My wife Trish thought she bit her cheek and it was taking a while to heal. So she went to her dentist. 45 minutes later she was in a surgeon’s office while our daughter Gramercy and I sat in the waiting room. The surgeon came out and said, “I’m only supposed to biopsy this, but I know what I am looking at, and if you tell me to take it all I will.” He then removed a 2 inch tumor from her cheek.
Cancer. Over the course of the next 8 months, Trish underwent a surgery where her head was nearly cut off and a course off chemo and radiation that burned her face so bad she left ashes every night on her pillow, took the hair off the back of her head, and left her unable to walk unassisted, barely able to speak and barely able to eat.
After almost a month home in a chair, I tried to take her for a walk. She made it maybe 40 feet. It was January, and her winter coat was too heavy for her to wear. Over the next few months, we made it to maybe 300 yards.
There was also the psychological damage. She felt disfigured, she caught people staring at her face and neck. She bought wigs but was so horrified at going out that she never wore one.
Then - magic. I exercised to keep sane, and became dear friends with a fitness instructor named Julie. She teaches classes. And became dear friends with a fitness instructor named DJ. He teaches classes. Trish began regressing, and was becoming too depressed for recovery. So I asked Julie if I could bring Trish to a class, and maybe she could just shuffle in the back and try to stand for 45 minutes. Julie immediately said yes, and the next day Trish put on a ball cap and a large scarf and the class started and she shuffled.
Except - magic. Julie saw this and went and brought Trish to the front of the class and shuffled with her. For an hour. The rest of us worked out, Julie shuffled with Trish. When we got to the car, Trish asked if we could ever do that again. At that moment, my phone rang, it was Julie, and she said “Get her in here tomorrow.”
The next day - magic. Same thing. Day after - magic. Same thing. A month went by. No money changed hands, it was just one person volunteering every day to show grace and love to another.
Box jump = magic. Part of the class is to jump on a two foot box. Trish had neuropathy, and was relearning how to walk. Her feet and her brain were on different wavelengths. Julie brought out a 3 inch step, Trish tried to jump on it and fell over. She started crying, Julie threw her body over Trish and they went forehead to forehead, Julie spoke, and after a few minutes Trish wiped her eyes and went back to work. No one heard what was said, but it was magic. At the end of that class, Julie brought Trish over to the two foot box and said, “We go every day until you jump on this box.”
Enter magic. DJ teaches a class that incorporates treadmills. And Trish needed to connect her feet to her head again. So we started shuffling on a treadmill too. DJ would check on her, he and I would catch her falling or tipping over. But after a while she started walking. One day, she was walking at a pretty good clip, so I looked at DJ and DJ looked at me and I leaned over from the treadmill next to her and just hit a speed where she would have to run. And she did. We cried a lot that day.
Party = magic. Julie then wanted to fix Trish’s mind. So she threw a huge party, and made Trish get a hair styling and buy a new dress. Trish went, and spent 45 minutes hugging people who formed a line just so they could hug her back. And some confidence came.
And then - magic. Julie dedicated every day for months to Trish. A beautiful progression. After several months, Trish got to the point where she could put one foot at a time on top of the two foot box. Julie walks over, and this time I heard what she said. She went forehead to forehead with Trish, and she goes, “You can do this TODAY. You are a feather. You can fly. You can do this today.” A circle formed around her, and then - magic.
The surgeon saved Trish’s life, but Julie and DJ gave it back to her. Out of nothing more than love and lifting.
You are in a room where we can do that same thing right now. Through the generosity of these amazing musicians in front of you, you are about to be lifted. You have already begun, by getting a ticket from one of our amazing non profit partners.
Hopefully this afternoon you will join us in music and lifting. Then, if you will, pass the lift on when you leave.
We can all be choir. And we won’t be broken if we lift each other.
John Burton is the Director of The Lifted Project and the host of Home From Here.
Karen Catalano is the Event Producer of The Lifted Project and the owner of Locks That Rock.
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