Today is my dear friend Cathy’s birthday. She changed my life. I was her doctor in the ER that diagnosed her with a terminal brain cancer. She was my patient that soon became my friend and then my angel when she passed. The short time I knew her in her physical form changed me as a human being for good. She in a way, saved my life. You can read our detailed story here.
Every year on the day of her birth and also on the day of her death, I get inspired to do something to just honor her memory, her life, and her powerful influence.
All this week I had been wondering what I would do. But I have learned that Cathy always lets me know things exactly at the perfect moment. So I don’t even bother with the worry like I used to. I just let the flow happen.
This time was no different.
I was sitting in my hotel room preparing for a shift in the ER while I was perusing my Facebook but really thinking about Cathy and all the lessons of love that she brought me. A post caught my attention. It was written by a woman named Colleen that I had briefly met at a recent conference. I knew she was an artist and I knew she was passionate about her work but I didn’t really understand her mission until something (probably Cathy) made me push the video to watch her being interviewed explaining her project of three years.
This artist had suffered from cancer, healed and had volunteered her time later in hospitals. After telling a patient how lovely it was outside and getting the response back that she wouldn’t know, her view was always the same four barren walls, a lightbulb went off. Colleen dedicated herself to painting LandEscapes. These beautiful portraits of serene settings with inspirational quotes immersed in the paintings in the hopes that patients all across the world might get a new view from their hospital bed.
The camera quickly panned through these gorgeous works of art that set me immediately more at ease. And then I heard her say that for anyone that bought her original works, she would donate a reproduction to the hospital of their choice. And then my lightbulb went off.
I could so envision the walls in the hospital covered with life and love and encouragement instead of just coats of drab paint. This would not only be healing for the patients but also for the healthcare providers, for anyone fortunate enough to see these masterpieces. I loved this woman’s vision.
I knew exactly how to honor Cathy. I would donate a painting in her honor to the hospital where we met, University Hospital in Augusta, GA. I only hoped they would honor my request and put it in the emergency department, the place where I learned so many beautiful lessons and where I had first met Cathy.
Reaching out to Colleen, I verified that I had understood her mission correctly and she shared her website where I could view all the LandEscapes and make my choice. http://www.colleendarbydesigns.com
There were so many beautiful pieces I had no idea how I would ever decide. And then I saw it. It was a portrait that looked like one of my favorite spots on earth in Hawaii. And the messages she had so lovingly placed around the edges all spoke to me.
And then I explained to Colleen why I wanted to do this. I briefly told her about Cathy and how we had met in the ER and I had diagnosed her with the brain cancer that ultimately took her life but saved mine.
Her response was “My God, you won’t believe what I am doing right at this very moment. I am painting a portrait in honor of my best friend’s daughter that just passed away at 21 years old from brain cancer. Her father was just here moments ago.”
Needless to say, we both got goosebumps at the synchronicity.
But I have to be honest, I’m now pretty used to it. Cathy does this stuff all the time. She’s all around me. And I know it was her sign to me that she was happy with my birthday gift. And a sign to Colleen that she is surely on a mission that will heal so many.
Happy Birthday, Cathy! I love you and I honor you.
