Take the Stair Climb- all 1098 of them! – Don't Miss Out!

Visualize & Breathe In Life!

My daughter asked that I join her for the 2011 Fight for Air Climb Feb. 27 in Denver.  It is a fundraiser for the American Lung Association to help raise money for lung disease research, education and advocacy.   My response was, “Why should I climb 1098 stairs; 56 floors in a building in Downtown Denver.  Certainly doesn’t sound like fun to me!”

I went to the gym the next morning and decided to try the stairmaster.  After 8 mins., my heart was pounding and I thought I was going to pass out!  Geez, steps are harder than they look!

I left the gym as I was scheduled for a vision consultation at my office.  My patient’s mother asked for an appointment on my day off.  She said she couldn’t schedule on my regular appointment times, as she had conflicts on all the other days.  I agreed to see her on my day off.

I explained her daughter’s visual processing problems and excellent prognosis with vision therapy.  At the conclusion of the consult, I gifted the family a copy of my book,  See It. Say. Do It! I explained that we would be using many of the visualization strategies in the book to help her daughter improve reading comprehension, spelling and test anxiety.  I also mentioned that these visualization strategies are often useful for adults in stressful situations.

My patient’s mother then explained that her conflict with scheduling her appointment was because she had standing appointments for her chemotherapy.  She was diagnosed with 4th stage lung cancer.  She shared that she LOVED visualizations, as she routinely used those strategies with her medical treatments.  She always looked forward to her CT scans (if you can imagine that)…it was a time when she would lay on the table and focus on her breathing.  Then she would gently close her eyes and take an imaginary trip to the beach.  She described her imaginary- the warmth of the sun, the  sand moving between her toes, the cool breeze on her face, the smell of the freshness… She felt refreshed and “free.”

What an inspiration this woman was.  Even with a poor prognosis for living much longer, she found the importance of living everyday to the fullest.  She continued to practice what helped her live… her breathe, visualization and relaxation.

I decided at that moment that I would sign up for the Lung Fundraising Event for February 27, 2011.   Nothing like a wake-up call of what is important in life.  I can breathe freely, and there are many people who are not as lucky.

I would love your support in “The Fight for Air”.  Help me on my Climb of the 56 floors/1098 stairs at the Republic Plaza in Denver in Feb.  Please visit my Personal Page to make a tax deductible donation online.  Join me!  Together we can make a difference.

Thank you for your support of my effort to raising money for this very important cause!