, you know, is this real? And things would just happen, and I just knew, you know, and um, and so it became stronger. And as I had hands on hand. In the hospital as well. You know, the person that was healing me was a Reiki teacher. And she was like, Oh my gosh, you know, you need to do this later on when you're healed. And because her hands got fiery hot. And I was like, what is this? Like, this was a whole new, you know, avenue for me. Like, what was going on? You know?

SPEAKER_00 22:21

It's true, right? You don't you don't realize that that that transformation. I mean, you probably you had the awareness, you know, as when you were younger, but but not really. You didn't hone in on it or or or focus on that avenue of what you're feeling. Um, I wonder if the uh near-death experience maybe even enhance those traits that you had. I believe that.

SPEAKER_03 22:50

I do. You know, I believe that, you know, maybe I mean, you know, think about it. I was on 95 Upside Down. I had no air. You know, what happened during that time? You know, since I've seen mediums, you know, I know everyone doesn't believe in that, but they said, oh my God, there were two angels there. And I'm thinking, I think there was a whole host, a whole, you know, flock of angels there. Yeah. And they followed me everywhere because I felt them.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

And, you know, it's it's amaz. I mean, I've I've gone to enough retreats and things where I've learned even Laura Lynn Jackson says we all have our team of light. Yes. And our team of light is always there to protect us. You have your guardian angels, but you also have your archangels and you have your family on the other side. And there's correct. There's a whole slew of people that are are there. Let's call it our cheering squad. Yes. Yes. Well, and I find it fascinating. And I I I believe wholeheartedly that they're there and they're helping us along this journey because it's so difficult to do on just on your own without that. But I'm interested, and I have to ask you, did this change your viewpoint? I mean, I know you haven't, I guess, yet experienced death with your family, but how do you how did that impact or maybe we should start with what happened with your family? Um, your loss of your your brother, your dad, your mother. Let can we talk about that a little bit? And then how this experience um affected how you handled that?

SPEAKER_03 24:24

Well, I had the accident first and then I lost my family. So um I had already cut recovered, and um my dad years back had a uh prostate cancer, um, and he had been doing very well. And so my mom was in had to go to a nursing home, she couldn't walk, it was just too much. We just couldn't. So she was in Stanford, and my brother was with us, and my father was there, and I lived separately, but I spent a good amount of time with them, as you can imagine, and my sister as much as she could, being married with children, as you can imagine. But something started to shift, like my dad started to get really tired, he wasn't feeling good, and so he ended up going for tests, and then we found out that he had a mass, and this mass um was not gonna go away. So he had to have um uh a bag put in, and um that was the beginning of a very un very hard time, Serena. And so he started to slide, and my brother was maintaining, and so at that time I I moved back in with them because my sister was at her place, my mother was in, and my father was getting too sick. Right, and it became very scary because my dad ended up having surgery, and then he ended up on chemo, and he end, you know, tablets, not anything, but um, and then his kidneys. So he started to be very sick. My brother was starting to shift because he was like, What's going on with my with dad? You know, and I feel like I know it sounds so crazy, but I feel like my my brother just was shutting down a little bit. Like, there's no way I'm gonna be here without dad. So Michael started to have problems with his trach. And so we cut we're going back and forth to the hospital with his trach, ambulances and ambulances, and my father in between were the ambulances, and they were all so sick. It was like at one point I said to my sister, like, how do we do this? Like, what do we do? Right. You know, and we had help brought in, and um there were things that happened then too. It's just like crazy. Like, you know, I had a a a nurse that would stay overnight with me because I had my my father in one bed in the in, you know, a hospital bed, Michael in another bed. Right. And she said to me, you know what? Like, you're gonna have you're up all night, you have to go to sleep when I come. And then you you can go to the hospital and you can do whatever you need to do. But she was like a gift from God too. Like she wasn't supposed to work on Saturday. She's like, you know what, I'm gonna come, but you can't tell anybody you don't have to pay me. I'm like, what? Like, I'd be sitting there like pinching myself because all these and my intuition was so strong at that time. Like I was when Michael was very sick, and they thought, you know what, this is they were basically trying to hold him in the hospital because they knew he was gonna die. I had I was at the hair salon, Serena, and I was sitting there, and this intense feeling said, you need to go rinse your hair, go. And I said to my colorist, you have to rinse. She goes, Lisa, I said, I went, I said to my dad, we need to go. Michael needs to see us. And he goes, You can we can't go. We're I have to go and look at a crypt. We have to go look for a crypt. Oh God. So I called my sister, I ran to the hospital, and there, when I walked in, was my best friend who was supposed to meet me at my father's there. One of the guys from the church, who was lovely, he pinned a Padro Pedro pin on my brother. Oh little pin. I literally had my brother's feet in my hands. Uh-huh. And he looked at me, and all the numbers started to drop. And he passed away. Oh my gosh. So it was like he waited. He waited, and these people that I didn't even know were coming came. And I just sat there after it all happened, and I was like, what just happened? I have chills up and down, right? Right. Like, and that's these are the type of things that take place and took place after this accident occurred. Same thing with my father. You know, I be I was going downtown, my father was living with my sister, and I kept getting this message, nope, nope, go to Diane's. Nope, go to Diane's. And I'm like, no, no, no. And I went and I literally went over afterwards, and that night my father took a turn for the worse. And we ended up bringing him to the hospital. You know, we had we did all kinds of things in ICU, and same thing. I was over my sisters, and I I got this force pulling me over. And within that day, that afternoon, my father died. And my sister was there. But it was like such it's such a force, Serena. You can't deny it. It is real. And perhaps you feel it yourself, but it is.

