Nicole Malachowski Quotes

During that two-year period, I was unable to interact with my children who were between the ages of five and seven, and I lost my career. The Air Force medically retired me.

For four years, it had been multiplying, getting worse, getting further into the central nervous system. From the time of that first rash to the time of my accurate diagnosis and beginning treatment, 1,525 days had passed, more than 24 doctors across eight specialties were seen, and three misdiagnoses were made along the way.”

I didn’t know what the word gaslighting meant prior to becoming a tick-borne illness patient, but I know what it is now. I found that I was treated more seriously, and more respectfully, and with dignity every time I brought somebody with me.”

You have been a high-performing woman in a male-dominated career field for many years. Maybe this is your body’s way of saying it’s time to retire.”

Well, we don’t have Lyme disease in North Carolina, so it must be a spider bite.” Nicole surmised, “That was the day my life changed forever. That was the day I became chronically ill.”

What happened is, we did it over and over until I got it right. It was the right thing to do by our customer and client [the audience on the ground]. My teammates helped me from a place of kindness and commitment,” she says. “It’s never beneath any of us to offer help, too.”

The Thunderbirds taught me nothing of significance is ever accomplished alone,” she says, recounting the time she tried and failed, multiple times, to master an extremely difficult air show maneuver requiring the jets to move from diamond formation into trail formation, putting the wing tips within inches of one another. Ultimately, getting it right required her to take a deep breath and admit to her teammates: “I need help.”

That phrase means everything”, “It is the gentleman’s handshake. It means: We have an expectation of the professional execution of this mission. I promise you I will hold myself accountable to that standard, and you will hold me to that standard. That wingman contract is the culture. It’s the principles and values that drive you.”

You build trust by being trustworthy,” “Avoid the idea of, ‘That guy needs to prove I can trust him.’ Trust never comes to you; trust emanates outward to a team from your behaviors.”

It was the unconscious bias," she said. "What was coming out were the cultural paradigms of the U.S. Air Force at that time, and the expectations about what I should or should not be doing. I removed that application and said, 'You're right, I'm so sorry for bothering you.'"

People like you don’t become Thunderbird pilots.”

Blue skies and tailwinds are the best weather you can get,”