Waking up in pain on a surgery table in Bangkok sounds like the opening scene to a Stephen King novel, but that’s how this new chapter of my life began on that day, as a US Peace Corps Volunteer…
While some ongoing negative consequences have resulted from that experience, in the odd way in which the world works according to balance, some equally amazing and positive consequences have also resulted from the experience.
One positive that came from this experience was the eventual creation of Himalayan Healers: Because of the mistakes made at the hospital in Bangkok – and the resulting medical evacuation to Washington, DC, medical separation from Peace Corps, year’s worth of high-powered antibiotics, the scar tissue that magically appeared on the inside of my GI tract, the chronic pain, and the various medical labels of “conditions” suddenly applied to me – my entire life’s direction and value structure completely shifted.
It’s amazing how your thought process and value structure changes when a doctor tries to convince you that you will be close to bedridden the rest of your life, and you start to consider all the things you wish you could do or might have done.
As I started to fight my way back to stable health, regain weight and energy, and get back involved in life again, I discovered massage therapy, meditation, and a more balanced lifestyle helped me to better recover and live my life. As I healed through massage I began to recognize that we could intentionally use a massage school to help others heal, which led to Himalayan Healers.
That’s part of the drive to have worked for free the past 7 years to build this project in Nepal: There’s more to what we are doing than simply teaching massage.
