Coming full circle

7 July 2009
Dear Friends,

Have you ever experienced that life takes you on a journey that ends where something started in a way - a coming full circle. That is how I feel now. You see as part of my treatment when I had cancer at age 12, I received radiation while lying in a hyperbaric oxygen tank. The tank was a glass cylinder where I lay on my back inside and they closed the door and pumped oxygen in and raised the pressure inside.

The rationale was that being in the oxygen tank would intensify the radiation treatment and be more successful in killing the cancer cells that were left after they removed the tumour. Unfortunately it was a very traumatic experience for me as I had very sensitive ears and ear drums and the pressure caused severe pain. The placed needles in my eardrums to relieve the pressure, but I still experienced discomfort. So they started giving me injections to calm me and that helped a bit, but during one of the last treatments I started feeling claustrophobic and I lost conciousness and my heart apparently stopped for a few minutes.

It was then that I had an out of body experience and saw myself moving to a tunnel of white light where I just felt free, peaceful and happy and I wanted to stay there. But I heard a voice say:" It's not your time." and I remember waking up and the doctor asking me if I want to go home.

During my recent operations the doctors found extensive radiation damage to the bone in my left hip area as well as growths caused by radiation damage around my colon. So the treatment that was used to save my life when I had cancer as a child caused damage that almost cost me my life 30 years later.

As I told you in previous posts I've been struggling with bladder infection and nerve pain since I've left the hospital and then 2 weeks ago my wound sister told me they have opened a new hyperbaric treatment centre at Tygerberg hospital. You see, treatment in such an oxygen tank without the radiation helps with wound healing as well as kill the acteria that cause infection. It is one of the treatments with the highest rates of success for conditions such as mine.

Then last week I heard the exciting news that they and the medical aid approved me as a candidate for the treatment. I started on Monday with my 2 hour sessions (I'll have to complete 20 sessions, 5 days a week). The way everything happened, the wonderfully professional and compassionate staff, and the fact that this time the treatment is painless and comfortable, feels quite miraculous.

When I'm in the chamber, I feel like I'm surrounded by the essence of life, I can visualise how my cells are rejoicing and renewing themselves. They do not have to deal with the unfortunate negative side effects that other forms of treatment and medicine often have.

So the circle is being closed and I feel within me there is a sense of things coming together and a feeling of new hope, gratitude, excitement and peace.

Thanks once more for all your support and thoughts and prayers that I believe help to co-create these opportunities of healing for me.