Enjoy this 13 minute Healing Light Meditation from our friends at Cancer Support Community!
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Another great resource in our February Mindfulness Series .... Enjoy this 13 minute Healing Light Meditation from our friends at Cancer Support Community!
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Getting Started with Mindful Eating Video So much magic! Here's just a few highlights. Retreat Highlights:
Survivor Outreach Highlights:
Join us for a special chat with fellow breast cancer survivor and practicing counselor Terri Wagner, LPC!
Together we will explore doing good for yourself because boundaries are not about being selfish or demanding but about establishing healthy parameters around relationships, physical needs, work life balance, and self-care!!! Wednesday, December 15th 12PM - 1PM Via Zoom (no cost) Sign up here! HUGS, Cheryl & Shannon We had a fabulous talk together earlier this week via Zoom about Sleep. We have 3 more great opportunities to connect with Wind River before the year is out. I am especially excited about our Self-Care talk on Wednesday with fellow alum and MCB therapist Terri Wagner! No charge of course for any of the above! Wind River Kitchen Time with Cheryl Fri. Dec. 10th - 6:30PM Wind River Cocoo Gathering Sat. Dec. 11th - 9:30AM Self-Care for Survivors Wed. Dec. 15th - 12PM We are honored to receive a grant again this coming year to support our colorectal friends! This grant is from the Colon Cancer Coalition through money raised at the Get Your Rear in Gear Charlotte event. Together we love partnering with our Young Colon Cancer survivors in the Charlotte area and also with our other regional colorectal survivors with virtual retreats, outreach programs and support. If you are a Young Colorectal survivor and would like more information, email us and we will connect with you! Would you like to join our 2022 race team?! We'd love to have you! Here's a link to the March 26th Charlotte event and the Wind River Team link!!! Creative Kitchen Time with Cheryl via ZOOM Wind River invites you into the kitchen with Cheryl for an interactive plant-based cooking experience. Learn how to prepare healthy meals...and LOVE the foods that will LOVE you back. All are guaranteed to learn and have lots of giggles and fun together! Classes are on Friday nights at 6:30pm - 8:00pm (join us via a Zoom Video Call - link to be sent closer to the class date) Holiday Treats Friday, December, 10th 6:30PM, EST Keeping our calm with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. We will keep it simple with recipes to make on the go...filling and easy to prepare. Plus the best holiday treats to make to keep the sweet tooth satisfied without increasing the waist. REGISTER HERE CALLING HOLIDAY ANGELS
So much magic coming your way! This is one of our favorite offerings of the year! So much more that a gift giving program! Becoming a Wind River Angel helps us connect friends, survivors and family through the spirit of hope, laugher and inspiration! Simply put: it makes you feel GREAT! Sign up today to spread a little holiday cheer and/or receive a little holiday cheer this December (Remember, asking to just receive is a gift to the other person!!!) Follow the link to sign up or more information including our NEW virtual Hot Cocoa Gatherings and an opportunity to nominate someone who could use some extra holiday cheer. SIGN UP for Wind River Holiday Angels, 2021 So often we focus on what we can do during the day to help our body (eat right, exercise, etc). But how often do we take time to improve our precious night time activities?!!! We are excited to have a casual fire-side like chat with Dr. Shamille Hariharan as she shares her tips, and answers your questions about "Quieting the mind, body, and spirit: how to let go and get quality, restorative sleep." So if you have issues with a busy mind, hot flashes, physical discomforts, etc. at night, please join us for some ideas to improve your sleep routine and some mind-body practices that can help you tonight! Tuesday, December 7th 12PM - 1PM Via Zoom (no cost) REGISTER HERE Dr. Hariharan is part of the Integrative Oncology team at Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte. Wind River is DELIGHTED to have her share her wisdom and compassion. Zoom link will be emailed to you closer to the date. HUGS, Cheryl & Shannon This story comes from a family that I feel the whole Wind River Family, in all its perfection, has adopted this past year. Cassidy (Cass) is a 13 year old survivor of brain cancer who has been undergoing treatments since last fall. This summer, 82 friends of Shannon's Mom, Suzanne and Wind River friends, contributed $5,400 to a special fund to support this family and this girl's mission to support other children who are stuck in the hospital for extended stays with treatments and surgeries. This week, Cassidy's Mom (whose name is also Shannon) posted a precious video and wrote an inspiring blog about finding Hope again. The words of wisdom in this video and the blog are mind-blowing, and worth a watch AND read by anyone seeing this. So, grab a hot beverage (cocoa, tea, coffee) and enter the world of survivorship as told through the eyes of a 13 year old -- truly this world's future, which is the embodiment of Hope. Much love everyone, Shannon, Wind River Confession, November 3, 2021Journal entry by Shannon Stocker —