SPEAKER_00 29:03

I I do get some intuition more than I've had. Now, was your mom alive when the your My Mom was still alive. She was, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:11

She was in the nursing home, she was still alive.

SPEAKER_00 29:13

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 29:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:15

What what did these losses teach you about love and attachment and also letting go and letting them go?

SPEAKER_03 29:24

Hard. Yeah. Yeah, my brother died in February, and it was devastating. As you know, uh my dad was still alive, and he was that was not a good thing. And my mom held it all in, and then my dad died in April. So it was only like two and a half months, and I was down for the count. I was, and we still have my mom who was sick. And I think you just feel like life is so precious, and everything shifted and changed. Like if anybody ever predicted this, I would say there it's absolutely impossible. Because loss back to back, loss deep, loss that people you love. And remember, I was, I had already gone through the accident. And the one thing I say to people, um, because I used to be on a committee, you know, to help people with near-death experiences when you go to another realm, when you go to what I call heaven, there's so much love. All there is is love, Serena. There is nothing bad. And you come back here, you don't feel that intense of love. So when somebody is harsh to you or hurts you, or bad things happen in life, you take it so much harder.

SPEAKER_01 30:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:35

Because it's a whole different lens. And you give so much grace and gratitude. For me, when I get up in the morning every single day at night, I'm so thankful because I have another day of to me is a total blessing from what I was given my last rights that evening. Wow. So they really didn't think I was gonna surpass the odds.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

That is incredible. And and and and then going through what you went through with your brother and your father, and I what kind of support did you have? I know you had your sister there. I had my sister and and some friends.

SPEAKER_03 31:11

I did, but I have to tell you, we had a uh Bible study at the time, and I turned so heavily to that. We met twice a week, and all those people were there for me. My sister, of course, my nephews, of course, my brother-in-law, of course, and my family. Um, but you know, they believed in everything I did, right? So all those angels, all the prayers, all the everything. I felt so close to divine when I was there. And that was when I could take a deep breath. Yeah, right. But yeah, as you know, support is so needed. And you need you need that love, you need that encouragement because it's not always easy, right?

