Hands of Serenity

Hands of Serenity To bring Love, Light, Healing and Balance to those who seek it.

I spent Friday, Saturday, and today at Zen Shiatsu Chicago for some in-person Oncology Massage training. It was informat...
06/02/2025

I spent Friday, Saturday, and today at Zen Shiatsu Chicago for some in-person Oncology Massage training. It was informative, insightful, fun, serious, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to learn new things. Today's portion of the class culminated in a clinic with cancer patients/survivors. Today was a major learning experience. We provided a full body 60 minute session for our patients.

This was the first full body 60 minute session I have done in about 5 years; my body is extremely mad at me. But, I am confident that, with time and gentle practice, I can retrain my body to tolerate doing 60 minute sessions again. Then again, maybe my body won't cooperate; who knows. That was a large part of the reason I left mainstream massage and focused on pediatric and palliative/hospice modalities.

While I have received training in Oncology Massage this weekend, I have a lot more learning to do before I would even consider saying I'm certified in Oncology Massage; even more beyond that to be able to say I'm Certified in Oncology Massage. I'm looking forward to learning more.

Right now though? My body is demanding sleep. I am off to listen to it.

Thank You for the learning experience this weekend, Rebecca!

Another of my patients that has been on our services longer than most, somewhat unexpectedly died today. I know I've bee...
09/20/2024

Another of my patients that has been on our services longer than most, somewhat unexpectedly died today. I know I've been part of his Care Team since some time in 2022. I'll have to try to find the date tomorrow.

Tomorrow, that's a rough anniversary in and of itself, too. Three patients died last year, two of which I was very fond of, and then a friend from long ago had also died. I still remember how shell-shocked I was with all that loss in a very short amount of time.

Life is precious. Don't waste it.

Edited to correct myself: I joined his Care Team in July 2023. I've been seeing him pretty much weekly for just over a year. I believe he was on our Services awhile before I got the referral for him.

08/12/2024

I originally shared this late last night. I'm sharing it again because we need help.

My husband received a phone yesterday that has had us in shock since. His younger brother, who was only 44, had a heart attack, was taken to the hospital, but did not survive.

As the oldest, my husband feels responsible for his brother, even in death. We need help covering these unexpected expenses. My husband & I are in Illinois. My brother-in-law was living in Virginia. We want to bring him home to lay him to rest with their parents, or as close to them as possible. We will not be able to do this without help.

Thank You for donating what you are able to, whether time to share this fundraiser with others, and/or a monetary donation. It is all deeply appreciated.

https://gofund.me/31a9ddd2

05/03/2024

My calendar said that today was National Day of Prayer. I wanted to find something unique to share with my Chicago Teams for Moments Hospice.

I found this amazing prayer written by Elizabeth Kaeton in August 2015 for the Hospice team she worked with at that time. Now, I want to share it here, as well.

A Prayer for All Who Work in Hospice

May the passion you have for life fire the compassion you have for others.

May you know that when you do small things with great love you change lives.

May the blessings you receive mean more than the hours you work.

May you remember to keep both feet on the ground while tending to those who have one foot in heaven.

May you be grateful that your daily encounter with death and dying brings you a deeper appreciation of life and living.

May you never lose sight of the fact that it’s not the length but the depth of life that really matters.

May your work be grounded in the knowledge that grief is the emotional, physical and spiritual price you pay for the priceless gift of love, and that the only cure for grief is grieving.

May you know that while no one may build a monument in your name, the way you make your mark in this life is by erasing the frown on someone’s brow.

And, may you start each day remembering the last words spoken by Steve Jobs before he died: “Oh wow! Oh wow! Oh wow!”

Amen.

Created by Hospice Chaplain Elizabeth Kaeton August 2015

(I tried to tag Elizabeth in this post so she would absolutely receive full credit for this beautiful creation. Unfortunately, I could not.)

Today is both National Healthcare Decisions Day •and• National Stress Awareness Day. Those two go well together because ...
04/16/2024

Today is both National Healthcare Decisions Day •and• National Stress Awareness Day. Those two go well together because if you have your Healthcare POA in place, that's much less stress should the unexpected happen.

If you need help having the conversation with the person you want as your POA, I can help you. If you need to have the conversation with your loved ones about what your healthcare decisions are, I can help with that as well.

My CPR Card expires at the end of this month. Time to refresh my memory and renew my card!Have you checked your CPR Card...
03/20/2024

My CPR Card expires at the end of this month. Time to refresh my memory and renew my card!

Have you checked your CPR Card recently?