I have a confession to make. A few, maybe. As an eternal optimist, this first one is tough for me to admit...but here goes. For the last few months, I have been afraid of Hope. I've wanted to feel it. I've wanted to be all bright and sunny and full of rainbows and crap. When people have asked me how we are, I've wanted to say, "Oh, we're doing great! We're hopeful and happy that she's on track for treatment. We're grateful she has made counts for EIGHTEEN STRAIGHT TREATMENTS (sort of unheard of in this world). So yeah...we're good! How are you?" But as soon as I open my mouth, the only words that seemed to fall out were, "One foot in front of the other, you know?" When Cassidy was born, I made myself a billion promises. I would be a better person. I'd be reliable, and trustworthy, and honest. I would be present and put my children before me. I would be a better parent than my mother and father were. Those of you who know me well, know that this was not a big ask. My parents were not exactly the best role models. My father was narcissistic and abusive. My mother was absent for most of my life. "Present" and "not abusive" seem like pretty low bars. So then I decided to be all the things that I'd wanted my own parents to be. Warm, generous, unconditional...and honest. So, when people ask how I am, I am now programmed to tell the truth. And the truth is, life has hit us so many times over the past year, that Hope started to feel like a bad parent. It was unreliable. Untrustworthy. Dishonest. So why keep giving it my attention? Why keep hoping, if things were just going to keep falling apart? Now please understand this doesn't mean I was falling into a pit of depression. I definitely did not wallow in misery and self-pity (except for maybe a few times with my closest girlfriends...you know who you are, and I love you for wallowing with me in those moments). Most of the time, I set my mind to "just keep swimming," and then I did. I did laundry, and I washed dishes, and I took kids to school, and I helped with homework, and I hand-washed a billion friggin' masks. Sometimes, I even laughed or sang. Often, I wrote. But I dared not Hope. And then, a couple of weeks ago, I noticed Cassidy struggling. I picked her up from school on a Monday, and she burst into tears in the car. She'd had a test that day, and she said her mind just couldn't focus normally. She would start reading a question, and then suddenly it was like, WHOOSH! Everything was gone. We know chemo would do this, but the brain fog still hit her harder than almost anything else had to date. Then, when we got home, she couldn't take Sophie for a walk. She felt weak and fatigued, as her counts have continued to drop (and not rebound like they did before). Chemo is cumulative...so her side effects are too. It was in this moment that I realized that as her body was weakening, her mind was also starting to succumb. And that was not okay. She needed a lifeline, and I needed to be the one to throw it to her. So I decided to give Hope another chance. I threw a lifeline, and I talked Cassidy through it all. I could not replenish her energy, but I could help more with homework. I could not improve her memory, but I could point to her grades (the lowest of which is still like 97%), and help her see what I see. A child who is stronger than any child should have to be. A fierce, brilliant, compassionate warrior. A giver, even in the face of her own hurricane. Day after day, I've spoken words that at first, I did not feel...I was too scared to believe. But now that I've said them over and over, I'm starting to believe. I have Hope. Hope that my child will be okay. Hope that my daughter will live a long life. Hope that my baby will change the world, which I am CERTAIN she can do. Because she already is. We have three more chemos. THREE MORE. She has beaten this battle eighteen (18!!!!) times already, and she will do it three more times. Then, once she has reached that mountain peak, she will ring that glorious bell one day before we wave this year goodbye. November 4th. December 2nd. December 30th. We can do this. We WILL do this. Tonight, I feel grateful, and optimistic, and stronger than I have in many, many weeks. Welcome back, Hope. I've missed you. 