Out of the blue, our healthy eight-year-old daughter got really sick. She caught a virus that triggered an aggressive condition, which, for most children, is nothing other than an unpleasant but manageable illness.

For Evie, however, it was a very different story — the inflammation reached her kidneys, causing lasting damage.

It was kept under control for a year, until she relapsed.

For three relentless months, the incredible team at Great Ormond Street Hospital fought alongside our family. They tried everything, but at just ten years old, Evie’s kidney’s failed and she was placed on dialysis to sustain her life.

Those three months were some of the most exhausting and painful of our lives — physically, mentally and emotionally.

I slept at the hospital with Evie during the week, going home at the weekends to spend time with other younger daughter. On reflection, I don’t think I actually slept that much, but it’s amazing how your body adapts. And, as so many people do in these kind of situations, I put on a brave face.

Then, every morning, I had to switch gears completely. After a shower and change of clothes, I would say a quick hello to my husband as he arrived to take over either the day or weekend stint, and then walk to my office as the former MD of a busy London PR agency.

Those brief five minutes on the walk were a necessary transition — a mental and emotional reset.

I had to switch my mindset from ‘mum at her daughter’s bedside’ to ‘leader in the boardroom’, while my husband juggled work, hospital care and normal family life.

We were utterly exhausted — physically drained from sleepless nights, mentally and emotionally depleted from constant worry and fear. But we needed to be focused and steady for everyone.

On reflection, it was one of the most difficult balancing acts of my life.

I didn’t always get it right. There were moments when I broke down in front of Evie — tears I couldn’t hold back. And there were times when my work colleagues saw me at my most vulnerable. Or my worst.

But I was fortunate — thanks to my husband’s background in learning and development, I had the knowledge to help me understand energy management in a practical, actionable way.

I learned to recognise the moments when I was running on empty, to intentionally pause and reset, to find micro-moments to recharge even when time was scarce.

I understood that resilience isn’t about brute force or simply pushing through at any cost. Real resilience comes from managing your energy with intention — knowing when to rest, when to step back, when to ask for help and when to recharge so you can come back stronger.

That lesson shaped not only how I navigated those dark months, but who I am today. Because whether you’re a parent caring for a sick child or a leader managing a high-pressure business, energy fuels your capacity to show up and resilience protects your ability to keep going.

It serves as a reminder to me of what it means to be resilient — it is not about relentless endurance or pushing through at all costs, but an ongoing process of recovery and renewal.

Because you can’t pour from an empty cup.

This experience has fundamentally shaped how we work, what we teach at 1948 and why we believe so deeply in helping others develop the same skills.

In January 2022, I had the profound privilege of donating one of my kidneys to Evie, who is now a thriving teenager. It’s not a gift I ever imagined I would give, but life sometimes takes us on journeys we don’t expect. How we respond to the unexpected—and how we care for ourselves through those times—truly defines us as people.

The average lifespan of a living donor kidney is around 20 – 25 years, sometimes sadly much less. So, our daughter will likely need multiple transplants in her lifetime.

This ongoing journey reinforces the fact that energy and resilience aren’t just abstract concepts – they are the helping hands that keep us moving forward, in work, in family and in life.

If you’d like to know more about our work, including our Energy & Resilience training, get in touch here.

By Jacquie Coleman, 1948 co-founder and MD