Graphic is courtesy of Michael Noyes.
Click here to get to his site.

This has been one roller-coaster week.  Thank you for your prayers.  Thanks to them, through the recent rain storms in the lives of dear friends, the sun keeps shining! 

Either B for Belle has the mildest case of Bell's Palsy I've ever seen; she's a quick healer; her facial exercises, manual lid closure, and vitamin B-12 have speeded up her recovery; the antibiotic, antiviral and anti-inflammatory combo quelled the sequelae; or the power of prayer circles is manifesting. 

Or all of the above!

Within a week, B looks great!  Her dimple is returning. We had lunch together, and she is in great spirits.  She has met with a brain surgeon, whose personality she described as "typical of a surgeon" -- cool and clinical.  That disturbed me, as although they are hard to find, caring and skilled surgeons are out there.  And it seemed to me that he could have -- at very least -- worked on her behalf to expedite the MRI testing, which has been postponed once again.  (Grrrr!)

I refer clients who require specialty care to two surgeons who are caring, skilled and capable of easily communicating their human warmth to their patients. Following up with my clients' outcomes, I know firsthand how successful their surgeries are. I attribute their successes not only to these surgeons' clinical and surgical skills, but also to the critical healing factors of positive doctor-patient relationships. Communicated warmth, caring, and concern make ALL the difference in the world in the healing process.

Somehow, we ended up talking about Israel (IZ), a beloved Hawaiian musician whose music we both love and play in our offices every work day.  After a 14-year estrangement brought on by a tumultuous, bitter divorce, a mother and her children were nudged back together again as an 'ohana (family) by Israel "Braddah IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole.

IZ and I had connected, long-distance via the 'Net, then in person in Marin County, outside San Francisco.  We stayed connected through his health slide, and DH and I had hoped to return to Hawai`i to see IZ before he transitioned, but we lagged behind when my mentor unexpectedly transitioned first, and we attended his funeral and burial before flying home to Hawai`i.

We got to Honolulu too late. Or so we thought.  

We got there in time to attend IZ's funeral, one of the biggest funerals in the history of Hawai`i.  The lines that snaked around the state Capitol were long and sinuous, yet somehow out of the queued thousands, the TV camera lens alighted on DH and me.  We were unaware that we were on TV until the next day, when friends and family let us know that they saw us on the evening newscasts.

On another island, my mother happened to be watching that station's news.  Seeing us at IZ's funeral began to soften her heart, and I do believe IZ, who lived Aloha and loved his 'ohana with all his heart, made my mother his personal pet project. 

A few months later, at a cousin's wedding in San Francisco, she came up to me and we hugged and hugged and hugged. The first thing she talked about was seeing me on TV at IZ's funeral.  What an icebreaker. Since that time, the entire 'ohana has been brought together as one, and our souls, IZ and mine, remain connected.

An angel -- or two -- must have been flying around us at Coco's, eavesdropping on B's and my conversation over lunch... 

~~~

That's IZ to the far right as a Makaha Son of Ni`ihau;
his present occupation:  Hawaiian Suppa Man, the flying angel!

After lunch, I was updating the medical history of one of my most positive and loving clients. She said that she had had a bout with Bell's Palsy a few months ago and had, thank goodness, recovered, although it was quite a fright. (Like B, she thought she had a stroke.) She was grateful for her family and friends -- her support system -- that helped her through that scary time.

I seized this synchronistic opportunity and asked her if she would share her experience with B. Of course, the Earth angel that she is, she was more than happy to do so.  I personally witnessed the uplift that her sharing, concern and empathy brought B.

Within another hour, another client -- one that I had not seen in almost ten years -- updated his family medical history by telling me about his mother's brain cancer.  Thank goodness, he said, that his trusted friend is a neurologist.  When his mother needed brain surgery, that friend referred her to a superbly skilled surgeon.  Who better than a  neurologist to know who's the best brain surgeon?  He too gets first-hand feedback as to outcomes and skill levels. 

My friend expressed great appreciation to his neurologist friend and his mother's successful brain surgery. I asked him if he was willing to speak to B about this surgeon, and of course, he was very happy to be of help. 

Miracles happen all the time, but often we are too mired or oblivious to them. These were darn obvious!  Thank you, Ke Akua and angels, for the timely delivery of these two good-hearted, sharing people to my door today.

Thank you!

~~~

As uplifted as I was with B's lifted spirits, a pall still hung over me at day's end, as late last night, we'd received the following shattering news about our Hawaiian civic club friend, K, from his courageous, chin-up wife:

I kept K and his 'ohana (family) close to my heart all day.  And then another miracle was waiting for us at home.  A testament to the power of prayer!

We just joyously received this update on K: 

"If the only prayer you ever say is 'Thank you,' 
it will be enough".
 ~ Meister Eckhart, 12th century mystic

Mahalo, Ke Akua! (Thank you, God!)

<You're welcome!> 

Did you hear that?

past    the present    future

who | what | archives | comments | photos