On the Road to Wellness

Life is feeling more and more normal. Surgery was six weeks ago, and today we put away the fold out couch and went back to having a living room. I find everyday movement easier and my energy is returning. I can walk for 20 – 30 minutes. I am eating well and feeling positive and happy.

We received the results from the blood work done at the Block Center. My Vitamin D and zinc are slightly low, and I am increasing the amounts of those that I take each day. My blood appears to be slightly too thick, showing an elevated amount of fibrinogen antigen. This is a precursor for fibrin, which cancer cells may use to coat themselves to hide from the immune system. The other important finding concerns my immune system. My T-cells are at a good level, but my natural killer cells are low. They should be between 136 and 406, and they are 85, so that is an area of concern.

Interestingly, the suggestions for how to reduce the fibrinogen antigen and increase the killer cells are very similar. Fortunately, the recommendations are easy, fun and tasty! I need to eat fermented foods daily – miso, tamari and tempeh. I need to increase onions, garlic, ginger, green tea and nutritional yeast. I need to eat high omega-3 foods, which I already do, but can emphasize more. I have to avoid alcohol. That is only a small disappointment, since I only very recently began to enjoy the pleasure of an occasional glass of wine. I probably drink one glass a month, so it is not too hard to do without. More vitamin C and daily aerobic exercise are encouraged.

The final suggestion specifically for the killer cells is more laughter! It is great that I can improve my health by having fun, being silly and watching shows that make me laugh. I am enjoying watching the first few seasons of Modern Family and have a good laugh with that everyday.

Yoga is coming slowly but surely. I still need to take it easy, and I am working with the yoga poses that I can and should do under the guidance of my teachers. My pranayama (breathing practice) is coming along much better, elevating my mood and quieting my nervous system. I do relaxing and restorative poses, and seated poses that create a lot of life and space in the abdomen. I am finding the process of literally rebuilding my practice engaging and I am staying pretty patient.

Last night I returned to chanting with my kirtan group The Nectarines. It was a beautiful evening that filled me with joy and love. I am so grateful to my kirtan brothers and to all those who have come to chant with us. We are looking forward to doing kirtan on Friday November 30, when my students have organized a benefit to help Cliff and me with our medical bills. The kindness and generosity of my students has been deeply moving to me, and I am so grateful for their loving support. If you want more information about the benefit/kirtan/potluck dinner, you can contact the event chair at peterpattakos@gmail.com.  I would love to see you there.

I remain grateful for your prayers, affirmations and visualizations on my behalf. While I am recovering well on the outer physical level, there is much healing to be done on a more subtle level. I am working with the mantra “I am healed” while visualizing healing light pouring into my abdominal region. Orange is the color for the second chakra, so I see that light as sparkling, translucent, vibrant orange light, similar in color to the photo at the top of this post. If you would like to join me in that visualization, you can imagine that light filling and surrounding me, flowing from the Divine as you know it.

With gratitude,
Karen