10 Seconds to Gratitude: A Woman's Story

Here is a true story of a woman and her shocking diagnosis. This story will definitely bring the energy of gratitude in your life & remind you of your infinite blessings. 

Here's a mini narrative from my life - when I used to work in cancer research, there was a case that came in and one that I would never forget. In life, we are so busy accumulating things, or wanting this or that for our own happiness that we often forget that we are intertwined together with the collective consciousness - that we are meant to grow, learn, rise higher, be more giving and be more thankful.

We are all connected to the collective consciousness - the stories of others are meant to inspire us, teach us, correct us, awaken us or warn us. Sometimes, the stories give us courage or sometimes they teach us a lesson, sometimes we grow and learn or sometimes the stories of others inspire us to be better..to do more..to give more..to learn more...to show-up more...to 'thank' more.

Here is a true story of a woman and her shocking diagnosis. This story will definitely bring the energy of gratitude in your life & remind you of your infinite blessings. Gratitude is a virtue that, when practiced, can give us inner peace, wisdom and bring us to state of mindfulness. 

Here is that 'story' - the case that never left my mind...even till today and one that will shock you and leave you speechless.

The Story -

As usual it was a very busy day in cancer research (oncology). I was working at Methodist Research Institute and we had multiple clinical trials running, doctors coming in and out and nurses busy more than ever. There were regular meetings that usually lasted between 4 to 6 hrs. (yup!) and as expected when you work in the medical field - esp. in research trials, you hear of cases that you never thought you would hear..

I don't remember how I heard this case - if my employer (director of the research) told me or one of the other employees but it did spread around quiet like a wildfire.

This was a case about a woman - fairly young - who had come in for a check-up. Think her name was Kim..if I remember. Anyways, she wasn't feeling well so she was referred to our center for a check-up...

Following the check-up, it was found that she had kidney cancer - but that is not all. Her case left everyone speechless...and I really mean it. When my employer looked at her scans and evaluated her, it was a jaw-dropping moment...

She had kidney cancer and not just that, her kidney cancer had advanced pretty badly - spreading to nearby organs quite rapidly. But that was not it - here we go...

She was also.......6 months pregnant.

Yes! What could be a more beautiful, joyous time in a woman's life than when she is pregnant and carrying her own baby? But then, imagine hearing this news...

The team of doctors were at crossroads - what treatment could you possibly give that will save her AND her baby? Or, how do you make the choice who lives and who dies? Is this an ethical decision or a medical decision? Does the medical field even have any ethics to begin with and who gets to decide and how do we reach that decision - by what criteria? 

I do not know what happened to her case at the end - this was no simple case and she was referred to other doctors and hospitals that were all connected with us (Baylor, UT, etc.). As you may know, Houston Medical Center is one of the best for those conventional medicine followers and all the hospitals are interconnected with each other - hence, a lot of doctors were involved and that is what happened on how her case was handled. 

End Note - 

This story taught me lot of things and one of them is that what this woman was going through - THAT...that, my dear is what we call a true 'problem'; what you and I generally would call a 'problem' is not a true problem as far as we have options and possibilities to find the solutions and it is all within our reach - what we call as 'within our control'.

But what this woman got dealt with through the hands of destiny - getting a cancer diagnosis when she is carrying a 6-months old baby in her body...what could be a greater joy to a woman than that? And then, imagine hearing nothing short of the big C word - cancer. Imagine feeling that right next to your womb where your child is in your body, you have cancer (near the kidneys) growing out of control - one is a divine powerful blessing and one is a fearful curse. 

What this story taught me is that may we never get a blessing like this - a blessing with a tragedy unfolding.
May God only give either one - be it a blessing for us to celebrate or only an unfortunate event that requires us to pull our courage and show up...but not both together.

We waste so much of our time asking for this or that from the Universe - God or whatever you believe in but we don't often realize how lucky we already are and how many blessings are playing a part in our life.

What would it be like if we all sat down and took some time today to write down all the small and big things we are grateful for? And from there, what if we can give...give and give even more to the unfortunate people or charities, Nature or stray animals in this world? How would that transform us and how would that Light up our paths?

Questions to Ponder Upon -

We can bring the energy of gratitude into our lives simply by being mindful of how blessed we are everyday and also by giving freely to those who we are lucky enough to help - by sharing our abundance with others and opening our hearts to those who are less unfortunate.

1. Can you give to your neighbors? Can you ask them how are they doing? What keeps them awake at night or if you could be of any help to them if needed?

2. Can you feed the stray animals - the birds, the squirrels, the frogs, etc.? Can you keep water for them daily and can you buy some food for these animals so they don't have to work so hard each day for their food?

3. Can you give to the poor people during both the holiday season and throughout the year instead of giving to those who already have so much (family/relatives/friends/coworkers)?

4. Can you plant some trees to better the world and help the environment or can you donate to charities involved in environmental preservation? Can you mend your habits and use less water, less plastic, less electricity, less consumerism..to help the planet?

5. Can you pick up all the plastic, cans, plastic straws, paper cups, etc. from your street so that it doesn't fly to the oceans or kill the animals who might ingest it by mistake and then die a horrible, miserable, painful death? Can you help these little animals by picking up the litter from your street and nearby or is your ego too big for that?

6. Can you volunteer to help the elderly and the sick or can you help them whenever they cross your path and are struggling?

7. Can you help animal shelters that are full and overburdened with work - can you foster, donate or adopt some animals or can you donate some VEGAN (ethically made, healthy food) for dogs in shelters?

Give...give...give...and let that transform the energy of your life.

"No one has ever become poor by giving." - Anne Frank

-Somyata

Photo Credit - HERE