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That is a good word
for today…. Uplifted. Feeling
encouraged, feeling good, feeling energized.
I spent part of my
day taking care of me… First stop was Doc Tina, my chiropractor. My neck has been crackling a lot lately so I
knew it was time. They told me it has
been 9 months since my last visit. I
think there was at least one visit in between there somewhere. It felt good to get adjusted! Then I continued on to Quli, my
acupuncturist. Ah…. An hour just laying
around with some needles and some relaxing music. I think she told me she would put some
needles in the “de-stress” zones.
This afternoon we had
two appointments. The first was the
oncologist. During this visit we
clarified who was doing what to whom. I
mean, we have him … and the surgeon… and the gynecology oncologist… and the
general doctor. Dr. Sheh says that he
and the surgeon will be the primary points of contact post surgery although we
may also see the G.O. as he is the primary on the clinical trial and he will be
performing the chemotherapy portion of the surgery. As the doctor spoke to us he noted that he
was optimistic about this procedure based on what our 2007 CT scan showed in
comparison with what we see today. Ever
wonder what a sigh of relief looks like?
Take a look at George this afternoon.
After seeing him we
met with the palliative care team from the center. One is a nurse, the other is a social
worker/counselor. They helped us clarify
what things to be aware of while George is in the hospital and told us who we
should seek while there to help handle the details of George’s homecoming. Basically, the right people are in place at
the hospital to help figure those things out when it is time. That is good news.
We then spent over a
half hour with Beth (easy name for me to remember), the social worker. We explained that we were looking for other
ideas to help cope with the anxiety and stress.
Our other therapist gave us only one thing to try…. Just take a couple
of deep breaths. I told Beth that while
this may be a good thing to do, it just wasn’t George’s cup of tea as it
doesn’t really help. She then gave us a couple of exercises to try. One did involve a portion of what our other
therapist said (The Stop and Take a Breath part) but her example went a couple
of steps farther than that. After Stop and Take a Breath (or two) then Observe
(your thoughts, physical sensations, emotions, feelings, etc.) and give them a
name, but give them an accepting name or give the name in kindness (i.e.
acknowledge it without judging it) and then finally Perceive and proceed (with what is most important for me to be
paying attention to right now?) In
short, Stop, Take a Breath, acknowledge the feeling (i.e. nervousness and
feeling tight in the chest) and then let the feeling know that right now it is
important for me to be in this moment (maybe admiring the blue sky, or the
company I am with). This is called STOP
for short (as noted in the bold letters above).
That was an excellent concept for us to grasp and visualize.
We had a good session
today – we are feeling good and positive in this moment. We are looking forward to spending time with
family this weekend as our special twins will be with us. It is hard to not be “in the moment” when
they are around because they are constant sources of energy.
Everything
is coming into perfect alignment. We are
finding the right people at the right time.
We are confident that the team that is building is a good one. They will do everything they can to
physically and mentally help us through the coming weeks and months and even
years. When you couple them with all of
our faithful, believing family and friends we know we have the best of the best
surrounding us in tender loving arms. We
know it is because of everyone “out there” that prayers are being
answered. We cannot tell you how much
your thoughts and words mean to us, there are not words to express it. If our arms were long enough we would reach
out and give you all a huge hug.
“Our
God is an awesome God”!
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