Lessons in Resilience: Finding Strength in Slowing Down

This fall has looked a little different for me. In September, I severed a tendon in my right hand — my dominant hand — and what started as a simple injury quickly spiraled into surgery and a long recovery.

As a self-employed web developer, photographer, and single mom, I’m used to being constantly on the go. Between client work, photo sessions, and raising two kids, I rarely slow down. But suddenly, I had no choice.

One week post-op, my physiotherapist told me to buckle up for a long recovery and warned that I wouldn’t be able to hold my camera for eight weeks. I wanted to cry. Photography has always been such a big part of my work — and my identity — and hearing that it would have to wait felt like a huge blow.

Post-op, a full arm cast

Since then, I’ve been adapting. My left hand has now become surprisingly adept at using the computer mouse. Photography has been rescheduled. Timelines have been flexed. And while this season has been challenging, it’s also been full of lessons:

• Flexibility is everything. When one part of my work came to a halt, I was able to focus on another.

• Having multiple income streams matters. It’s given me stability when things felt uncertain.

• Your community is everything. I’m incredibly lucky to have friends and family nearby who’ve stepped in to help — from driving me places to helping with the kids and folding laundry (a surprisingly difficult task with one hand.)

• Great clients make all the difference. I’m so grateful for the patience and understanding my clients have shown throughout this recovery.

Silver Linings and Gratitude

Sometimes the hardest experiences give us perspective on what really matters. This recovery has forced me to slow down and notice the small but meaningful changes happening around me — and within my family.

My kids have had to step up in new ways, and I’ve been so proud of how they’ve risen to the challenge. They’re suddenly helping make their own lunches, doing more cooking, and we’ve started walking to school every day — a simple change that’s turned into something we all enjoy. They’ve learned compassion, patience, and helpfulness, and while it’s been stressful at times, I truly believe it’s made us stronger as a family.

I’ve also learned that it’s okay to ask for help — something I’ve traditionally struggled with. In fact, people want to help. That’s what community is all about, and I’ve never felt more grateful for mine.

While I’m only four weeks into my recovery, things are slowly getting easier. The pain has diminished, the strength in my right hand is returning, and although I still have to be careful, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

This season has reminded me that even in the toughest times, there are always silver linings — lessons tucked inside the challenges, moments of joy hidden in the slowdown, and people who lift you when you need it most.

I’m looking forward to getting back behind the camera soon, with a renewed sense of gratitude for the work I love, the people I serve, and the community that makes it all possible.

Here’s to healing, growth, and the quiet strength that comes from slowing down.

— Bonnie