Health Impacts of Stress, Tragedy & Loss

Guest Bio: Erica Kosal, PhD

Dr. Erica Kosal and her recently deceased husband Jim Young, educators at the corporate and university level, were married for 15 years.

In 2007, after originally being given a misdiagnosis of ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Jim was correctly diagnosed with neurological chronic Lyme disease. For seven years Jim's health fluctuated such that at times it appeared he was beating the illness, but ultimately it took his life in June of 2014. Over the seven year battle, Jim had a tracheostomy, neuromuscular and pituitary issues, massive weight and muscle loss, and eventually the loss of mobility and speech.

In addition to caring and advocating for her husband Jim, Erica has battled the health insurance company, been audited by the IRS, and has faced financial crisis due to medical bills.

Erica and Jim have utilized a variety of strategies to make their way through this setback and concluded that others might also benefit from their ultimate resiliency. To that end, the multiple strategies are documented as Rebounding Game Plans.

Erica and their two young children (a son and daughter) reside in Raleigh, North Carolina.