I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to learn that I’m particularly grateful for some very specific things this Thanksgiving season.
- I’m grateful for my primary care physician — Amy Nielsen at Sierra Family Medical Center — for connecting the dots that led to my cancer diagnosis a little less than a year ago.
- I’m grateful for the excellent care I received at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, in the oncology, radiation, and infusion departments.
- I’m grateful for every person on the apheresis and bone marrow transplant teams at UC Davis Medical Center.
- I’m grateful for Dr. Lena Suhaila, my naturopathic integrative oncologist, and for her guidance in addressing the more subtle and holistic aspects of healing.
- I’m grateful for every single doctor, specialist, nurse, lab technician, pharmacist, or other medical professional I encountered throughout my journey.
- I’m grateful for the hundreds of people from around the world, and from every area (and era) of my life, who prayed, sent encouraging letters and emails, or otherwise supported my process.
- I’m grateful for the teachings and practices of my spiritual path that provided the tools I needed to maintain a positive and optimistic attitude.
- I’m grateful for the music of Ananda which has been an important part of my healing process.
- I’m grateful for the financial assistance from many organizations and individuals that allowed me to focus on healing without stressing about the expense.
- Last but not least, I’m grateful for Ramesha, for my Dad, and for my friend, Suzanne. They’ve been my rocks throughout this experience and, in my Dad’s case, throughout my life.
I also want to take this opportunity to let everyone know that I’m doing extremely well physically. It’s true that I still have to be careful to avoid viral infections (as my immune system comes fully back online), but my energy is so good that the only other “danger” I have to guard against is slipping back into “normal” mode too quickly.
Why? Because my usual tendency has always been to neglect the subtle and holistic self-care elements that can lead to deeper levels of healing. And I feel one of the major lessons of this whole experience has been to wake me up to the absolute importance of true self-care. So, I’m working on it!
I love and appreciate each and every one of you, and hope you’ve enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving, filled with an abundance of love and joy.
