By Monique Rhodes
March 21, 2023
Many of you will know that I was rushed to the hospital a few days ago with a life-threatening situation. I’m back home and wanted to give you an update and reflections.
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Darling Monique,
As I listen to your voice on ‘An Update’ podcast – I applaud your strength, your clarity, your desire and perseverance to get through this terrifying situation. Yet you’ve made it through with grace . Sharing your thoughts and feelings of your journey from a position of strength and wisdom.
I’m with you all the way. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do – remotely.
I’m staying in touch.
Please take care. You’re amazing, tough and full of love. You will get to the otherside in flying colors. We all know this.
All my love, thoughts, meditations and prays to and for you.
Pam
Dear Monique – I am keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. The experience you had and what you just shared on your podcast were something else. What an amazing teacher you are – even, especially, in your life experiences. I will heed your advice. My friend recommended a book – “I’m dead – now what” that deals with estate and life planning. It is so true what you have shared with us. We need to be better humans – we need to be prepared. Thank you again for your tender and loving ways and your wonderful teaching. You are a doll. xxxxooooo get stronger – drink more tea. Sandi
Dear Monique, my grade 5 students and I will be praying for your thyroid to be completely healed, your platelet count to quickly and effortlessly become stable and optimized, and that all your energy, exuberance and endurance is regained and back to pre-covid health. You are far too valuable to all of us, and together we give one collective sigh of relief and gratitude that you are safe and on the mend. Much love to you and Scamp.
Thank you for sharing your experiences of both happiness and vulnerability with your health experiences. You inspire me so much with both your kindness and insightful encouragement. I’m sending you lots of prayers and wishes for a speedy recovery. You have helped me grow so much – emotionally —to see and reframe my mind and emotions – how I perceive things- you are more than a teacher. I feel your a beautiful friend. Again, lots of prayers and positive thoughts of great health to you.
Wow Monique this podcast is at another level, it definitely is deepening our connections. Thank you for sharing the journey details with us, amazing patience, self love, self care, self discipline & resilience. Great lessons & reminders to share too. With my sister’s return of cancer I can certainly empathise & share in some of your experiences. I too am now more aware of my mortality & getting my things in order & in time may have to ask my sister the same. Life is precious & each moment with ourselves & our loved ones is precious. I’ll continue my affirmations for you & include thyroid healing. Blessings to you & all that you do ✨💗🙏✨
Fabulous episode and in telling your story, once again, you’ve given a gift to those you teach, all life lessons to take in stride. It makes me want to practice loving kindness to those I’m really challenged by—I’m not quite there yet, but getting closer. I need to update my will also!
Sending love ❤️ Monique! Wishing you a peaceful recovery. I’m in the process of making sure all loose ends are tied up in preparation for my passing, especially important when living in a foreign country (I’ve lived in Mexico almost 18 years.) I want to make it easier for my three children when it happens (not expected just yet!)
Oh Monique….. I listened to your update and story this afternoon and I had no idea how very truly scary that was for you. I’m so, so sorry you’re going thru this.. thank you for sharing with such heartfelt truth and vulnerability and honesty. You made me appreciate being alive today. What a miracle this moment is. Thank you for letting us into your core and for asking and for receiving. In your broken and cracked-openness you are more beautiful than ever. And what a story with that nurse!!! I’m in awe you could love right there. I would have slugged her. Good thing I wasn’t there. I love how you were so in tune with spirit and your body that you knew you were extremely delicate and needed to be treated with the touch of a baby bird. I’m sending you so much love and softest of angel kisses to your precious body. We need you. The world needs you. I see you perfectly whole and complete and lacking in nothing. May love and angels surround you as you heal and may miracles abound. I cannot WAIT to meet you in person on retreat. Loving you from NYC ✨💓💓💓✨
Great to hear that you are improving Monique. Wishing you all the very best with your recovery.
Hey Monique, thank you so much for the update. I was very inspired by what you shared with us. I am so thankful that you are improving. Know that you continue to be in my thoughts & prayers. Sending all my love. Jude 💕
Thank you for your companionship in this amazing life experience. You are being lifted and held in the power of your own ability to love unconditionally that is lifting up everyone who knows you. It is transformational for all involved. May you be blessed always with absolutely everything you need and loved beyond measure. May all be well.
Monique, I read your update yesterday and was so touched by it that I felt a need to “sit with it” for some time before responding. Your experiences and feelings resonated with me in so many ways. I needed to process the emotions your updated elicited before I could formulate my thoughts.
I was overjoyed to hear about your 10 very special days in New Zealand. This reminded me of how happy and care-free I felt during our recent 5 week adventure there, where we were embraced and welcomed by friendly people and where I was gifted with a visceral connection to the land.
I was horrified to hear about your trip to the hospital. I imagined your being accompanied and cared for by ambulance attendants, but clearly this was not the case. It was equally disturbing to learn of your long wait for attention once you had arrived and of the insensitive nurse. Your response to her was amazing, particularly given what you were going through at the time. In contrast, it was a joy to hear about your wonderful Dr. Max and the excellent care you received while there.