SPEAKER_00 31:51

It's not, it's definitely not. And and sometimes going through some of the toughest times in your life helps transform you or shapes you, if you will, into the person that you are now becoming. And and do you f did you find that both? I know you said spiritually, you've got really involved with the church. How about emotionally?

SPEAKER_03 32:13

Um, I I really started to meditate more and be in silence more. And, you know, remember a snapshot back, I was this woman who my hair had to be perfect, the highlights had to be perfect. What I wore because I was in the fashion industry. Of course. Right? And I was a manager and I, you know, was in the public all the time. So, you know, and then that person became more humble, became more solace, became more giving. And then I said, you know, like, what is all this? Like, what do I do with all these gifts? How do I use them?

SPEAKER_00 32:47

Yeah. I uh and and how how did it change the way you see life and death? You know?

SPEAKER_03 32:55

I see life as such a gift, and I feel like I need to help people, right? Like I had a dear friend who died almost a year ago now, and I there wasn't anything I wouldn't do for her. There wasn't anything, you know, if if she needed something or it wasn't a chore to me. And even now, if someone's in the hospital and they need healing, I'm there because it's not a chore. It's my duty. I'm here to be of service. You know, I have to say that that's why I was saved. Whether it was for Michael or my family, whatever, that might have been, you know, the beginning. But now I'm still on this journey, right? So if I can't give, you know, even meeting you at the retreat. I mean, I don't believe in coincidence. There's not any in now.

SPEAKER_00 33:38

I I agree with you. I mean, there's there was there's always uh everything happens for a reason, I think. Uh and I'm more and more I realize that people come into your life. Not everybody's meant to be in your life the entire, your entire life, but they come in during a time when you need them. That's correct. And I just feel that um recognizing that and understanding that we're all on journeys, everyone here, and that's that our soul is on a journey. And I I find it um reassuring to know that that we're not alone, that we're here together, and and we can learn from one another and be supported by one another and and be kind to one another.

SPEAKER_03 34:22

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 34:23

Because you don't know what someone else is going through, and just to to hold space for them is I think it's really important. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 34:31

And you know, you just become a better person. You do I don't know how to even say it. You just you advance, you go deeper, and you want to make yourself a better person, a more kinder, giver, loving you raise your vibration, as Anna would say, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:47

We raise our vibrations. Yes. That cocoon of love. Yes, exactly, exactly. And and let's talk about, you know, how the priorities in life, your priorities shift as well as you're doing that. How how did your priorities? I mean, you were always into um fashion and everything and and your job and your career and being the vice president. Did did that change for you?

SPEAKER_03 35:10

In the beginning, I tried to reach back into the shoe world. I wanted, I, you know, vice president wasn't even just to get in back in, and the shoe business was sliding, and you know, my I was still in a lot of pain because I had a fusion and nothing worked. Every time I reached back into that world, something wouldn't work. Um and I love sales, I loved people, but this whole, you know, unrolling of this intuition and hands-on healing, and like I kept saying, what am I supposed to do with this? Like, who what is this?

SPEAKER_00 35:41

Right, right.

SPEAKER_03 35:42

Right? Like, I wanted to go back to the old Lisa and you know, spirit, what I call the Holy Spirit is going, no, no, no, you can't do that anymore.

SPEAKER_00 35:50

So there was a point, I guess, when you realize that you're not that same person anymore, that that going back is is not where you belong. It's not what where your journey is taking you. Right. Your journey is taking you, and so how did how did you feel about that? And and how did others respond to that when you shared um that you're gonna pivot?

