The making of ‘Dear Body’: a story of healing and hope

By Maggie Myers

At Sword, we often say: “When you stop moving, you stop living.” Because it’s never just about the pain. Or the injury. Or the diagnosis. It’s about what happens when your body no longer feels like yours. When everyday movements become reminders of what you’ve lost and your world starts to shrink. That loss rewrites the story of your life.

We’ve always believed our mission is bigger than digital care solutions. It’s about reclaiming the lives pain has interrupted and reimagining a system of care that actually works for people. That means breaking down the physical, financial, and emotional barriers that keep so many from getting the help they deserve.

When it came time to create a campaign that truly reflected what we do — to commemorate 10 years of Sword — it didn’t feel right to start with the product. We started, instead, with the people we serve.

We also knew we didn’t want to follow the traditional healthcare marketing script. You know: showing the platform, the devices, maybe ending with a testimonial and a stat. That’s not how people experience their bodies. And it’s not how healing actually happens. So we asked a different question. What would it sound like if people could speak directly to the one thing that’s carried them through it all: their body?

Dear Body is built on the simple truth that healing is personal. So our storytelling has to be, too. This isn’t about before-and-after snapshots. It’s about the during: the part that’s rarely shown. The fear. The frustration. The breakthroughs. The slow, steady return to trust. It’s about the messy, beautiful process of becoming whole again.

We were deeply inspired by the letters our members already send us: notes filled with gratitude, vulnerability, and reflection. They write to tell us how Sword has changed their lives; how they’ve returned to the things they love; how they feel like themselves again. There’s something powerful about putting those emotions into a letter. It’s deliberate. It’s personal. It gives space for honesty. We wanted to honor that impulse, the instinct to write things down, and build a campaign that gave that same sense of reflection and ownership back to our members. Dear Body is a natural extension of that. It’s a moment to pause, to look back, and to recognize just how far they’ve come.

Dear Body isn’t just a campaign. It’s a conversation, and an invitation to reflect and maybe share. To see your own experience in someone else’s words. And maybe, to believe that recovery is possible, not just clinically, but emotionally, too. The path back to movement isn’t linear. But it is possible. And it starts with believing in your body again.

We’re proud to be part of that journey. Let’s keep writing the next chapter, together.