As a therapist, I have had and still have several cancer patients or with terminal chronic diseases and I would be lying if I would say I didn’t felt despair or powerlessness many times. As a dear teacher and friend of mine would say, each person who comes to us for a session does it to bring also a lesson and something to heal inside of us.
In my first years as a Reiki practitioner, I remember feeling powerless to seeing several clients transitioning and asking myself if I was doing the right thing by continuing taking those types of cases in which no improvements appeared. During that moment a new client with a similar case to the previous ones came in for a session but this time the Universe was preparing an answer to my questions without me knowing it. On our first healing session, Diego told me about his illness, advanced stage of pancreatic cancer; his doctor’s prognosis was 4 to 6 months of life. When he began to tell me a little about his life, before the session, he told me about his five children, his ex-wife, his current loneliness since all his children had their own families now and three of them had left the city.
We started with one healing session a week and incredibly a lot of emotions, images, and memories appeared, speaking very little or at all about his illness, except when the routine check-ups with the doctors were awakening him to the harsh reality of the accelerated progress of his illness, and me to the impotence of not knowing what else to do.
In those days my Reiki Master with whom I keep in touch despite the passing years, sharing knowledge and giving each other support, told me not to despair and allow the best to happen, to involve my heart and not my head in the process.
Diego was telling me about his family issues, especially the pain of seeing his children divided from one another due to different topics and situations. Sometimes I believed he was doing it to avoid what was happening to him but it wasn’t the case. Seeing his family divided was hurting him more than knowing he had cancer.
Image by Pezibear
Time was passing by, his physical deterioration was noticeable and one day he came emotionally broken to the session showing the last study that had been made regarding his illness; however, the first thing he told me was, “I have to give you a good news. This Sunday all my children are coming for a barbecue and celebrate Father’s Day together!” He was happy and beaming Peace.
The following week Diego arrived on time as usual and told me in detail their family reunion, then he told me that was our last session he could attend since it became very difficult for him to move and the pain relief medication was affecting him a lot. However, he said, “There’s something I feel I should tell you. I came to Reiki because they “sent me”; I didn’t know what it was and I had no hope of being healed because the doctor was very decisive regarding my condition, but with each session new ideas emerged for me to implement them – things to say to my children, my friends to whom I owed some apologies, people I hadn’t visited in years and felt I should say “hello” to them – with each one of those things I was feeling lighter, freer. That’s why I think I’m ready for what’s next and I wanted to thank you for being here to accompany me! I couldn’t have done it alone!”
At that precise moment, the words of my Master came to my mind – “to accompany”.
I still gave Diego healing sessions in his house a couple of times more, practically asleep due to his medication, surrounded by his children. The last day I saw him, one of his children told me that he had become closer to his father in the last months more than he was in his entire life. That day Diego took my hand very strongly, which supposedly was an involuntary reflex but I want to believe it was a goodbye greeting. Two days later Diego left this plane of existence.
As therapists, my humble opinion is that we must learn to accept that we are the instrument but it doesn’t depend on us the “healing” or on the person who consults us. If we give the best of ourselves, whatever happens, will be for the greatest good of all.
When we do not know what else to do to help someone, we should only do what we know – set the intention, ask for assistance from our guides and those of our client and let it happen.
(The names and situations have been altered to safeguard the identity of the client and his family)
Article by Gustavo Cristian Fritz
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Gustavo Cristian Fritz is a Reiki Master and holistic therapist in Baradero, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is dedicated to the dissemination of Reiki and Shiatsu among other therapies. After 10 years of applying these techniques, Gustavo is leaving the practice of chemical engineering to fully engage in these activities and provide outreach sessions in all places where he is called. Gustavo can be contacted through his email, vivemejor@ymail.com, or his website www.vivemejorbaradero.com.
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