Last December, like every year around my birthday, I had my physical.  I’m always happy to get out the door with a little scolding and an overall stamp of approval.  The final part of the exam was my mammogram.  I had it the week of Christmas, great to check that off my ‘to do’ list just in time for the holidays.

So the phone call from a nurse a few days later threw me, “We saw something; you need to return.”  Whoa!  Unfortunately the 2^nd mammogram and ultra-sound identified a mass; a needle biopsy was necessary.

That’s when I sent a quick email to a handful of sister-friends, asking them to pray and believe with me that all would be fine.   Within seconds I received phone calls and replies, no questions or requests for details – just “I’m with you.”  The week leading up to the biopsy and the days of waiting for results was grueling beyond explanation. But those same sister-friends sent emails or called or sent text messages saying, “wanted you to know I’ve got your back”.  Two even flew in from the East Coast “just to be with you when you got results,” they said.  With all of that prayer, love and support, I really was at ease.  I was wrapped in peace and strength.  Whatever the outcome, I knew this posse of sister-friends was going to be with me.

A big smile and happy/grateful tears covered my face when my doctor called and said, “no cancer…nothing…nada…you’re fine!”  Thank God!  Excited and joyful notes, calls and texts flew fast and furious to this band of sister-friends who had “kept me”…. loved on me, encouraged me and lifted me.  Don’t know that I could’ve endured that time without them.

Yes, women do rock – not just because we make it happen in the corporate world or in our businesses, but because we help “keep” each other sane during the bumpy parts of this road called life.  I have a new perspective – women rock because:

• we have the capacity to love and care for each other without reservation
• we stand in the gap for each other
• we don’t need a lot of information before we choose to support
• we jump in at a moment’s notice to “be there”
• we put our lives on hold to see about each other

Being your sister’s keeper is a really good thing….

Women who rock never give up on ideas that touch their heart!

My friend Joan Portman is my current inspiration.  Yesterday I received an email from her thanking a group of us for supporting her and her dream over the years (we all belonged to the Windsor Club and met for breakfast twice a month for ten years).  She proudly notified us that her “idea that became a dream and finally…after nine years, has become reality.” 

Joan is a certified interior designer specializing in feng shui and the Founder of Healing Environments. The idea for Healing Environments came when she was caring for her father during his nine months of treatment for brain cancer.  “During his hospitalization in Texas, I brought in various personal items from home – a colorful afghan made by my mother-in-law, his favorite music and books on CD, family photos, and a beautiful orchid plant – to bring color, life and the elements of nature into his room.”   

Through her training in feng shui and interior design, Joan knew that one’s environment could help to lift the spirits of patients and their families.  When she moved from Texas to Pennsylvania she took her idea with her.  She was just as determined as ever to make it a reality and she did! 

The Healing Environments program initially kicked off in the Inpatient Oncology Unit, (St. Mary Medical Center in Pennsylvania) allowing patients to make their rooms feel more warm, cozy, friendly, and comforting by bring personalized items into their rooms.  Carts are brought to the patients’ rooms so that they can choose handmade afghans and quilts, children’s art, books, magazines, and sleep masks.  More than 500 items have been lovingly crocheted, knitted and sewn as gifts for the patients.  Each item has a “special healing prayer tucked into a heart-shaped pocket.” 

Nine years of determination, vision, and conviction have led to a program that will grow, spread and serve countless patients and families over the years to come!  And all because Joan Portman had a dream that she wouldn’t let go of – until it became a reality and now she can set it free so that it can grow through the loving support of everyone touched by her dream. 

Even though Joan now lives in Pennsylvania, I still say she’s a Texas woman who rocks! 

What’s your dream – that you won’t let go of?  Whatever it is, let Joan be your inspiration and source of energy and encouragement to keep on making your dreams a reality!