HeatherHuhman.com

What Paula Abdul & I Have in Common (a letter to my readers)

To my readers,

I feel pretty confident when I say Paula Abdul and I have very little in common. She appears to be pretty short on TV, while I’m 5’8″. She has dark hair and skin, while I am blonde and very, very pale. She sings and dances, while I definitely don’t. She’s famous, while I’m not. The list goes on.

However, both Paula and I have reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD, also known as chronic regional pain syndrome). When I was diagnosed last year, I immediately went to the Internet to see what was in store for me. I found lots of horrifying stories, including Paula’s own diagnosis. She has it in her neck, which I simply cannot imagine. Mine started in my left knee and has since spread to my entire body below my waist.

On March 31, 2010, I wrote a post over on the Personal Branding Blog entitled, “Maintaining Your Personal Brand During Illness or Injury.” Until that point, I had been in remission for six months. Two days later, on April 2, my RSD returned.

The first time around was certainly frightening, no doubt. I had no idea if/when a doctor would be able to get things under control. However, I’ve found myself even more scared in the last two weeks because what originally took three months to progress happened in this short period of time. Add on top of that the fact that my husband was out of town last week and I was all alone in my three-story townhouse — unable to walk once afternoon hit. (For some reason, my symptoms get worse as the day goes on, and then ease up at about 5 a.m.)

Now, I’m no hero. Instead, I did something I never do — took off of all work. That’s right, no day job, no Come Recommended, no Examiner.com, etc. I’m back at my day job today and am slowly catching up on everything else, but please don’t expect an answer from me immediately if you’ve tried to e-mail me within the last two weeks.

So what have I been doing in between sleeping when I can?

• I launched my latest community, GenYNetworking.com. Unfortunately, it launched without much fanfare because of my condition, but if you’re interested in learning how to network with potential employers with the goal of getting a job (or internship), I definitely encourage you to check it out!
• On Saturday, I signed a deal to write my second book. I will be co-authoring Follow Me: How Gen Y is Changing the Face of Networking with the fabulous Kristina Allen. Although our plans are to turn it in sooner, the manuscript is due to Dalidaze Press on November 1.
• I thought a lot about my career. Leading a dual career is tough stuff. If there were 48 hours in every day, I would totally have a handle on both my public relations and career services careers. Unfortunately (fortunately?), there are only 24. So, between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. (or so), I’m in PR mode. Don’t get me wrong: I love PR, love my job, love my co-workers, love my boss, etc. But something is clearly missing from my life, otherwise I wouldn’t pursue and entire second career in my spare time!

I recently read Get a Life, Not a Job by Paula Caligiuri, PhD, and I’ve begun to wonder whether or not I should continue pursuing a career in PR. I’ve been extremely successful, and I have the stats to back up that statement. But, I’ve only applied for a few jobs since finding out about my day job’s restructuring in February. (Discovery Communications and Blackboard, you guys can call me up any time!) Why am I being so picky?

At first I thought I was doubting my capabilities as a PR practitioner despite eight years of accomplishments. With the seemingly endless hours of time to think during the last week especially, I’m starting to realize that — aside from doing PR for a very special company — perhaps my future lies in being what I’ve branded myself to be during the last two years: a Generation Y author, columnist and mentor. (After all, that’s really three careers right there!)

Another realization: I cannot pursue this path on my own. I always admit that one of my biggest career-related struggles was learning to delegate. But in that respect, RSD has done me a big favor. My body will never be the same as it was before my accident. And I cannot push it beyond its limits for days or weeks on end — I’m no college student anymore! Here I owe a big hat tip to the entire Come Recommended team — for believing in me and the product I’ve built.

But I also owe my thanks to you — readers of my blog, buyers of my books, members of my online communities, consumers of my advice. Without you, there would be no me — at least not the “me” that gets me out of bed every morning, even on the mornings when the pain is almost too much to bear.

I don’t need to be rich. I don’t need to be famous. All I really want out of life is to leave a legacy of having helped people pursue their dreams. So I hope you’ll stick around while I work through this difficult time.

Thank you for listening/reading,