Meet Dr. Kelly Wood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Kelly Wood.

Dr. Wood, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have always wanted to be a doctor. I excelled academically and received a scholarship to medical school where I graduated in the top five of my class. I was also one of the first to successfully migrate from Barbados, where I grew up, to the US for residency. After residency, I went on to do a fellowship in Diabetes and Endocrinology. After I completed my specialization, I landed a great private practice job in Connecticut. By the age of 30, I was an attending physician. To anyone looking at my life from the outside, I was winning but I wasn’t happy. I had always wanted to fall in love, get married, have babies and live happily ever after. But at 35 years old, life wasn’t turning out to be what I expected. And then, I met him-we were introduced by a mutual friend at her wedding and the connection was instantaneous.

I had finally found the missing piece of the puzzle. My life was coming together, and my prayers had been answered and after dating for a year and a half, he proposed. I was ecstatic and so were all my friends and family; they had been praying for me too. I had never been the kind of girl who planned her wedding when she was a child, but before I met my fiancé, I had found this online photo of a bride and her bridesmaids wearing red shoes. I saved the image to encourage myself on the days when I felt like I would never see my dream fulfilled and one of the first things I did after he proposed was to buy red shoes for myself and my bridesmaids. I purchased the dress I’d wear on my special day; we decided on a venue and were about to put a deposit down.

I can still remember the Monday morning that we had an argument that forever changed my life. I was shocked when he said, “I no longer want to continue with you.” His response felt disproportionate to what we were arguing about. Wait, what? I thought. Didn’t we just iron out the menu, the music, and the guest list last night? We’re over?
We were standing outside the pizza restaurant near my apartment complex and I could hear the chatter of people eating lunch; I could see the cars passing by, but it was as if we were the only two people in the world and he had just pulled the ground from under me. I was sobbing overcome with emotion, holding on to him, begging him not to leave. He said he’d stay, and we’d work on our relationship, but then started the silent treatment and emotional abuse.

A few days after the argument, I couldn’t stop my mind from racing. Thoughts about jumping out my window flashed through my mind. I am normally a rational person who did not have or would not usually entertain these thoughts, but I wanted the pain to stop. My spirit was so broken and for that moment ending my life seemed like a good option. These thoughts however scared the living daylights out of me, so I called my brother in Barbados at 2 AM crying because as exhausted as I was, I couldn’t sleep. He stayed on the phone with me while I drove to a 24-hour Walmart to buy Benadryl, so I could rest, if only for a few hours. I felt perhaps if I got some rest, I wouldn’t have such crazy thoughts.

The next four months were living hell. I resisted letting go of the relationship even though it was literally killing me inside and leading to such severe anxiety that I was waking up in the middle of the night with panic attacks. I was so afraid of being alone and didn’t understand that being alone was better than being with someone who did not value me. God was showing me I needed to let go, not only of the relationship but of what I thought my life was going to look like. I finally had my red shoes. I had imagined myself being a wife and a mother. Letting go of him was hard but letting go of my dream which was almost fulfilled was harder.

To get away from the stress of what was happening, and to clear my mind, I decided to visit my other brother and his wife in Southern Africa. Many nights I was up partly due to jet lag but also because I was deciding whether I should stay or leave the relationship. I had started to write affirmations on sticky notes, and I had placed them on the wall in the guest room. I wrote; “I am beautiful”, “I am lovable”, “I am worthy”. One night, when everyone else was sleeping, I read my affirmations and finally realized I deserved better and I knew I had to choose me and save myself, so I ended the relationship.

I was scared when I said yes. Could I really do this? Can I live without him? But I felt peace. For the first time in four months, I slept through the night. I knew I had made the right decision.

I had moved to Atlanta to be with him and had not considered or planned a life without him. In the months following the end of the relationship, I had to work on rebuilding my life and my self -esteem. Life had dealt me a disappointing blow, but I had a choice to make, I could either crumble under the weight of my disappointment or I could heal and learn from what happened.

As a Christian, I relied on my faith in God which grounded me and became my stability. I had to learn how to love myself, and how to set a healthy boundary with others. I also had to reprogram my mindset. What did I think about myself that allowed me to stay in a toxic relationship? How could I change this? I worked with a mindset coach, I went to therapy and I focused on fixing my self-limiting beliefs. I thought I couldn’t live without him and then when my worst fear came true, I realized just how strong I really was. I no longer let fear control me.

I thought that being in the relationship or getting married would somehow make my life complete. I was a woman who hid behind her academic and career success, but really didn’t love herself or think she was good enough or that she deserved more. The more I opened up about my story, I realized that so many other women have a similar experience but we’re ashamed to talk about the disappointment of a broken relationship or being in a toxic relationship or issues surrounding self-worth. I wrote my book to encourage other women that if I could bounce back, they could bounce back too and I shared exactly how I did this.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been some challenges along the way. I have had to balance being a full-time physician with starting my own business. Most often this meant long nights after a full day of work and I’ve had to learn how to manage my time more effectively.

We follow successful entrepreneurs on social media and we sometimes have the belief that they have always been successful. But it’s a lie, most people are not overnight successes but have been grinding for years. I’ve had to keep this in mind when I get a no or if an event/project didn’t turn out the way I hoped. As discouraging as it gets at times, I can’t give up because it’s difficult. I must show up even though I don’t always feel like it and I have to be consistent.

I am fueled by the knowledge that I’m walking in God’s purpose for my life and that I’m helping other women to heal by being open about my journey.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a board-certified endocrinologist and bounce back coach. Through my book (Bounce Back to a Better You: Recovering from the Disappointment of a Failed Relationship), blog, speaking and coaching programs, I help high-performing women to bounce back from failed relationships, rebuild their self-esteem, and reclaim their identity.

What sets me apart is that I have personally walked through the process of self-discovery to heal from and move beyond a devastating failed relationship. I create a safe space for high-performing women to take the cape off and have necessary conversations around taboo topics that most won’t dare touch. I also create opportunities for these high-performing women to practice self-care and explore interests beyond work.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The most important quality is integrity. Integrity is necessary for all areas of life- in relationships and in business. In fact, I believe this is a foundational trait when it comes to business. I strive to be honest and fair in my interactions with my colleagues and clients. I’m clear about the products I’,m delivering as well how they will meet my client’s needs and expectations.

Contact Info:

• Website: drkellywoodmd.com
• Email: drkellywood@drkellywoomd.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkellywoodmd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrKellyWoodMD
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrKellyWoodMD

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