What the Audience Heard

B'SD

5 Sivan, 5777

I look forward to the Shavuot holiday which begins this evening. I'll be offline for the next 36 hours or so once it begins.

Meanwhile, some of you have been curious about the presentation remarks I made yesterday.

Here's an excerpt from the start of an interesting dialogue with the audience:

Fostering Medical Miracles

... Let’s gloss over the emergency brain surgery that saved my life but left me weak and blind in 2005. Regular doctors had no idea how to help me to see again, nor how to become strong and healthy. I tended to the problem by consulting only with alternative healing professionals. They and GOD helped me to become strong and sighted as I became an organic, raw foods eater who progressed to organic veganism as I became stronger, and then to organic vegan macrobiotics due to its focus on alkalinity. The prescription on my glasses keeps dropping. Hold that thought. We’ll resume that subject soon... 

... A friend observed that “HaShem (GOD) is telling you that He will provide your needs... And you see that you heal in shocking ways. Your life is a spiritual example for others. I happen to believe that your mission in life is to inspire people. You do it all the time, without trying. Look back at all the miracles you’ve witnessed or helped to happen, the people you’ve helped, and the people who love you.”

He’s a wonder, that man. He gets me to address ideas that otherwise never pass through my mind. I’m not keen on opening myself up to the public. I work hard to publicize my book on Facebook and my blog as I resist a tendency to remain quiet. Only my closest friends know my inner thoughts. Social media users don’t.

My friend and I launched into a discussion that I’m going to summarize in one sentence for you: The universe is full of miracles and the supply of them keeps growing. I’d been a reluctant student of that life lesson. I’ll spare you the details of how and why. Let’s skip to the Life Lesson and share the wealth: Happiness is an option and so are astounding healing plus coping opportunities. The miraculous is the default setting on the universe. Use it. But don’t try to control it. Invite miracles into your life, then allow them to happen.

Still not getting my point? I understand. Let’s travel through time from that January conversation, to this past Purim. You’ll get the point pretty soon.

A patient representative of the hospital following my post-surgical progress called me in the middle of Purim day. We discussed the findings of the hospital’s extensive testing of my sight, optic nerves, ocular muscles and more from November through February. The purpose of the tests was to assess my suitability for corrective surgery to end my constant double vision. I’ve had so many other vision problems caused by the benign brain tumor and the life-saving surgery to remove it that they filled two pages without margins in 2009. The margins have grown since then, I’m relieved to say. Now we only need one page to describe my ability to see.

OK, back to the hospital representative who’d called me in the middle of Purim. I was trying to speak medicalese in an impartial way, dressed head-to-toe in purple and fake jewelry as I swallowed the goodies that had been in my mouth before I answered the phone. I fake calm and sophistication very well, sometimes.

The hospital’s representative was about to let me know the conclusions, the findings of my large medical team. Had they approved the desperately needed surgery to end my double vision? Would I be permitted to drive a car, have a normal life? His astonishing statement stunned me. I’ll summarize it for you:

“Instability. Her vision changes rapidly. By the time Yocheved is fitted with new lenses, her vision needs have changed since the prescription was made 10 days to two weeks earlier. The patient sees ever-better without therapeutic treatment, not that the team knows how to heal many aspects of Yocheved’s distorted sight. Scar tissue which precluded previous plans for corrective surgery six years ago has simply disappeared. No evidence of it is on scans or other tests. This is the reason that surgery has been considered again. However, surgery is not recommended at this time. It might cause a setback for the patient who heals spontaneously. The doctors fear that they will damage Yocheved by trying to repair her double vision.”

HOWEVER, the decision was not final. One member of the medical team believes that it is possible to end my double vision without harming me. He was abroad when the other examining doctors met to make a conclusion regarding possible surgery. He had been unable to participate in the conclusion-making process. The patient representative who called me Purim day informed me that I will be updated after that researcher returns to Israel.

Meanwhile, I was left to conclude that “Instability” is a beautiful word. The Rofeh Holim (GOD the Healer) heals me without doctors. My “instability” is an astonishing blessing. If I could figure out what I've done to deserve that, I'd do it more often.

My eagerness for the corrective surgery has abated. Perhaps I do not need it because GOD will end the double vision.

I still needed new glasses after hearing the above remarks, though. The world had become quite blurry in the past few months. The medical team had advised me to wait until after surgery to know the best prescription to make for my "Maybe she won't need them" lenses. My private eye doctor, who helped me to see better with innovative exercises over the years, prescribed those new lenses in March. She is convinced that my organic foods, macrobiotic discipline, and refusal to use synthetic fabrics in my clothing or bedding have nothing to do with my recovered health and sight. She is convinced, as are the other doctors, that my will power alone, and GOD’s blessings, heal me. As I teach in the EMPOWER Yourself book, “Keep the door to GOD’s blessings open. Don’t slam it on GOD or the future. That prevents sweet possibilities from becoming part of your life.”

Stand by. Life remains miraculous. I’m living proof of that. I refused to give up. Failure was not my option. I coach ill people, helping them to identify their priorities and to develop plans for meeting their goals. People come to me after learning of my healing adventure, or after finding out that I have a tendency to calm down distraught people with a wealth of healing information and a sense of humor. 

Certified in Counseling Skills and in Spiritual Chaplaincy (end of life issues) plus as a Rescuer by Pikud HaOref, I write about mental health at the E-Counseling website (http://www.e-counseling.com/). I write about physical health elsewhere. The employers sought me out after reading some of my other writing. I earned my counseling and Health Information Management credentials while I was regaining vision and physical strength. I took on goals even as I limped to the finish lines. Goals motivated me to achieve, to thrive. It’s much more fun to be active than inactive, part of life rather than a recluse. I’ve made a choice not to be bitter about my background, but better for it.

Mimic me. Dare the universe to help you to heal. Invite miracles. Use the natural healing strategies that are known to work. Take chances on newer ones. Bless yourself by fostering medical miracles. Open the door to GOD, to the universe, and to a healthier you.

Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. 





Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.

Fill your time and actions with productivity. Relax as necessary, then resume your responsibilities.