Ponn Sabra, Women's Empowerment advocate and guru, is fighting back against Chiari (read her story below) by donating a portion of the proceeds from her new book, "Empowering Women To Power Network"

You can read more about Ponn, her experiences, her tips on Empowerment, and her new book at her website:  www.empowerwomennow.com. 

Your introduction to Chiari was quite traumatic, what happened?

Last July I was in a horrible car accident that caused me to be on bed rest for 3 weeks, helpless for 3 months, and in full-time therapy for over 10 months.

I was diagnosed with post concussive syndrome (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) dizziness), whiplash, and injured the left side of my body; specifically my shoulder, a couple ribs, and my knee.

In October things started to get better, because I started seeing a neurologist and neck and spine specialist. I continued to go to physical therapy four days a week for my knee and back, but my neck started hurting and my overall recovery was unusually slow. My physical therapy team was extremely frustrated (as was I), and I decided to stop going for the New Year because I was to start vestibular therapy instead. We also decided to begin prolotherapy in February once I cleaned my system of certain drugs for at least one-month.

We started to see immediate improvement with VT until I started having major problems weaning off certain drugs and trying others to prepare for my prolotherapy. And then, when we took the battery of tests to assure I am a good candidate for prolotherapy (such as a MRI), my neck and spine specialist found a 5 mm cerebral tonsil dissention.

How are you doing now, do you have symptoms?

When I was diagnosed with Chiari, we stopped VT and waited to hear what my neurologist had to say. After visiting 2 different neurosurgeons, here’s my present situation (paraphrased) “I have enough CSF flow, so it doesn’t matter how much it (my cerebral tonsil) is falling out”. I have a neurologist appointment in October, with my next MRI/CSF-flow test scheduled in April, and the only warning sign that I should call my neurosurgeon is “if I have a striking pain at the top of my head”. I was advised “never to get into another car accident, especially getting hit from the back, I should practice my neck stretches, and to stop VT since it will not help anymore”.

Great advise, huh? I’ve been trying to tell my neurologist’s office & family physician  for the past two months that my biggest pain is in my neck…and all I got was an appointment for my family physician for September 1st. They “kindly” gave me a half-hour, so I can have more time to myself, rather than 15 minutes”.

Looking back, before the accident, are there things in your childhood that in retrospect seem Chiari related?

No, not at all.

On your blog, you talk about the all the tests and the not knowing what’s wrong as being difficult, can you describe what it was like?

I believe everything happens for a reason, with timeliness and a lesson to be learned.

For example, when you’re stuck in bed, there’s not much one can do but think, read, and, in my case, write. I reflected on my many blessings, and to my amazement, I met and exceeded every single one of my professional goals much faster than I ever hoped for…but I met them at all costs: Me.

The life as an overachieving mother, wife, and work at home entrepreneur meant I was overworked, over-exhausted, under-slept and under-nourished. The life I was living was literally killing my body, mind and soul.
And worse, no one was putting pressure on me except: Me. Not my girls, not my husband, and NOT my Power Network.

So, as I watched my life pass before my own eyes, I chose to apply the success principles of my professional life to my personal life, and in 3 days, while in bed, I wrote "Empowering Women to Power Network".

What I find even more amazing is the timeliness of my Chiari diagnosis. Rather than feel sorry for myself, I’m choosing to be empowered by our discovery.

Why? Well, fortunately I do not  need brain surgery this year. So, I’m choosing to learn from this experience, and my lesson is that Chiari is my way to be accountable to others, specifically my readers. Chiari will force me to slow down and apply the very principles I share in my book to my life today and always.

Secondly, I feel truly blessed because ACM wasn¹t a cause of the accident, but thankfully, we found it because of the accident.

Last, I believe I would have never been able to handle the diagnosis, the annoying tests, and the excoriating ‘rush-to-the-tests-and-wait-the-results”, if I had not undergone the self-empowerment period after my car accident.

Why Have You Focused On Women’s Empowerment?

Coming from a Type-A personality, over-achieving, obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, I know first-hand what it means to do it all and still not win. Women have an extremely difficult time putting themselves first at all, let alone all the time. Women take on an unnecessary amount of guilt, weight and emotional burden that we can not  physically bear. And, worse, when we know that we’re taking the role as ‘superwomen’; we try to demand attention for all the good we did for everyone else.

What is your definition of being empowered?

Defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, empower is “to promote self-actualization”. Very simply, I believe its being your best self; a person who is true, honest, and genuine to his/herself and sharing this person with the world.

How and when did you get the idea for the book?

I’ve been a freelance writer for over 10 years, and over 3 years ago I pitched a local publisher an “Empowering Women” column for her new business women’s magazine. I outlined half-dozen topics with all my tips, tools and resources that I compiled throughout my years. She recommended that I write a book. Now, in the publishing world this never happens and, as honored as I was, I literally let life take control of me, and never did anything about it. Mind you, she was willing to publish it for me too.

So, after my accident, three things came to mind:  I need to leave a legacy behind for my girls, I can not let this dream of becoming an author just sit in my head any longer, and I needed to share my experiences, insights and resources to as many women in this world as possible.

The book was already outlined, formatted, and written in my head. So, while in bed for three-days straight I finally put it on paper.

What do you hope to accomplish with the funds that are raised?

By donating a portion of the proceeds from the book, I hope to enable education, research and patient support programs.

What is the single most important piece of advice you have for women in regards to networking?

As I always say, “you must power network in order to build a power network”. Therefore, there’s the action of power networking that creates the end-product: a Power Network.  I believe it is NOT about what you are and who you know that counts anymore!  The days are long gone in which networking is about strictly passing out business cards and attending multiple “networking” events. With our global market via the internet and international trade, power networking is about building quality relationships where there’s a win-win-WIN situation for all.

So, building a Power Network goes beyond having one relationship with one other person.  It’s about having powerful relationships, where together we work to help make the world become a better and safer place!

What is the key to being empowered?

Be Your Best Self!

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