Inspiration

This week I have been inspired by my friends, but let me back up a few months. When I was first diagnosed with cancer back in February, I was talking to my friend Leigh who lives in Florida. She told me about a place called the Hippocrates Health Institute. Her husband Jason went there when he was younger for alternative treatment and he swears it changed his life. Leigh recently ran into one of the directors of Hippocrates at a party. She directly asks him if they believed in their ability to cure cancer through their methods. His reply was, "Absolutely, we are shocked when we can't cure cancer."

Their philosophy is to teach a new way of living through diet and fitness. And the focus is on living foods, also known as a raw diet. Yes, you heard me correctly, raw!! Can you imagine never having cooked foods again? Neither could I before I had cancer, but I knew that at some point I needed to hear what they had to say and at least give it a chance. Many of you out there know me and my love for food, dessert, coffee... pretty much any kind of eating period! However, when you have gone through what I have in the last year, you learn to embrace any possibility that could make you well. I keep telling myself that all I can do is try. If the cancer ever comes back, at least I'll know I did everything possible to beat it.

Anyway, I've been on the fence about going because I know I'm going to miss so many foods that I enjoy. I was really having trouble with the idea of shelling out a bunch of money to spend three weeks learning how to avoiding eating my favorite foods. But then I got a phone call from Leigh. She had decided that she was going to motivate me by helping to raise the funds, and she would do it leading by example. She told me she was starting herself on a raw food diet for 30 days and would have people sponsor her for every day she stuck with it -- like a charity walk. She sent out an e-mail to all of her friends and family and challenged them to do the same thing in their own communities.

Well, Leigh's update is amazing. She started the day after Thanksgiving and has inspired two more of my friends. Elaine in San Francisco and Megan in Portland, Maine are both doing maRAWthons. I've been keeping close tabs on these girls and let me tell you, they're not only sticking to the diet, they're even kind of liking it, which makes me excited to start myself. They say that they have more energy and feel better then they have in a long time. Elaine told me today that the experience has really impacted her and that she may never go back to the way she used to eat.How great is it to have friends like these in my life? I keep asking myself how I got so lucky to have such great friends and family. I just had to share with all of you what these three amazing women are doing. I thought maybe if they could hear words of encouragement from me and all of you out there, it would help them get through their 30 days. If you want too learn more, go to the hippocrates web site at http://www.hippocratesinst.com/
Love ya, Kristine