“I went from doctor to patient when I was diagnosed with rare eye disorder that top doctors swore would take away my vision without treatment. When things became blurrier, I stopped working. As with any loss, I struggled with the grief of losing some of my vision, losing my profession and losing the only dream I ever wanted for myself- to help children with cancer. I used the support from friends and family, therapy and lots of music and oil painting, and accidentally found palliative care on a volunteer medical trip in Salem, India.
“I learned that only 1% of Indians have access to comfort care and that number was similarly abysmal in other developing countries. Patients were being sent home to die in excruciating pain. They had no voice to express their decisions, their fears, their questions. They had no dignity.
My vision is to provide dignity at the end of life in developing countries.
What if you and I partnered together and we built a model that delivers quality palliative care in local communities? What if we bypassed barriers by using universally appealing tools like music and art?
Wabi Sabi means finding beauty in imperfection, in the natural cycle of life and death. Let’s find beauty #inlifeanddeath, compassionately, with dignity and grace.