SPEAKER_03 36:15

I don't know. I think um I think my dad, who loved what I did and was like, oh my gosh, my oldest daughter and whatever, you know, was very but I think they were so happy I was alive. Um and I didn't do it full-time in the beginning. You know, I do sales part-time and do the healing and you know, juggle a million things. Um, you know, I had a dog walking business for a while, which was very lucrative, right? Um, but I always had that sense for selling. I'm like, oh my God, you know, how do I not do this? You know? Um, but you know what? I think more and more doors opened, you know. I started to do healing and then a spot and opened up in Stanford with an acupuncturist, you know, and it came through a friend and she's like, Lee, you gotta look at this. I'm like, uh, I don't know. And then I ended up, you know, having a spot in New Canaan with therapists and a psychiatrist. And, you know, everything it would there was no coincidence. It just was given, and I always have the opportunity to refuse, but why not? Yeah, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:11

Yeah, of course. I I I just I find be when we think about the other side and when we we talk about healing and and voice, did you get signs from your I took the same course, I took Laurelyn Jackson, and I was very amazed by that whole and I and I really understood what she was saying, you know.

SPEAKER_03 37:32

I do. I, you know, I can sometimes feel my dad's presence, I can hear him. You know, not like he's sitting behind, but you know, like encouragement on the days where I'm like, okay, what am I doing?

SPEAKER_02 37:43

Right.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

And my mom, her birthday was March 20th. I lie not to you. Every single day I see 320 once, if not twice. Wow. And Michael, I just feel that, you know, he'd always just say, Hey, sis, Jesus. And I I see signs, um, and I feel him, you know. And there's days where I'm meditating, going, okay, let's bring the banners out, you know, let's start pouring more down here, you know. And so when I they first died, I didn't feel that, Serena. And as I trusted and as I accepted, right? And I just connected to say, okay, you're in a better place. Come, come. I always tell people, talk to the people that died, invite them in, you know, don't be afraid of that. Invite them into your dreams. But if you're afraid or you are apprehensive, that is not a time when they're going to present themselves, right? Right.

SPEAKER_00 38:36

You have to be open to it. I I remember one of my children uh was saying, I keep asking for signs and I don't get any signs. I said, Well, are you looking for them? Right.

SPEAKER_03 38:48

That's right, because they're very subtle in the beginning. And then as you recognize and acknowledge, they become larger, don't they?

SPEAKER_00 38:53

Oh, they sure do. They're everywhere. The signs are everywhere. And yeah, but you have to be open to it. And my husband is becoming more and more open to it. And uh he sees, and sometimes I still have to point out, I was like, Did you see that? And he's like, Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:10

Yeah, I did. There is something to this.

SPEAKER_00 39:12

You know, it's funny. And um, so let's talk about your healing work and and how I know we dibbled and dabbed in it, but let's talk about how it it it brought you full on in, how you found your way into it.

SPEAKER_03 39:26

So I had, you know, I had come together with this uh Reiki master. She invited me. They had had small groups in Dariam back then, and I thought, you know what, this is good. There's a couple people, let me dab in it. I felt well enough. And I went and I thought, wow, this is interesting. And she worked on me and she said, you know what, I just know. I just know this is your path. And I was thinking, I'm glad she knows me. But it was very fascinating. She knew. And so as things started to evolve, I ended up at Angel Cooperative. You might be familiar there in Richfield, and uh, and they had hired me to do Reiki. And as I started to do hands-on healing, I started to get intuitive messages.

SPEAKER_01 40:05

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 40:06

What is this? I love this. And I'd start to sketch pictures sometimes, or I would, you know, see a vision. And I was just busy, busy, busy, busy and still do something else. And then um then I taught. I started to teach different classes up there, automatic writing and you know, intuitive messages and a lot of things. And I thought, this is great. Like this is really fun. And wow. And, you know, you really help people, you help people that are open. You know, energy work is huge right now. It it goes hand in hand with, you know, therapy, it goes hand in hand in cancer centers. It goes, I had a write-up done a year ago in in the um New Cain and Darian magazine um and Greenwich magazine, and they, you know, they refer back to these hospitals like Yale and and different places that wholeheartedly believe. And it's it's it's it's you know, it's proven, right? So I got this invitation to go over to Stanford, and it was very lucrative. And, you know, I met with this gentleman who's an acupuncturist, and it met it was fine. You know, we our work lined up, we want an acquire environment. So I was there for a couple of years, and then my client said, There's a beautiful spot in New Canaan, Lisa. I think you should go look at it. And by then, you know, I was really building and I want to open up the business even more, right? And New Canaan was a wonderful town and still is to open up. But I think my my you know pilling point was do I give people the messages? Because people go, Oh, I don't know, you know, when you go into a spa or something. And I said, but that's so important. If someone's getting a message from the other side or getting a message they've been waiting a lifetime for, how can you forbid that?

