We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sheila Preston Fitzgerald. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sheila Preston below.

Sheila Preston Fitzgerald, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

As an author, speaker, and tragedy coach, my mission is to help others who’ve experienced tragedy – be it emotional, mental, physical, relational, or spiritual – find hope and healing so they too can have a joy-filled life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My entire world forever changed, in an instant, the night I had a near-death motorcycle accident. An on-coming car failed to yield, crashing into me. The injuries were permanent and life altering. Before the accident, I was an athlete and in the best physical shape of my life. After the accident, both of my legs were severely mangled, and within a year I ended up loosing one of my lower legs. It took nearly four years before I was able to walk on my own. The physical journey was long and grueling, and in many ways it’s still on-going. But, the emotional, mental, relational, and even spiritual parts of my life all took major hits as well. The setbacks, the never-ending difficulties, and the constant trials were gut wrenching, not to mention exhausting!

As a young girl, I loved journaling. God gifted me with an innate ability to put thoughts into written words. That childhood trait became a lifesaver for me after the accident. While the rest of the world was asleep, I’d spend the long, lonely hours of night in the hospital writing. Pen and paper, along with constant conversations with God, became the greatest avenues of recovery for me. Lying in a hospital bed for months, with both of my legs stuck straight out in front of me, I needed something productive for my mind to focus on. I began to share my writings with friends and family. People would tell me I needed to write a book about my experience to help others overcome tragic and difficult situations in their lives. One Foot in Heaven – Finding Hope in the Hopeless was born out of personal life trauma, and abundant loss. And while the losses were many, the beautiful (and difficult) journey of recovery is something I wouldn’t trade for the world. Please don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want to go through it again. But, there’s no way I’d take a bazillion dollars or brand-new Barbie doll legs for the experience I had the night of the accident and since then.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I keep in touch with my audience mostly via social media, and through my monthly mass email publication of FootNotes; an e-newsletter dose of happy for their inbox. As a public speaker, I’m constantly meeting new people who join FootNotes, and my social media pages.

My brand logo is the blue morpho butterfly. It’s been part of my journey from the beginning, and is a recognized symbol among those who follow my journey. It represents the glorious transformation of life, to darkness, to triumphant life again. 🦋

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

As an amputee, who chooses not to hide it, my journey is not only filled with countless stories of resilience but wonderful stories of ignorance and laughter. I’ve heard all the poorly spoken comments and weird questions from strangers, but this is one of my favorites. Sometimes silence truly is the best response we can give.

I’d gone to get my car emissions test completed. The young man, using hand signals, directed my car into the bay. We exchanged pleasant greetings, then paper work and payment was handled. He completed a couple steps for the inspection before he asked me to step out of the vehicle. After opening my door, I gingerly began my departure from the car. As I did, the young man says, “Oh! You have a PROSTRATE!”

I’ve gotten pretty good at responding (or ignoring) goofy things people say. I waited to see if he realized what he said. Nope. This poor fella didn’t skip a beat. I’m not sure if he didn’t realize he had just told a lady she had a prostate, or if he missed Health 101 that he, a male, has a prostate. Not ladies. He referred to my prostate more than once during our brief conversation. By all indications, he was an educated man. I think he didn’t realize he was using the wrong word….a really wrong word. I didn’t have the heart to tell him.

I sat less than six feet from the young man as he finished the test. It took all I had not to burst out in laughter. I got back into the car and pulled away. I didn’t get a block down the street before I had to pull over and wipe the tears. Oh, the never ending life with One Foot in Heaven.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.OneFootInHeavenOnline.com
• Instagram: 1FootInHeaven
• Facebook: One Foot In Heaven