Monday, 4 November 2013

Lee's Story - Part 6/7: Tribute



The five months after Lee’s initial diagnosis until his death were a real roller coaster for him, both physically and emotionally. But I believe those five short months gave him time to put his emotional house in order enough to allow him to leave this world a better place than it was when he arrived. And what more can anyone ask for?

When things took a dramatic turn for the worse I felt so relieved in the knowledge that Lee’s suffering and strife would not be prolonged any further and that he would finally be truly at peace.

I feel very privileged to have been invited into this person's life. His very obvious Guardian Element was very refreshing to me, though not without its challenges to his nearest and dearest.  His thirst for information about his treatments and acupuncture as a whole was a delight - he was extremely open to the whole Chinese medicine ethos and it could be said that he was rather unorthodox in his beliefs and actions, and extremely proud of the fact he was too!

His openness, honesty and need for straight talking could have easily come across as slightly abrasive, but for me it made the whole subject of cancer and death very accessible. At a time when some would feel the need to avoid or skirt around what is a very difficult subject, I felt able to talk candidly to him without fear of overstepping the mark or holding back, in order to say what needed to be said.

My Tutor has often said that we as practitioners can learn so much from our patients. My relationship with Lee has been a very emotional, memorable and powerful lesson - but most of all, a very humbling experience indeed.

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