Even if you have a Valentine - Shelter & Rescue Animals would 💖 LOVE 💖 to have some Valentine's!!Donate food, toys, blan...
02/09/2024

Even if you have a Valentine - Shelter & Rescue Animals would 💖 LOVE 💖 to have some Valentine's!!

Donate food, toys, blankets, other supplies, money, whatever you can do will make a big difference for a shelter animal.

Even better yet - consider making a donation once a month 💖

I have been excited for this Shiatsu for End-of-Life Care course. I have purposely been taking my time with it, absorbin...
01/18/2024

I have been excited for this Shiatsu for End-of-Life Care course. I have purposely been taking my time with it, absorbing it, watching the videos a few times each. I am excited to try some of these on some of my people, but I am also ecstatic at the thought of being able to show their loved ones some self-care techniques so they can help recharge themselves.

I just may even offer to teach the rest of my team(s) here at Moments Hospice Chicago (MDW & ORD). Heaven knows we could all use some extra self-care tricks up our sleeves.

It's nearly 11:30 PM & I need to stop for tonight. I feel like I'm getting a better sense of how the Shiatsu for End-of-...
01/16/2024

It's nearly 11:30 PM & I need to stop for tonight. I feel like I'm getting a better sense of how the Shiatsu for End-of-Life Care will flow.

I'm on Module 4 out of 6. Maybe I'll finish the last 3 tomorrow.

Good Night Everyone. I pray you and yours are safe, warm, and content tonight.

Today's ConEd Course, Using Massage during the Stages of Grief, was informative. I truly believe that this should be par...
01/15/2024

Today's ConEd Course, Using Massage during the Stages of Grief, was informative. I truly believe that this should be part of any massage therapy school curriculum - because somatic release can happen, especially during times of grief and stress, and MTs should be knowledgeable as to how to flow with what's happening.

One of my favorite parts was talking more about Professional Caregivers Grief. With working in the hospice setting, this is even more important to be able to recognize and know how to express it in a healthy way.

One other thing that stood out for me was this single sentence:

"Some believe that we now have the duration down to a formula: It takes one month of grief recovery for every year that you knew the deceased."

Tomorrow is my friend Jacque's birthday. She would have been 43. I met her in 2000. She died in 2017. So one month of grief for every year I knew her; by that calculation I "should have" recovered from my grief in a little under 1.5 years.

Yeah. Not happening. My grief may not be as intense as it first was, but I will never reach the point I stop grieving the loss of her. And I'm pretty certain her family and other friends feel the same way.

There really is no timeline to grief. The sooner the world realizes, accepts, and normalizes that, the healthier we all can be as we grieve.

This course will be taught again in February and is available via Zoom if you are interested.

Looking forward to this ConEd course in the morning; this one through ASIS Massage Education (Arizona School of Integrat...
01/15/2024

Looking forward to this ConEd course in the morning; this one through ASIS Massage Education (Arizona School of Integrative Studies). It's about massage during the stages of grief.

One thing I am grateful for that was forced due to C-VID is the availability of courses online that used to only be in-person. This one would have basically been impossible for me to attend in-person, but I'll be able to hop on Zoom in just a few hours to experience and learn new things.

If you're interested in this course, the link to it is:
https://www.asismassage.edu/workshops/workshops.php?wd_id=737&campus=

Today I completed "Lymphatic Drainage Massage", a Continuing Education course I'd signed up for last year through Instit...
01/15/2024

Today I completed "Lymphatic Drainage Massage", a Continuing Education course I'd signed up for last year through Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies. It felt good to take the time to do the reading, watch the videos, and learn some new techniques. If I'm being honest, it was more of being reminded of techniques because the school I went to did spend part of a module on lymphatic drainage.

I am still working through Shiatsu for End-Of-Life Care offered from Zen Shiatsu Chicago. It's a lot of information and I'm trying to both take my time absorbing it, as well as giving myself time away now and then so as not to overthink it all.

I also still have "Oncology Massage: Fact vs. Myth" through IIHS to work on before March.

These courses are ones I chose as personal growth goals in my position as Hospice Massage Therapist at Moments Hospice.

If you're interested in the Lymphatic Drainage Massage course, the link to it is:
https://www.integrativehealthcare.org/programs/lymphatic-drainage-massage-massage-ceu--E620.html

If you're interested in the Oncology Massage: Fact vs. Myth course, the link to it is:
https://www.integrativehealthcare.org/programs/oncology-massage-fact-vs-myth-massage-ceu--E1085.html

If you're interested in the Shiatsu for End-of-Life Care course, the link to it is:
https://zen-shiatsu-chicago.thinkific.com/courses/shiatsu-for-end-of-life-care

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