How a Brain Aneurysm Became a Blessing

Brown Ambition

iHeartPodcasts

Careers, Education, Self-improvement, Investing, Business

4.9 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2019

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In September 2016, Sharon Epperson was at the gym when she felt a relentless, migraine-like pain shoot through her head and neck. One S.O.S. call to her husband and several hours in the hospital later, she learned she was one of 30,000 people in the U.S. who suffer a brain aneurysm rupture each year. Two in five die instantly and African Americans are twice as likely as whites to suffer from one. Sharon, who is the senior personal finance correspondent at CNBC, was one of the lucky ones. On today’s show, she calls the experience one of the great blessings of her life and shares her story with Mandi, including: Her early days in rehabilitation when she had to relearn everyday tasks. “That road had so much pain on it. There were people in those rooms who I know probably wouldn’t make it…I remember thinking I just have to look at the door straight ahead. If I look in these rooms I’m going to fall down.” What it was like to return the air at CNBC after 13 months of rehabilitation. “I am recovered in that I can do that job but I’m doing it differently and better than I’ve ever done it before.” The financial choices she made that protected her family’s finances during her recovery and time off from work. “There couldn’t have been a rainier day for my rainy day fund. The fact that I had an emergency fund was key. It meant I didn’t have to do what many people may have to do which is dip into a 401(k) or their retirement savings to pay for a medical bill.” The key steps Sharon says everyone should take to protect their families if they become disabled —Build an emergency fund —Sign up for disability insurance —Secure a power of attorney Learn more about brain aneurysm research here: bafound.org (This episode originally aired April 18, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.0	You guys, I don't know what to fuckel this week. I am happy, I am sad, I am just a mix of emotions right now.
0:53.0	I don't know if you can tell but it's just me, it's just Mandy this week. Tiffany sadly couldn't be here, she is on a plane somewhere over the United States, somewhere over Idaho.
1:04.0	I don't know, on the way back from taping the real in Los Angeles. So I'm here on my own tonight taping the show.
1:10.0	But like I said, I'm not just sad, I'm also really, really excited. I have an amazing guest joining the show tonight.
1:16.0	I have low key Ben stocking stocking Sharon Epperson for the past three years throughout her career at CNBC where she is the senior personal finance correspondent at the network.
1:30.0	She's actually been there for 21 years.
1:33.0	It was just a couple of years ago that I ran into Sharon at an event at United Nations.
1:38.0	I think it was around women's history month or some sort of gathering when we were both in the same room at the same time.
1:43.0	I knew I just had to grab her, I had to try and get her on Brown Ambition. So I talked to Sharon, she was so sweet to me, so nice, so supportive.
1:52.0	So I followed up with her, you follow up with the email, trying to get her on the show, and then it was crickets, y'all.
1:58.0	It was a little bit awkward and I tried to send the casual follow up email. So Sharon, did you get my email, Brown Ambition?
2:05.0	Remember me? Still didn't hear back anything.
2:08.0	And it wasn't until this past fall in September that I finally realized why.
2:13.0	In late 2016, Sharon suffered a brain eneurism, a traumatic brain injury that required months and months of rehabilitation.
2:22.0	She was out of work for 13 months. And ever since I heard her story, I knew I had to get back in touch with Sharon.
2:31.0	First of all, just to tell her how excited I am and happy to hear that she's doing well.
2:34.0	But also to have her come on the show and share her story with you guys, because as much as Sharon's story is about health and what happens to us when the unimaginable finally occurs, it's also a financial story.
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