Mary's Milestone
by Cici Saulean, Riverdale, NY
It's been ten months since Mary's diagnosis: large spleen mass with liver involvement. Ten months since I hysterically cried and pleaded in no uncertain or kind terms with God in Target's parking lot.
Soon after, I announced to the family that we will refrain from having reactions or emotions about it in this house, emotions that Mary can pick up on. And this thing is never to be named.
The vet started us on homeopathic remedies after we decided that we will not proceed with any more medical tests or procedures, and I started researching any type of alternative healing methods, nutrition etc. Through a dear friend we learned early on of Joanna and her work and have been faithful healing Circles members ever since. Most of the things we started doing early on were as much for my benefit as well as Mary's. I was on a war path with this thing, and by God, I was going to win.
Some of these changes, such as attempting to switch her to raw food or adding stuff to her wet food, she didn't like and she let me know either directly or through Joanna and we made adjustments. And I have since mellowed since the initial shock.
Mary is in healing Circles three times a week every other week and then once in a while we have a private session with Joanna just so we can get Mary's perspective on things.
For the most part Mary has been herself, some days feeling under the weather but she always bounces back.
I try as many things as she lets me, and we all continue to live with “it” without dwelling on it. Unless I need to speak and give feedback to her doctor so we can tweak her homeopathic treatment, I very rarely palpate her belly. It is not important to know every minute how this thing changes. What is important however is her well-being. We have normalized our life to include this unnamed thing which we don't give too much thought to and we just are grateful. We keep with her foods, healing Circles, and homeopathic remedies and just keep it moving.
For the past few weeks, Mary has been really her playful self. She calls me in the afternoon so we can play with the laser, or for me to chase her and she jumps and runs and she has fun. She calls us to pet her, she comes to the room where we are so she can be in our company. Life is normal. Maybe a different kind of normal, but normal none the less. She is nothing short of a miracle considering the initial diagnosis and I am grateful to be part of her journey.
Mary lived an extraordinary year and nine months after her imminently fatal diagnosis. We were all so blessed!