One Year Later.....

October 31, 2011

This past weekend SPY hosted a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness in honor of survivors, caregivers and those who have passed.  Katie Ford Hall entered the doors of SPY one year ago to participate in the first fundraiser we held for Breast Cancer. She was walking into a whole new world. I observed her on her mat as she struggled to make it through the entire class but she never gave up.  One year later, I observed her as she not only completed the 90 minute class she rocked it!  She is not just a survivor she is a very special women who lives life everyday.  

Not only did Katie participate in the class but two other women who are also very special to me attended class.  They are attending SPY's teacher training program and have both survived Breast Cancer. These three women look at life in a completely different way than most people.  They have made a differenc in my life.  Katie spoke at the beginning of class yesterday and these are her words. 

Katie Ford Hall:

People speak of breast cancer in heroic terms but when I was diagnosed in 2008, I did the same thing any one of you would do.  I put my head down and powered through a year of treatment that included the removal of lymph nodes, chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and radiation.  Or as we insiders like to call it – slash burn and poison. 

I had the greatest cheerleading squad during that year but when it was over, they went back to their familiar lives.  For me, there was no going back, just a lot of figuring out where to go next.  Now I use just about any event as a measuring stick of longevity, so I remember that 13 months after treatment ended and two months after I had my port removed, my journey brought me to SPY.  I realized how crooked I was, both protective of my damaged body and spiritually hunched over. 

When you see pink ribbons and hear about the triumph of survivorship, know this.  There are people who don’t survive this disease, like my friend Ashley who I saw for the last time in this room before she died in August.  The rest of us live with shame, anger, grief and most of all, fear.  I know you would fix that if you could, but breast cancer is a solitary journey.  I don’t say lonely, because I’m not lonely here.  As I stretch and strengthen my damaged body, as I push it toward its new closer edge, I know you are doing the same.  For every visible scar, there are dozens no one can see. 

I feel like I can show up in this one breath, one body, one spirit place, any day in whatever state of repair or disrepair I find myself.  When I leave my armor of fear and shame at the door, I not only come face to face with my demons but also catch glimpses of something extraordinary. 

In September, someone posted this John O’Donohue quote to SPY’s facebook wall.

‎"Your identity is not equivalent to your biography. There is a place in you where you have never been wounded, where there's a seamlessness in you, and where there is a confidence and tranquility."   

With deep gratitude for this past year of acceptance and support, I come back, searching for that whole place within me and side by side with you. 

Comments

Kim said on November 4, 2011 - 4:22pm:

I love you, Katie!!!

Lauren said on February 22, 2012 - 3:15pm:

I feel enormously blessed to know Katie.

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