SPEAKER_00 41:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:45

If you trust what you're getting is pure.

SPEAKER_00 41:48

I don't know. I, you know, that's so funny because I've I've always I remember mom and I, when I was younger, we would go to these uh psychic fairs. Yeah. And they were being, I remember one specific one was in Rockland County, New York, at this hotel called the Comfort Inn. And there were must have been like 50 psychics or um healers there. And I remember sitting down, and as we were walking through the hall, some woman told my mother, you better watch your diet. That's you know, it's gonna be your stomach that gets you. And and my mother's like, What the hell are you talking about?

unknown 42:27

You know.

SPEAKER_00 42:28

But I I just, you know, always remember talking to people and they would tell me all of these things about what was gonna happen in the future. And um, it fascinated me. And whether or not I truly 100% put stock in it, a part of me always wondered, you know, wow, is it real? Is it real? Is it true? And then certain things that they would tell me would actually happen. I remember once I was with a girlfriend in um, we were in California together and we were on this beach, oh, Venice Beach, crazy beach, right? Beautiful. Beautiful. And uh this gentleman told um me that I was gonna marry someone I already knew. And my husband and I were childhood friends. And within a year we were engaged and we we had reconnected our friendship and started a relationship, and and within a year we're we're engaged. So it's just so funny how the universe works. And and so I've always been open to that. And uh how people I guess don't recognize or or don't want to know, maybe they're just fearful. I think so.

SPEAKER_03 43:40

Yeah, I think everyone has an intuition. It's a matter if you're fearful or open to invite it in.

SPEAKER_00 43:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:47

Because if you shut it down, you could say I don't have one all my life, right? And this is just, you know. But it isn't. But I think there's people that are, you know, I don't know, they predict the future. I don't predict the future. Future.

SPEAKER_01 44:00

No.

SPEAKER_03 44:00

If I get a message, I want to give it to you, right? Like if it's from your loved one, or sometimes I'm getting medical stuff now. You know, I'm gonna say, listen, this is not me, right? But I just want you to take this and you can do whatever you want with it, right? I am certainly not here to predict, but I'm here to be what who I'm supposed to be, right? Like I'm supposed to be loyal to the above.

SPEAKER_00 44:23

So do you um feel like your work today that you see pieces of your own story a little bit reflected in the people that you help?

SPEAKER_03 44:33

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I feel, you know, when somebody comes in and they've had a near I'll give you an example. I had a client, uh, she was going for surgery and she passed away, and her daughter comes now. And so that link is still there. And so, you know, when I'm working on her, you know, usually, not always, I would get a message, you know, from her mother or things that were gonna happen or not happen. And you know, people come in, I think they're amazed, like, how could you? I was working on a man, Serena, and I kept getting um visiting hours, visiting hours, visiting hours. And I said to my client, I don't know what this means. He goes, Lisa, I just wrote a book, but it's too late. Well, he gets sick and he ends up writing the book. Visiting hours. Does he really? And it's out now, so you can go buy it. But what I'm saying to you is, I this is not me. I hear it or I feel it, I write it down, and it's real, you know?

SPEAKER_00 45:31

Incredible.

SPEAKER_03 45:32

Um, you know, and I feel like if someone I had uh someone come in and they had a jaw, they had um what do you call it? TMS.

