With international women’s day coming up again this weekend, I thought it was time to give another shout out to all the strong women I have had in my life. I did do a post last year on some incredible and inspirational women I know, and my intent was always to add to this over the coming years, and do more (badly amateurish) paintings of them.

I’ve told the story of my current business partner and co-founder, but more than two decades ago, I started another business with L, which was quite successful (We were state finalists in the Telstra business awards, which is one of the most prestigious business awards in Australia).

Now, L is also a keen horse rider, and kept several horses on her property. A couple of years into our partnership, she was out riding alone and came across a fenceline she needed to cross. She dismounted and held the fence wire down and tried to lead her horse over it, but unfortunately the horse tripped and fell on top of her, crushing her pelvis. She was stuck in the wild for hours in intense pain and unable to move until she was found much later and taken to hospital.

Her injuries meant that she had to stay in prone position for months, unable to walk, but still she insisted I bring her work to do while she was recuperating at home. I would often visit while she was staying with her parents in town and she would always brush off questions about how she was and dive into anything she could do to keep the business running and keep the customers happy.

We parted ways in the business a few years later, and while the initial separation from the business was acrimonious and emotional, over the years we have forgiven each other and are back to being friends again. It was after we re-established contact that L informed me that she had been diagnosed with Pompe disease, quite rare condition that causes muscles in your body to break down. Now, L was a super fit young woman, so to hear that she couldn’t walk up stairs etc. these days was unbelievable.

She underwent years of treatment, which included regular trips interstate for blood transfusions and stem cell procedures. I believe she now has the disease managed fairly well, and she currently travels the world advocating for several groups who support people afflicted with Pompe’s as well as lobbying governments to speed up research and approval of medication necessary to treat the disease.

I wish L all the best, and am grateful for the time we worked together.

I know this is a bit late for International Women’s Day, but I thought I would post it anyway.

Some backstory - I used to do a lot of art and painting in my younger days, but haven’t really done anything for the past 3 decades or more. Work, life, music, everything else simply got in the way and I never put pen or brush to paper in all that time.

Until this year, when I decided to try my hand at painting again. But the next problem was - what subject matter? I decided that I would focus on women in my life who have had an impact on me. Not just my immediate family, which consists of strong women anyway, but rather my friendship circle, in which I have many women who I think are totally amazing.

(Note: I have held back from mentioning names in this post. Mainly because I want to protect the privacy of my friends. Most of them are really humble and wouldn’t like to be called out for their strengths, but I think their story deserves to be told).

Here are my (rusty) artistic impressions of my heroes:

I first met E when she worked at a client site that I was doing some consulting work at. She always had the brightest smile and a genuine “Hello, how are you?” that went beyond mere politeness and showed an actual interest in the answer, which in turn showed the depth of her soul.

E does it hard raising two very young kids as a single mother, but she does not let that hold her back from showering her children with an abundance of love. And she always has time for others.

J was a good friend of my younger sister and spent a lot of time at our house when growing up, and so I consider her another little sister of mine as well as one of my best friends. Many years ago, while in the prime of her life, she suffered an aneurism which nearly took her life. She still suffers many permanent after effects of that incident to this day, including short term memory loss, but she does not let that hold her back, and she still retains her delightful, happy personality.

M was another client who turned into a friend. A few years ago she was diagnosed with having multiple brain tumours. Because she lived across the country, I could only follow her journey of fighting through this via Facebook, but I was amazed at her strength, resilience, and most importantly, her absolutely candid sense of humour while going through the worst of times. That is priceless in my opinion.

Even during her recovery, there was no hesitation in outlining funny things that happened as a result of the multiple surgeries and procedures that she underwent - for example, she suffered balance problems following her release from hospital, but she regaled us all with the funny story of how she tripped and fell flat on her face outside her favourite pub when she was on the way to celebrate beating those pesky tumours. It takes someone special to always see the funny side of something so serious. Thankfully M is doing well now and enjoying a full and healthy life.

J is a long time business colleague whom I have a lot of respect for. I have known her for many years, which includes the time encompassing two marriages that didn’t work out. What I really admire about J is how she doesn’t let heartbreak hold her back. Every time she met a new love, she would throw herself heart and soul into the relationship with no cynicism or negativity. That kind of bravery, to risk your heart over and over like that, is rare.

More recently, J also came down with breast cancer and battled through that with silent courage. She is now in marriage #3 with her soul mate and is blissfully happy living the life of her dreams.

S is a relatively new friend, but has already astounded me with her spirit of generosity and her willingness to go above and beyond to help a friend out. She is an avid traveller and is not afraid to explore the wilder side of places she visits on her own. She is a super smart former lawyer. She is also a former MMA cage fighter, so she is one tough lady that stands for no nonsense. A serial entrepreneur, I always enjoy spending time with her talking about startup life and travelling.

D is another friend of my sister who is like a little sister to me too. Always ready with a delightful smile. She is a beautiful soul. She has 2 children with special needs, but I have never heard her complain once - she showers all 4 of her children with boundless love. Tragically, she recently lost her young son, and my heart goes out to her, because of all the people in the world, D does not deserve this. She also had her own personal battle with cancer a couple of years ago, but that never stopped her from being there for her own family. For me, D is proof enough that no higher deity exists, because any god that can put someone as amazing and compassionate as her through such life trials really does not make any sense to me.

I hope to add to this list over the coming months, and I am realising how lucky I am to be surrounded by such strong, inspirational women almost everywhere I go. They have all played a part in shaping me into the person I am today.

People have asked me “Aren’t there any men who have inspired you the same way?” and the short answer is yes, but apart from my own Dad, I really can’t think of any other male figure in my friendship circle who has been through the sorts of battles that the women above have. I am sure there are though, and as soon as I find them, I will do something similar.

Another salute to strong women in my life

Incredible Women in my Life