Because I had a couple of bouts of atrial fibrillation during my bone marrow transplant adventure back in the fall of 2022, I’ve had to follow up with a cardiologist.
It was also recommended that I do a sleep study last spring.
So, today was both my annual cardiology check-in and learning the results of the sleep study.
I’m very happy to report that I’m A-OK on all counts. Yay!
(Well, there’s very mild sleep apnea. Though it’s not enough for the doctor to prescribe anything, I’m taking it as motivation to get serious about beefing up my self-care once again.)
I’m fairly challenged around self-care in many forms — getting enough sleep; making time to meditate; getting regular exercise; etc. But a self-care area that I’ve only tuned into recently is how little real cooking I do.
Usually when I make food at home it’s a super easy dish that is so habitual that I don’t even have to think about it. Like the exact same oatmeal breakfast every single day. Maybe scrambled eggs with toast for lunch. Occasionally pasta with broccoli.
Most of the time I still feel the compulsion to “eat out” — just like I did growing up in the Bay Area and later as a freelance musician living in San Francisco — even though there are virtually no restaurants within a ten miles of where I live now.
But a few months ago I happened upon a healthy eating program that caught my attention. It felt really different, largely because of its emphasis on getting back to cooking one’s meals at home.
The emphasis on “eating for nourishment and satisfaction” resonated deeply though it’s taken a long time to actually put it into practice.
But today was the day! So, here’s my “Skillet Lasagna,” which was quite delicious! (I’m patting myself on the back.) šÆ
Iām sure it wonāt come as a surprise to learn that Iām particularly grateful for some very specific things this Thanksgiving season.
Iām 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.
Iām grateful for the excellent care I received at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, in the oncology, radiation, and infusion departments.
Iām grateful for every person on the apheresis and bone marrow transplant teams at UC Davis Medical Center.
Iām grateful for Dr. Lena Suhaila, my naturopathic integrative oncologist, and for her guidance in addressing the more subtle and holistic aspects of healing.
Iām grateful for every single doctor, specialist, nurse, lab technician, pharmacist, or other medical professional I encountered throughout my journey.
Iām 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.
Iām grateful for the teachings and practices of my spiritual path that provided the tools I needed to maintain a positive and optimistic attitude.
Iām grateful for the music of Ananda which has been an important part of my healing process.
Iām 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, Iām grateful for Ramesha, for my Dad, and for my friend, Suzanne. Theyāve been my rocks throughout this experience and, in my Dadās case, throughout my life.
I also want to take this opportunity to let everyone know that Iām doing extremely well physically. Itās 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 ādangerā I have to guard against is slipping back into ānormalā 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, Iām working on it!
I love and appreciate each and every one of you, and hope youāve enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving, filled with an abundance of love and joy.
My cleanse is off to a good start. Of course, figuring out new routines takes a while, so I ran out of time for some of the self-care elements. But that’s okay; I’ll be more efficient tomorrow.
The big news is that I have to give a shout-out to yet another appliance: my Instant Pot Duo Nova!
I’ve always found appliances rather intimidating, but had heard great things about the Instant Pot. So I bought one on sale for a great price, only to have it sit in the unopened box for months. I finally unboxed it, only for it to sit on a shelf for another six months or so.
But today I took it off the shelf and used it to make a very healthy dinner of quinoa, leeks, Brussel sprouts, and fish.
Interestingly, during my morning walk I was drawn to one of the big cedar trees on the ridge, stopping to rest hands and forehead against the trunk for a while.
And all day long I found myself marveling at the continuing beauty of the autumn leaves.
I think my soul was nudging me towards subtle acts of self-care, and I’m grateful.
It suddenly hit me today that — In the midst of all that’s been going on over the past few months — some subtle but definite changes have been taking place in terms of my physical wellbeing.
I successfully released an old (as in pretty much my entire adult life) unhealthy habit.
I’m well on my way to establishing a healthy new veggies and fruit smoothie habit for breakfast.
I moved past my stubborn resistance and accepted the wisdom of taking medication to get a handle on certain health issues.
I scheduled recommended bodywork and massage appointments.
There’s still plenty to do, but “progress not perfection” is the mantra to remember. That, and “it’s all directional”.
