In dance there are steps forward and backward. As was said about the great dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, “Sure he was great, but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did…backwards and in high heels.” So, in the dance of life there are steps forward mixed with steps going backwards.
This has been demonstrated in this “dance” I have been engaged with melanoma. For you dear friends, who have remained in this striving for perfect health with me, this past week must be seen as starting with some steps back, then followed by steps forward. I was busy gaining strength on all fronts when on Tuesday a sudden weakness affected my left side. As the weakness grew over a twenty four hour period I realized that I could not get into the car, even with assistance, the call was put into 911 and in minutes the firemen and an aid car appeared at the house and whisked me off to the emergency room. This past week was spent in the hospital with tests and some new treatment—fortunately we have a first-class hospital and staff not far away.
A steroid medication has since shrunk the tumors in my brain that had been the cause of the weakness—I am not yet at full strength, but much improved from when I went into the hospital. Now I have returned to Camano Island for some welcome rest from the hospital regimen of frequent tests and readings, such as an MRI from midnight to 3 a.m. (rest for Carla too, who as usual was with me 24/7 in the hospital room). The steroid use is a temporary measure as there are increased side effects with longer use.
The next phase will be targeted radiation x-rays that bypasses healthy brain cells and goes after the more deeply embedded tumors in the brain—which I find to be amazing. This procedure is not without risks, which could include new bleeding, but is seen as my best option. And finally, longer term treatment with immunotherapy that works on unbinding the tumor cells wherever they may be found in the body. Implementing these last steps was greatly sped up due to my being in the hospital and this is a silver lining from this newest escapade–a few steps back along with more steps forward.
So, this Wednesday through Friday will witness the radiation therapy, with a possible side effect of weakness afterwards. You will remain in my thoughts and prayers even as I know I remain in yours. God has given us each other to go to Him together; my inmost thought and prayer is not a focus upon this body and its health, but that we should all deeply commune with our omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient Heavenly Father and Divine Mother. My reason for going into these details is that I know you want to be kept abreast of new developments and it is my wish that along with me, you learn to dance the dance of life, taking steps forward or backward with the apparent ease and grace of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
God gives us lessons to free us from the uncertainties of life in the body and to be anchored in His supreme state of Consciousness. He untangles our attachment to this body and makes us focus on His sacred love and upliftment. So, let us join in that superior Spirit that no harm can touch and no separation can ever reach. To be forever one in Him, merged in His bliss and comfort no matter the dance steps being taught by our Infinite Beloved.