Rising from the fall

By Anthony Matt

Julie Belden and her husband of 27 years, Jim, have spent much of their marriage building their own homes. In fact, they have built three of them. The duo has been working on their “forever home” in Mahtowa, Minnesota, for several years now.

“We’re just really looking forward to settling down in a place close to the things we like to do,” Belden said. “We are really outdoorsy people who enjoy camping, skiing, canoeing, hiking, anything outside, and this home is so close to all of that.”

In March 2020, then 57-year-old Belden was working in the loft area of their under-construction home, which at the time was only accessible by ladder. After wrapping up her project, she was descending the ladder when it tipped over, sending her crashing 10 feet to the ground.

“I knew right away that I had broken my hand and hurt my hip. I told my husband to call an ambulance right away to take me to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center,” Belden said. Belden had broken both her hand and pelvis on the left side of her body.

“I had never been through a major injury like this before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve been a health care worker for 30 years, but it’s different being on the other side of things,” Belden said.

For three decades, Belden has worked at Essentia. Twentyfive of those years have been working in hand therapy. While she’s used to providing care to patients, now she was the one who needed care from the same people she works alongside.

“It helped me understand what patients are going through after suffering major trauma,” Belden said, “ — how it impacts their jobs, their home life, the people who are taking care of them, everything. And I think going through this has helped me become a better occupational therapist.”

Two days after the fall, Belden went into surgery to repair her broken bones. She spent a week in the hospital recovering before being discharged to rehab.

“I couldn’t have done any of this therapy on my own. My therapists were so helpful, so respectful of my privacy and my wishes. Even though many of them are my colleagues, they treated me like a patient,” Belden said. “While I’m used to seeing them provide that care, it was heartwarming to receive it and witness firsthand what they do every day to help the patient.”

In August 2020, not long after the fall, due to her injuries, Belden was diagnosed with a hip infection in the same spot she broke her pelvis. It prompted a hip replacement.

“I was shocked. I had never had a major medical procedure performed on me in my life, and now I had three within just a few months of each other,” Belden said.

Again, Belden said the care she received was top-notch. She had to work with surgeons, infectious disease specialists and many others after her injuries and recovery process.

“The doctors really work together to make sure everyone is on the same page and working as a team to provide a high level of care,” Belden said. “They read all my notes, knew exactly where I was at with surgeries, rehab and recovery.”

For people who need a similar level of care, Belden said not to be discouraged by the process and understand there are professionals who want to help you recover.

“It takes longer to do everything, all the daily tasks that are easy to take for granted,” she said. “Understanding patients’ stress and anxiety has allowed me to better realize what they are going through and allow me to provide more comprehensive care.”

Belden added that a strong support system at home goes a long way.

“My husband and son helped me get outside for short walks most days or just got me outside in a chair or took me for a car ride,” Belden said. ”We made goals that we posted on a wall and that helped keep me motivated and positive. It is amazing what a bit of sunshine can do for the spirit. Even in cold Duluth.”

Close to two years later, Belden is back to doing many of the things she loves, including continuing to work on that dream home, and spending as much time outside as possible.

“I feel like my care teams gave me my life back,” she said. “I knew these injuries would take a long time to recover from, but I can do so much now that I wasn’t able to do after my injury.” D

Samantha Roffers, a Moose Lake writer, believes it’s important to shop for things you love and feel comfortable in. Everyone’s style is unique and that’s what makes it so special.

By Samantha Roffers

Hello, dear readers! If this is your first time checking out the magazine or Fashions By Sam, a very warm welcome to you, and thank you for being here. I hope you all survived the January cold snaps without too much of a headache. Hopefully you were able to escape for a bit and find some white sand and turquoise waters … even if it was just your imagination.

Something about the post-holiday cold always has me longing for warm summer days. However, it is important that we take this time to rest and reflect, in my opinion. Cozy up with a good book or show, pick up a hobby, write a letter to a loved one or even complete that home improvement project you’ve been putting off. No matter what you do, do it with grace and love to yourself.

Now, let's talk about women. How amazing are women? One of the things I love about being a part of this magazine is that it celebrates women in every single issue. We are incredible. We lead companies, countries, homes and so much more. We create new lives within our own bodies and then we bring those new lives into this world. We protect life, save lives and care for those passing on from this life. We are strong, beautiful, soft and fierce.

I know so many incredible women who inspire me every day. I see the way women move through life as if they had eight arms and endless energy. I see the way women pour their hearts out so that it envelops those around them, those with

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by Sam

This first look is my go to… I have naturally straight hair but I love it big and curly. I always use a heat protectant as well as volumizing powder at my roots to achieve voluminous and soft curls. I use a small comb to backcomb the hair around my crown. My big tip with curls is the longer you can let them cool down the better. I will typically spray my hair with a light-hold hairspray before curling and then I let it sit for at least 30 minutes before finger combing it. This helps the curls last all day long!

This second look is so easy, and I regularly use it for interviews or important meetings. It keeps my hair out of my face but still allows me to wear it loose and free. All I do is grab a small section of hair near my forehead and twist it. Once I like how the twist looks I will secure it behind my head with a bobby pin. Another tip I have is to hair spray your bobby pins before putting them in your hair, this will give them a lot of extra hold.

My third look is one of my favorites — perfect for when you need to have your hair out of your face or for a polished and professional look. By putting my hair in a low bun and wrapping the excess pieces around my hair tie actually hides the hair tie, giving you a beautiful and polished look. When you start with hair that is curled and teased this look can be created in mere seconds. You can pull pieces out for a messier look or secure loose hairs with hairspray and pins for a cleaner look. I am always one who likes to have wild and messy hair so that's the look I went for.

Now this fourth look is not for everyone but it is one of my favorites. It’s a little bit more of a “trendy” hairstyle that won't be as classic or timeless as the others. I really love the way this look frames my face and I feel it is so fun and sassy! You can make the bun as big or as small as you want. Some people giggle at this style when I wear it but that’s okay — it's a style that makes me feel beautiful! For this look I will use a very small rubber hair tie and only put up the front of my hair.