SPEAKER_00 45:41

Oh yes.

SPEAKER_03 45:41

And when she called me, she's like, I hope you can work on this, and I and I was hesitant. I was like, Oh boy, can I do this? And she had lost her spouse, and it was all locked up in her jaw.

SPEAKER_01 45:53

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 45:53

So it it helped. It helped.

SPEAKER_00 45:56

It does.

SPEAKER_03 45:57

Oh wow, it is real. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:00

What what do you think your mother, brother, or father would be message that they have for you today? I mean, I I know they're so proud of you.

SPEAKER_03 46:08

I don't know how my mother would react. I don't know if she'd be into this. She was very, a very devoured Catholic, so I'm not sure she. But my my brother and my father, absolutely. Because when I got my certification, I would work on my brother. And my dad was very open to it, you know. So I feel that they would have backed me, you know, and um, all that I went through, you know, my dad before he died said to me, you know, I'm still working on the memoir, but he said, I want you to do one thing for me is please write this book because you fought to live and you will inspire so many from your journey and every step of the way. And that is so important, no matter how good it is or how it isn't, just put the pen to paper and publish it.

SPEAKER_00 46:51

So I think he would have been, you know, yeah, I think so too. And and you know, as a caregiver, and and and I think one of the things that we lose sight of is caring for ourselves. Yes, and making ourselves the priority. Absolutely. You know, and um what would you say to someone who is currently caring for a loved one or or in in that realm right now? What would you say, you know, to encourage them, I guess?

SPEAKER_03 47:17

I would say, you know, meditation is important, but giving back to yourself, right? Like come, you know, to get a clearing. Come to a class. Yeah. You know, even if if the time is limited and I'm teaching or co-teaching, come for an hour. First of all, you change a scenario, right? Yeah, you shift the energy, Serena. And energy reads energy. So that energy you're carrying from your sick, you know, mother, father, spouse, child, whatever, you carry that with you. So clear yourself. And it also helps then when you're rejuvenated and you go back with a higher vibration.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

That's that's I wholeheartedly believe in that because I think that I I used to always tell my children, my uh my mother always taught me, you can't love other people until you learn to love yourself. And I never quite understood that as a as a younger person. But as I've gotten older, I realized that without first having that taking care of you, you're of no use to anyone else because you don't have the mindset or the clarity.

SPEAKER_03 48:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 48:25

And uh I I I I find that so important to do that. And let's talk a little bit about your your business and how people, if they wanted to get that clarity, what how do they reach you?

SPEAKER_03 48:39

Well, I have a website, it's www.healinghandandheart.com, and my location is in New Canaan on Locust.

SPEAKER_00 48:48

Do you do it uh also like over? Oh, I do remote.

SPEAKER_03 48:51

I do a lot of remote because I have people throughout the country. Yes, and people think that remote isn't as powerful. I have to tell you it is. Yeah, yes, and um and I do cord cuttings. What is that? We go back into the past, so whether it's heartbreak or illness or tragedy or anything in the past or present that's holding on into cell memory because cell memory has intelligence, you can do a technique and you can take that out and put light into that, and you do feel so much lighter, you do feel so much better. And I think even house clearings, okay? So we do house clearings. Why? If you're getting sessions and you have someone that was sick or people that were divorced or any kind of controversy, anyone that pre-owned the house during the time you own the house, you know, all that energy affects you, right? Because you walk right back into that pool, whether it be good or bad. There's so much, it's fascinating. It's healing.

SPEAKER_00 49:51

It is, and it is healing. I I find that, you know, whenever I I when I did I did a session with with I did a session with Lisa, and I gotta tell you, it was so amazing. Um, I she just cleared my energy that I that needed clearing, and she was able to channel in my son, sent her messages for me. It was it was so beautiful and really, really uplifting. I loved it. And what a great personality, Scotty. It was just so funny.

SPEAKER_03 50:22

You know, I'm glad that you had such a wonderful experience.

