Carmen Leal is a storyteller and the author of multiple books, dozens of articles, devotionals, and human-interest stories.

Carmen relocated from Hawaii to Oshkosh, yes, there is a story behind the move, and has become an awesome dog mom. Carmen and her husband have become reluctant gardeners and know a crazy amount about Wisconsin weeds. She is the mother of two sons, three incredible grandsons, and Coconut, the best imperfectly perfect rescue dog in the world.

A professed non-dog person, it’s thanks to a driver who fell asleep at the wheel in 2015 that I now have the best dog in the world. I know, we all think that about our dogs.

The official diagnosis was post-concussive syndrome with moderate frontal brain damage resulting in level ten headaches, PTSD, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and visual hallucinations.

I didn’t know that the blinding headaches were because of the concussion and traumatic brain injury. For eighteen months I worked and then cried on my way to and from one of my six weekly medical appointments. I was in so much physical and mental pain that suicide was a very real and hopeful option.

My doctor suggested an emotional support dog. I scoffed. Over two years after the wreck, a dog was a last-ditch effort. I was only partly joking when I tell people my first choice for a name for a dog was Xanax. I figured I had tried everything else, so I’d try a dog and if that didn’t help I’d give him to my husband who I had been lobbying for years to adopt a dog.

Coconut, named for our Hawaiian roots, has given me a reason to live. Before Coconut I could barely get in a car, let alone drive. I no longer sang or wrote, both of which had been lifelong passions. Crowds caused major panic attacks and I was so angry and negative I drove people away.

I drive most days, I’m writing again, singing in the area’s top choral group, and volunteering. I am the brainchild behind Pups on the Runway and Pups on the Patio, events that raise money and awareness for dog-related causes. I feel like I am making a difference. I’ll likely always have headaches, but they are more manageable thanks in large part because of time and my dog.