Mama Flor was in the women's locker room at work yesterday morning when I came in. She cleans the OR and makes it safe for the next person to have surgery without risk of getting infection. She has 'connections' with St Jude, and has been praying for me ever since I needed my thyroid biopsy.
She saw and heard how very sick I was, and I confessed that I really would have liked to have stayed at home, but I can't because there is too much work to do in the Operating Room (there is always a rush at the end of the year for people who have their deductibles met and are trying to get an extra procedure done. If you ever have big dental work done, you want it done starting in December and finishing in January, so that whatever is 'covered' let's say 'one crown' can bet 'covered' through to completion, too.)
Mama Flor has two beautiful daughters, a chihuahua named 'Chico' who is a bossy little thing that won her heart, and Oro, another larger, more even-tempered dog that gets pushed around by Chico but loves him and is sad when Chico is not around.
She looked at me.
She paused.
She said, 'I have something for you. It is not for keeps, but I want you to wear it until you get better.' She opened her locker, and dug around in her purse for some time, complaining how her kids used to say her purse was too small, and now that she has 'the suitcase' purse she can't find anything!!!
Then she pulled out a beautiful wooden rosary to St. Jude and placed it around my neck.
Because it had been prayed often, that rosary had a lot of Light energy in it that I could see but most would 'feel'…
I felt sunshine in my heart, for I felt safe, warm, and loved. She knew from the thyroid, my loss of my beloved nana Angelina, and the deposition I had just been through my limit. What I didn't tell her is that because of my work schedule and the visitation schedule for my co-parenting, I had only had one night at home with my son in the past week, and I was devastated over my life being this way.
What I didn't tell a soul, or even think about, was that Nana Angelina died of pneumonia, with a fever of 103.5 F, coughing and wanting me to kiss her the whole time. I stayed at her side for hours and days until she passed.
I have asthma. And winters are very hard on me. Even in sunny Southern California.
Mama Flor loves me and she knew. I'm so glad she reached out to me to help.
I went to the doctor's lounge. No gift bag. I went to the nurses' lounge, my friend Cindy, who I call Zucchero (and she calls me Shayna-meidel) was on the couch. She had gotten one too, and had put mine in the boss nurses' office. As I walked towards her office, I saw the boss nurse walking out. I said, Someone put something, a gift, in your office for safekeeping. I am going into your office just for that, not just to go in your office, okay? She was fine with it.
There was a card:
Dear Dr. (me),
Just a note of thanks to "the best anesthesiologist" around. You made me overcome my fear and gave me complete comfort and trust being in your hands and excellent skills. Have a blessed Christmas and safe and healthy New Year.
With Love,
LoLo
I teared up. Cindy said she had cried over the words, too. 'Look inside!' she encouraged me!
And I opened the gift:
I couldn't believe my eyes! Or my good fortune! It was the same jacket that her surgeon was wearing and we all admired around LoLo's bed in pre-op holding before her operation. Her surgeon, Dr. Jane, had on the softest, warmest jacket we had ever seen, and were disappointed because it was not made any more and had been bought on a discount site on the internet.
LoLo and her daughter remembered, and cared enough to reach out!
And I put together three things that 'manifested' it as well:
- Earlier this week, when I thought of baby snake in my jacket pocket, it was an old, warm, soft velveteen navy blue jacket with pockets that zipped. It was a good jacket! Where did I give that one away, and when?
- just that morning, as I bundled up my son for school in his down jacket that we bought from France, I was in my Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whalewatching red hoodie over my scrubs, thinking it wasn't enough.
- After the first time I did LoLo's anesthesia, on the second and third, because she is family of a colleague, did a special thing we almost never do: I wrote 'patient is VIP, only accept insurance, do not charge patient"
LoLo wanted me to get my share, out of her kindness and love.
I wore that jacket home, and my son asked about it. A patient gave it to me.
He remarked, 'Oh. It actually looks good on you. With the blue and all.'
You know what else? There had been a pizza place I'd wanted to try for two years on the way home, too. We don't eat much pizza. Usually we go to his favorite places. But tonight, I took us there (I couldn't cook, being sick.)
We both liked it! He said, 'Mom that was one of the best meals I've ever had!'
LoLo isn't going to make it. The reason I keep doing her anesthesia is because her disease is advancing. I can't tell you what it is, but I can say that women with cancer are the nicest people in the world--all GynOnc and Surgical Oncologists know this.
It always breaks out heart a little at a time to work with such wonderful people who end up with such horrible disease.
We do not understand the connection. We observe it. And we wish it wasn't so.
I can't wait to put on my jacket today and go to work…Even my boy wants one. In a darker color…like he said, it's the softest warmest material I've ever felt!
Aloha and Mahalos,
Namaste,
Reiki Doc
P.S. LoLo and my coworkers know all about the Reiki. They ask for it every time.