SPEAKER_00 50:25

I wanted you to have that. Oh, it was it was amazing. And um I guess so let's talk a little bit about um I like to do these lightning questions, you know, or it's like one-word answers, you know. Um but uh this one's a little bit, you know. What do you what is being a survivor? Because my show is called Stories of Survivors. What does that mean to you? What does being a survivor mean?

SPEAKER_03 50:48

It means that I owe something to what I call God. I feel that I have to be my best self. There wasn't a coincidence, and I was given a second chance, right? So if I can't do for others and be of service and help those, no matter what length, then I'm I, you know, I'm not paying back what I should be, right? Because if you think about having my last rights and having your head capped and wearing wigs and all that, right? Not to feel sorry. I learned so much to help others through that time, right? But learning, going through all these things to survive, there has to be a bigger reason. You know?

SPEAKER_00 51:30

There is, definitely. It's you know, I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I'm not sure exactly where the journey is taking us. Right. But I'm along for the ride, you know. As I as I how about is there a song um that you turn to to lift your spirits?

SPEAKER_03 51:49

I love the song on the wings of love. Yeah, on the wings only the two of us.

SPEAKER_00 51:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 51:54

Because I talk so much about love when I do a live or whatever, because for me, it's only love and fear, right? And if we can't live love and give self-love and do good things with love, then what are we doing here?

SPEAKER_01 52:09

That's so true.

SPEAKER_03 52:10

Because I don't think people realize our energy that we put out and what we give to others makes a different to the collective and the world that we're in right now. We can change that if we so desire.

SPEAKER_00 52:23

My gosh. Um how about a book? Is there a book that you that you're reading, that you love, a favorite author.

SPEAKER_03 52:32

I just read your book. No, I have to say, because I'm a poet.

SPEAKER_00 52:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 52:37

That's true. Scotty's poems, your letters. Um, I could feel it. I could feel, I could feel the essence. And it was just, it was so inspiring. I mean, I have to tell you, I'm I told you I'm taking Thursday night writing classes, and uh it happened after you gave I bought the book.

SPEAKER_00 52:57

I I So thank you. Oh my gosh, I love you. Well, that's a great segue into how I usually end our interviews is with one of my son Scotty's poems. And um the one I chose for today is called I Got Nobody. And it goes, You can only dislike things that can be fixed. Looking yourself in the mirror, transfixed. My mind is affixed. I can't see what I used to see in myself. All I see is connect the dots, making an elf. My face is scarred, my body is a lard. This is why I constantly look for attention. I crave to be complimented on my complexion. My mom was right. My acne looks like I was in a fight. My body looks like a bombsite, and my personality, it makes people take flight. I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel like a mental amputee, like I'm drowning in a never-ending sea, falling deeper down, losing the light that was once within me.

SPEAKER_03 54:07

I remember reading that in the book, and I just sat there silent. So special.

SPEAKER_00 54:14

It it it, you know. I used to tell him, stop picking your acne, you know, it makes you look like you're in a fight. And you don't realize what your words, how they're taken, and even out of context. And then I read this and I'm like, I can see the struggle, but through his words that I couldn't see just in everyday actions. And sometimes it's really important, I think, to slow down and take a moment and just absorb what the situation is that's going on in your life because you just don't you can't always get it when you're moving so fast through the hustle and bustle of life, right? Lisa, I gotta tell you, your story is so powerful and it's definitely a reminder that even in the deepest pain of losing people, that your life can be transformed. Absolutely. And you can have purpose and healing. And thank you for sharing your story, your heart, and everything. And please, you guys, if you need healing or you want to talk to someone, Lisa is amazing. Please reach out to her at her website, which is WWW Healing Hand and Heart dot com.

SPEAKER_03 55:36

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 55:37

Thank you for sharing your special gifts and thank you to our audience. We'll see you next week on SOS Stories of Survivors.