The Road to Recovery

I just spent the May long weekend in Saltspring Island with my dear and sweet husband Yossi. This was

a getaway to mark my one year road to recovery from Sarcoma Surgery. A rare cancerous tumour was

found below my left knee. This sarcoma was growing at the junction of 3 tendons and was removed

with clear margins thanks to 25 precise radiation pre-surgery treatments. Sarcomas are the rarest of

cancers that can grow in bone, muscle, tendon and fascia typically in the arms and legs but not excluding

places like the neck and stomach. My type, ‘Clear Cell’ is one of the rarest of the sarcoma family and

more often is found in younger people ages 20-40.

Our maturing lives have many twists and turns when recovering from illnesses or living with

compromising conditions. Our road maps to recovery are not the road trips one takes along the Italian

Amalfi Coast or along the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler or down south to the Dead Sea in Israel where

one can float at the world’s lowest sea level like a living corpse.

Living life when faced with an oncoming dangerous ‘vehicle’ requires a new driver’s manual. We have

choices at the driver’s seat as to how slow or fast to proceed, when to stop, when to yield and to give

ourselves the right of way. My year long journey has been very much like being in a living traffic pattern

of yielding and stopping and stalling along the way, while incrementally recovering speed and then

proceeding.

The red light stopped me in my boots upon receiving the cancerous Sarcoma diagnosis on February 15 th

2016. The orange light was longer than usual. During my rehabilitation period after the May 17 th 2016

surgery, I had to learn to walk again with caution, pacing and keeping my distance from blood clots or

infections potentially in front of me. The pedestrian green light in October was flashing. I was granted

the ‘go ahead’ from my incredible doctors at BC Cancer Agency to make my travel plans to Israel for

November 16 th 2016.

This past weekend I felt all the traffic lights at work. The fork in the road to recovery is indeed twofold.

It is healing and happiness merged into one dynamic traffic pattern. At this divine junction we stop and

yield for healing and prayers and then, moving ahead with happiness and gratitude. We need to give all

these components the rights of way to fill the body, the mind and the spirit. Amen.

Safe driving,

Debbie Havusha

Please join me at the next monthly Healing and Happiness event featuring Deborah Katz who will be

presenting her book ‘Rare is Everywhere’.