Most of all I am grateful to you for your generosity in sharing your vulnerability with us and how you were able to use those very techniques that you have been teaching us to not only transform your experience, but also as a teaching opportunity for our benefit as well. I was quite fascinated to learn that your fear of dying and leaving a mess superseded any concerns you may have had about your own death. I share this concern, so much so that I used the month or two prior to our departure for NZ to ensure our wills were updated, that powers of attorney for the care of our health and our financial affairs were in place and in discussing with those close to us how we would like matters such as the distribution of our personal property, burial arrangements, etc. to be dealt with. Finally, we left a detailed package of information with our executor, which included passwords to our on-line accounts, financial investment data, names and contact information for the people to be notified in the event of our deaths, etc. I have no doubt that this work contributed to our arriving in New Zealand with open hearts and peaceful minds, ready to embrace each moment we were gifted to enjoy this beautiful country and each other.
Hi Terri, you should be able to see the podcast episode now.
Wonderful, wonderful to hear your voice. Beautiful message, lesson and thanks for sharing the update. I understand your situation and it truly is a blessing to know and be grateful that each day is a gift. My prayers and healing practice will continue each day for you. Love and hugs 💞💗💞
It was awesome to hear you4 voice. I submitted a few comments as I listened.
One was – Face the facts, not the fears. My dad said that a lot. My brothers and sisters and our families all now carry that on with everyone. Sounds like you are doing well in that area
Thyroid – prayers indeed and…iodine? That came to my brain as I heard it. Wondering if Costa Rica has differing iodine levels. Seems to me thyroid and iodine are connected. I could be misremembering. .just an idea to pass along.
As for the putting affairs straight, Dad also had it ALL for us. It was always in “the briefcase.” He had who to contact, photos for his obit, his funeral music and readings, personal notes about his wishes, etc. I have toyed with the idea of having a way to tell people about this practice he had and today’s podcast might be the impetus for me to just DO it.
Thanks so much for sharing your father’s wisdom with us, Beth. “Face the facts, not the fears” and making life easier for those left behind once we die: very sound advice indeed!
Such an inspiring podcast. Thank you for being so open and showing us that the acceptance of love and support is as powerful as the giving. The bonds of connection become strengthened. Sending you love and visualizing a healthy thyroid for you. ❤️
Fantastic lesson. Thank you for putting that together and sharing it with us Monique
Love love❤️❣️
Thank you for sharing this journey with us. Ever the teacher. It is nice to be reminded every now and again that despite the fact that you have some wonderful Super Powers, you are NOT Super Human. You showed us that it is OK not to be OK. That even when your scared, you can still move forward and handle things in life. I appreciate you Monique and the life lessons you keep giving us. All my LOVE. Will be praying that your thyroid issue is just another consequence of your body’s response to Covid, and that all will be well. 🥰🤗💖
Thanks for sharing this lovely response to Monique, Marian. I particularly loved: You showed us that it is OK not to be OK. Beautiful!
Thank you for the Up Date, sharing your health experiences, and your reflections. You are in my thoughts and prayers. ❤️
I’m so happy that you are doing better and I think of you every day and hope you are feeling better every day! I will continue sending love and praying for you each day! Love, Sharyl Landis
You never had to ask for the support. You just needed to let us know.
So very true, Beth!!!
I am thrilled to hear you are on the mend!!
My dad always reminded us to face the facts and not the fears.
Dear Monique,
I am so sorry that you had that experience. I know you have considerable resilience, however it’s so hard to be so venerable. As you know, I’ve been dealing with a serious infection for over a year. I had some of the same concerns for my care and lived with some of the same fears. Being my own advocate was hard and frightening. I had the same fear that I could die, and more than one nurse said could have died. I set my affairs in order, and it took a long time. It feels good to have that work done. Like you, I was afraid of the mess I would leave behind, and it seemed that getting my affairs in order was a last gift I could give to my loved ones. When I had surgery, I set up contact lists that my husband could easily access. The practice of staying in the moment that I learned from you continues to stand me in good stead as I recover and am temporally disabled. Staying in the moment kept me calm as when I was sent to the emergency room after surgery when I was recovering in a facility. I had this overwhelming sense that I was exactly where I was meant to be and all was as it should be.
I had so many sending me love, prayers, and healing energy that it was palpable. I have no words for that feeling, it was the most beautiful thing, and I truly felt the love as real as a warm hug. I am experiencing a better than expected recovery, maybe even miraculous. My heart has been filled as I allowed myself to receive all the love and care given to me. Learning to receive has been the greatest gift. I will continue to hold the vision of your fully restored health. Sending you so much love.
What a beautiful message for Monique and for all of us who love her dearly, Teresa. I am heartened to learn that you are experiencing a better than expected recovery. I will think about you with this prayer:
May Teresa be safe.
May Teresa be well.
May Teresa be happy.