💛🎗💛 REGISTER HERE Welcome to the season of FOOD!!! Beginning with Halloween candy, adding in pumpkin everything, and then Christmas cakes and candies. What's a plant-based girl to do? Ghoulish Gastronomy Friday, October 29th 6:30PM, EST Just in time for Halloween, Let's have a bit of fun with this festive but ghoulish theme. Decorating healthy food can make it so very appealing even for the pickiest palate. Together, we will prepare a wonderful pumpkin soup and explore healthy-ish candy options....And we will even play a bit with our food to make a fun decorated plate. For the above classes, cook along with Cheryl in your kitchen, or watch, listen and learn. Everyone can ask questions along the way! Upon signing up, Cheryl will email you the shopping list if you opt to cook together. Virtual Hugs soon! Wind River (PS There will not be a recording - live participation only!) GET READY TO GET DOWN! WE ARE PUMPED TO EXPLODE ON STAGE! Wed. Oct 13th 6PM - 8PM Register Here First 50 to register get a special gift in the mail! Join this virtual event, featuring a live in-person panel of expert, experiential artists, who are also breast cancer survivors, to share how the arts helped through their cancer journey. Highly interactive with a virtual audience, think "town hall meeting meets group art therapy with explosive laughter and gratitude" "The Hope Stained Canvas" is a project founded in love and with the desire to offer creative methods to heal from a breast cancer diagnosis. Fostering support and connections within the breast cancer community using the arts, with focus on Spoken Word, Music, Visual Arts, Jewelry, Self-Care, and Movement. The main event will take place on October 13th with support of The Blumenthal downtown Charlotte. Let's MOVE into Fall with renewed energy and determination.
And what better way than to have a Wind River BUDDY right there with you, to give you a big "way to go" or a "that's ok, there is always tomorrow". REGISTER HERE TODAY Last year Shannon of Wind River lost over 25 pounds, making smarter food choices, eating more food with bulk (think of eating a handful of grapes instead of a handful of nuts), walking/hiking every day AND she had an accountability buddy. Every day for 3 months she would text (or call) Cheryl to help keep her on task. Together they climbed mountains, literally, and all done remotely due to the pandemic. So we invite you to sign up and we will connect you with another person who is looking to GET MOVING. We suggest aiming for 5 days a week to walk or do whatever make you feel alive. Connect with your Wind River Buddy via text (we all have busy lives - some of you might also want to talk some but it is not required). EVEN ON THE DAY YOU CHOOSE TO NOT MOVE. Send a short text to your buddy about something! We will match people on a rolling basis during the month of October. We then ask you to commit to at least 3 weeks of daily connection with your Wind River BUDDY. We will also include some Zoom interactions this month (optional). LET GET GOING! Wind River is honored to be a beneficiary of a 3 day walk in South Carolina. Now in it's 10th year, survivors and others will be soon taking to the beaches of Hilton Head in support of breast cancer survivors. We wish you many flamingo sightings and blue skies!!! More information can be found at Pledge the Pink Foundation Led by Art Therapist, Talia Scott, you will create a piece of art that represents the essence of you and your journey through cancer. This interactive art session will explore the artistic approach of survivorship, asking the question, how can tapping into the right side of the brain (our creative side) help us find joy, strength, and community through diagnosis and beyond! Sept 16, 18 and 21st - classes are full but we are taking waiting list names and we will come up with something creative to do via Zoom for those that cannot make one of these classes! Register Here And your art will become a part a collective mosaic art installation that will come to life on October 13th during a virtual event called: The HOPE Stained Canvas.
This fall is going to be a blend of right brain (creative) activities AND some powerful learnings to help us all lower stress, reduce trauma, and improve sleep. Kim Leppert, MSW, LCSW-S, CSAT is a therapist who will be helping us with some of the learnings. PLEASE check this out. It is an amazing tool that has helped a number of our survivors, including me: BRAIN SPOTTING! Change your body, change your brain (and vice-versa). This is a must watch for every adult. https://youtu.be/y9e3mO97EZQ Thank you Kim Leppert, MSW, LCSW-S, CSAT of FlyLeafCounseling in Davidson, NC for all you do for others!!! |
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January 2024
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