In 2008, at just 26-years old, Katherine miraculously survived a catastrophic stroke caused by a congenital brain defect she never knew she had. After a sixteen-hour brain surgery, forty days in the ICU, a year in neurological rehab, and thirteen operations, she lives with significant physical disabilities but continues her recovery to this day.
They are dedicating their second-chance story to disrupting the myth that joy can only be found in a pain-free life. They founded Hope Heals in 2013 to make hope accessible to all people through speaking events, best-selling books, a thriving online community, the GoodHard Story Podcast, and Hope Heals Camp and Retreat for families affected by disability. In February 2024 they will open Mend Coffee and Goods to employ adults living with disabilities in Atlanta.
At first glance, Katherine and Jay's story seems exceptional. But the most personal stories are actually the most universal.
Who among us feels fully free, even when he can walk on his own? Who feels truly beautiful, even when her face is not paralyzed? Who feels completely understood, even without a speech impairment?
The answer is a resounding no one. We are all disabled. Some of our "wheelchairs" are simply on the inside instead of the outside.
If you have a pulse, you have problems and you have pain. But you also have a purpose that is simultaneously good and hard. When we choose to embrace the lives we’re living this very day and release the lives we wished for, we can know in our deepest places that this good story is being written by a God who can’t write any other kind of story. Living the good/hard life means we no longer need to numb ourselves to the difficult and the dark. We can awaken to the broken-down, miraculous nature of our second-chance lives and begin this very day to live them well to the very end.
At Hope Heals, our God-given, good/hard work is to share what we've learned through a life we never imagined living: suffering is not the end of your story. It's the beginning of a new one. And we're writing our stories together.
