Beauty, Adventure, and Trust

Fishermans' Wharf, Victoria, BC is our 'home away from home'

I need beauty.
I need beauty to look at, to experience, in order to survive.
For all the ugly things I see in the operating room, I have to 'cancel it out' by seeing and smelling something wonderful!

I like adventure.

I 'go for it' and get outside my 'comfort zone' often.

Today was 'just one of those days' where my ease was a little 'less comfortable' for others, and that is OKAY.

Today we are going to talk about adventure, the thirst for beauty in life, and trust both in ourselves and each other.

Nana was dying.
And she passed.
I needed love and support, fast.
I went to my favorite place, and lo and behold, my Reiki student and friend Amber was there!
We got to talking, and thought, 'wouldn't it be great to rent a Duffy boat and invite cool people on it and see the Christmas Lights? Heck, we could just see Ito driving the boat!!!'

I rented the boat. Two hundred dollars, in advance, as a gift for Amber on her birthday.
Ito declined.
My reiki students wanted to come. A reiki boat! How cool is that?

Until I asked for volunteer boat drivers… LOL

Most declined.
At the last minute.
On my way there!

My brother-in-law had driven the whole family two years ago! It was easy, it was magic, and fun. How dangerous is that??? It's not like it's the ocean. And the boat doesn't go fast at all…

My friends were right.
One of them came, Amber and her daughter.
But it was dark, even with the full moon.
The rain plastic shield was difficult to see.
The current was strong.
The boat veered to the right. This is on top of the four-second delay between the wheel and the rudder on an electric boat.

Soon both kids had to pee. One, who is two, started crying.
What was supposed to be a fun night with the lights in the canals turned out to be a nightmare!
There wasn't time for hot chocolate (I had a traveler full of hot water from Starbucks all set!)

In forty-five minutes we were back at the dock. A boat for twelve doesn't handle well with hardly any people in it…The men with the flashlight who helped us dock were so kind. They explained it was not an easy night, and I had done well, and gave me blessings…yes, dock workers gave me blessings about the current…

Imagine this with vinyl clear windows…and me at the helm! LOL

So how do I feel now that I am back inside my comfort zone?

Totally Awesome! Here's why:

• Even though there was two-hundred dollars on it, when my friends said, 'no', my ego let it go.
• The 'danger' or 'adventure' had my full attention, but I never once feared.
• The beauty and freedom on the water was still there, and it touched me deeply.
• I have New Appreciation for skippers and the Ocean--even in a marina, it is very much ALIVE!
• Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And tonight, I gained so much. Anesthesia is always calculating risks to benefits in the ever-changing OR situation. Today was just another example of a risk that was somewhere between what my friends predicted as 'too much risk' to enjoy, and 'much more risk' than I had anticipated, and that was OKAY.
• Amber and I bonded so much more than ever; even the kids were comforting each other in their need to pee and being so far from the dock in a slow boat. 'Dance and it will bother you less', etc.

My friends, this was a sneak-preview of The Event.

Everyone is going to experience it in their own way.

And that is OKAY.

Some are going to imagine more Fear than there really IS,

And others are going to imagine Less.

The disruption and change is most likely to be somewhat in the middle of the two extremes.

There is NEVER any danger, in the greater sense. Angels are always near us.

So if it the Beauty, Adventure and Trust you seek through the time of The Event, it will be THERE for you.

If fear, and wanting to 'watch and see what's up before you accept it'--that is OKAY, too.

There is no Right or Wrong for the Event.

Fear or Love?

Which one wins?

Your Heart Center is the best Guide you have to get you through The Event, and beyond into the changes to society…

Fear kind of makes your Heart Center 'signal' scramble and 'jam up'.

In my humble opinion that 'scramble' makes it much more difficult to 'navigate' than a four-second-delay on the rudder!

No matter what happens, it is going to be an improvement over the way things are heading…

Why not take the time right Here, right Now, to Reflect on what Beauty, Adventure and Trust mean to you in this situation?

The Event can be any time between now and December 25. Don't ask me how I know. It's got something to do with the Energies. If we miss it, the next window of opportunity opens up next Spring…

Aloha and Mahalos,

Namaste,

Reiki Doc

An Ascended Day in the O.R.

Today was a different day. I could see a difference in my place of work. And the collaboration and collegiality were off the charts.

Walking in: everyone said 'hello' with a smile. Sometimes that is the only one I get!

First case start: surgeon was not chomping at bit.
I was on time. Patient had to pee. We still got in the room on time (we get dinged for late starts)

Case 1: Cantankerous surgeon is in uncharacteristically good mood. Shares stories about their personal life. We still can't play the radio, because this surgeon won't tolerate anything but silence. But not being yelled at is good.

Cases 2-4: Again, remarkable change in attitude in 'the old coot'. Patients do well, and we are in 'flow'. I even get to eat a snack when I am hungry between cases!

Case 5:  Surgeon who is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest general surgeon that ever lived (who is also a lifetime vegetarian) has case go well.

Case 6: Same surgeon, technically challenging case. He apologizes to the room at the end, and everyone says, 'that was tough' and 'no worries--we'd be here in the O.R. anyway, and it might as well be with you'. Everyone leaves the case with a feeling of teamwork and having had a good day.

Case 7: Shhhh! The one I didn't want to get got moved to a Different Room! Without my asking!

Case 8: The scary one. As in, the one I came 'this close' to cancelling due to multiple serious comorbidities.  But the surgeons 'wanted cardiac anesthesiologist' and the boss picked me.  You know, this was the nicest surgeon! A new one, Vietnamese. Calm. Collaborative. Caring. We got everything done without him once throwing a fit. Trained with a famous surgeon who still operates today. And it is NOT Hillel Laks! A heart case is a lot more to take care of than a regular one. And although this one was a patient who NEEDED heart surgery, we worked on something else in the chest.

Case 9: After dropping off Case 8 in the unit, I was asked to place a central line. This patient had no venous access, and there was nobody in house but me that could do it. I stayed. It was in a patient who was as dry as a potato chip. A colleague from OB came up. And was so kind and gentle! 'This one is really hard to do--the patient is dry, and dialysis is going, and the patient is moving. This would be hard for anyone.' We got the ultrasound, and got something in. But it may have been clot in there making the wire difficult. After permacaths, large vessels can clot up.

The Magic of Case 8: Angry spouse has been waiting every since the surgery started. 'I hate this hospital!' and I apologized. I said I was on my way to see here when Case 9 came up, and it was tough.
Guess what I learned? There were even MORE comorbidities in that patient. What I did was amazing, anesthesia-wise. The spouse said, 'You need a hug? I need a hug. Let's hug.' And it was the highlight of my day.

Case 10: Colleague in trouble in PACU. I help hold for  him to place an arterial line. He misses and asks me. I get it and it slides right in.

I felt like a cardiac anesthesiologist today. And like, I was not from this planet! Everyone was kind and thoughtful, caring and considerate. I could get used to it!

Namaste,

Reiki Doc