Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be part of a tour of the City of Hope in Duarte, California. In March, I'll be chairing the inaugural Yoga for Hope in San Diego.
In these photos, we are standing in front of the gate that holds their motto:
There is no profit in curing the body if in the process we destroy the soul.
This really struck me because if anything can steal your soul and crush your essence, it is walking this walk. If only all cancer treatment centers operated the same way. City of Hope is truly a unique research and treatment facility. I'm not particularly eloquent this evening so, if you'd like to learn more: www.cityofhope.org.
They are pioneers in cutting-edge research for cancer, HIV and diabetes. This trio of diseases is extremely personal to me and I've been very emotional since actually setting foot on the 120 acre City yesterday.
The cancer is personal to me and to my sister who is a 5 year survivor (go Yael!).
The diabetes is personal to me as my oldest and best friend is a Type 1 diabetic.
The HIV is personal to me because I lost my brothers Paul and Andre to the disease. Paul was 27 years old when he passed, Andre was 34.
Today, I am truly feeling weighed down by all of these challenges and by all of the loss. I miss my brothers. I've got another 4 1/2 weeks of daily radiation and I just wish I could go to sleep and wake up and it would be over. I'd also like to wake up with my eyelashes returned to me. Every single long, black one of them.
I did squeeze in a lovely walk on the beach at Torrey Pines after acupuncture, prior to radiation. I could feel the healing ocean breeze caressing my skin, giving me strength to continue on with my treatment. It feels good to know that all I have to do over the next three days is teach class in the morning, get radiation, volunteer with the cats Saturday morning and that is it. Weekend time!
Once again, you are amazing!
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