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New Procovery Podcast!

We welcome you to take a moment to listen to the brand new Procovery Podcast, available as of today, for listening and downloading at http://www.procovery.com/podcasts! This Podcast is an interview with Mark Sunde of ReDiscover Mental Health in Kansas City, MO!

Have a listen and please remember to pass the link on to your friends, family and colleagues!

Until next time–

Procovery Institute

Footprints…

Where do they lead?

Let us all get inspired and join together in our global community to support the 3rd Annual Earth Hour on March 27th 2010! For more info visit: http://www.myearthhour.org

First Procovery Podcast of 2010!

Hello everyone!

We uploaded our first Procovery podcast of 2010 to the website yesterday! It’s an interview with Dr. Amanda Murphy of the Amanda Luckett Murphy Hopewell Center in St. Louis, Missouri. We appreciate Dr. Murphy taking the time out of her schedule to share her insight and her plans for Procovery at Hopewell!

We hope you will take a few moments to listen and pass the link along to friends, family and colleagues.
Happy Spring to you all!

-Acasia

Procovery Moving Forward – Spring 2010!

The last several months have been such a very dark time for all of us here at PI. Not having Randy physically present has been hellishly painful, hugely challenging and simply so very, very sad, for us all. In this time, we are living Procovery every single day.
Please know that we remain, as always, hugely committed to all of you, and to Procovery, and despite our very profound sadness, we have been working very hard to continue moving forward during this very dark time and to ensure that we will continue to serve all of you and bring you new materials, new inspiration and new direction.

We would like to sincerely thank all of you who made such a difficult time, just a little bit easier. We appreciate you sharing your many memories of Randy with us–so many of you mentioned his smile, his laugh, how he served as a mentor to you or your organization… and how he inspired, and still does inspire, you. He continues, even in his absence, to do the same for us.
We thank you for taking the time to let us know how much Procovery means to you, as well. Your beautiful letters, cards, paintings and thoughtful gifts have been so much more than appreciated. You provided so much support, gave so much love and sent so many concrete and poetic reminders of why we do what we do.
We are again moving forward at PI and more blogs, materials and updates are in the works and on the way…
In some ways it has seemed like these past months have gone in a flash and in some ways it feels like forever, but here we are in Spring of 2010.
Thank you all for helping us through this time and thank you all for helping us get here. And now, from here we move forward, together.

Kathleen

With Profound Love, Respect and Admiration

With tremendous sadness we must announce the passing of the most amazing human being we have ever known, Randy Stratt on October 7th, 2009. He was an extraordinary husband, father, son, brother, businessman, mentor and friend. He was also co-creator of the Procovery program and co-founder and Managing Director of Procovery Institute.

The hole Randy has left, in our hearts and our lives, is a huge, dark one and it will take time for all of us to heal. Randy had an extraordinary lifelong commitment to contributing to society and an unfailingly beautiful energy, focus and brilliance. I, Kathleen, will be spending the rest of my life seeking to honor his memory and his legacy, which will live on through his children, their spectacular partners, and through the Procovery program. 
A private cremation, with immediate family, was held in October, and a private family service is planned for later this year. There will be a public celebration of Randy’s beautiful life in the Fall of 2010. Randy accomplished an extraordinary amount in his life. He never stopped moving forward, setting his sights on the next place and doing whatever it took to get there. He was a father strongly committed to raising two happy, healthy and independent daughters and he took great pride in realizing this. He was an attorney who knew how to create win-win scenarios and was strongly committed to always doing so. He was the father of Procovery and laid a broad foundation and strategic plan for its wide expansion. And as my husband, he was the love of my universe… I will spend the rest of my days building his legacy and honoring his life. If you would like to help, I welcome you.
We all look forward to honoring Randy, through Procovery and our lives, every single day. He went through living hell, and yet he remained committed to moving forward, both personally, and with the Procovery program. He inspired us, he taught us more than we could have ever imagined. And he loved us with a fierce heart. 
“May you live all the days of your life.” – Jonathan Swift
And he most certainly did.
With profound love, respect and admiration for my sweetheart,
Kathleen Crowley Stratt

k_crowley_stratt@procovery.com

New and Coming Soon

With so much happening these days for all of us, with the profound personal and professional loss we are all feeling with the passing of the wonderful Randy Stratt, it is sometimes difficult to recognize the ways in which we are all moving forward… But we do continue to do this everyday, to Just Start Anywhere® every morning and to live Procovery® throughout every day.
We are always very happy when we get to talk to you about Procovery® music and it is no exception for us to announce that the Procovery® song Something You Said is up on the Music page of the website for your listening pleasure!
You will also notice a new button on the homepage of the website that will help you stay connected with Procovery Institute by following us on Twitter!
Lastly, in response to your generous offers and inquiries, we are in the process of adding a new How You Can Help page to the website. If you are interested in volunteering your time, your expertise, donating funds, artwork or poetry, we appreciate your desire to help and will be glad tell you how!
With new publications going to press soon, trainings resuming and meetings and events being planned, we are very excited about what 2010 has to offer!
As always, we appreciate all of you and we welcome your comments, questions and suggestions.
Our commitment to the Procovery program and to all of you remains strong and continues to grow with each step we take and we invite you to join us on this journey!
Until next time…
Acasia
Procovery Program Manager

Procovery: Through My Eyes / Community by Mickie McDowell

I’ve been trying to find a definition for the word “community” that truly describes what I have seen develop across the state. I found one that states:

“In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.”

I found an anonymous quote that I think explains my feelings of what I see as a community much better. It is:

“Our inner strengths, experiences, and truths cannot be lost, destroyed, or taken away. Every person has an inborn worth and can contribute to the human community. We all can treat one another with dignity and respect, provide opportunities to grow toward our fullest lives and help one another discover and develop our unique gifts. We each deserve this and we all can extend it to others.”

This is what I see every time I observe a Procovery Circle. I see a community of individuals, treating each other with respect and dignity, helping each other discover, develop and grow using the inner strength, experiences and truths that each posses. I don’t just see the 6, 13 or 22 individuals in that Circle. I see the thousands of individuals in Circles all across the state. I see how we have come together for a common purpose, to move forward. I see how we are all more alike than we are different and the same hopes and dreams are alive in Hayti and Kansas City. We may have all come from a different past, be at a different present and hope to go to a different future, but we all need the same thing to get there. We need HOPE! We have found that Hope within ourselves through Procovery® and each other. We have shared, laughed, cried and celebrated together. A community we are indeed and each of us is an important part. I ask you to find your own definition of community and really think about what it means to belong to something.

I leave you with one final quote:

“We are all longing to go home to some place we have never been — a place half-remembered and half-envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free.” –Starhawk

-Mickie McDowell, Procovery Forum Facilitator, Missouri

This blog was written by Mickie McDowell, guest blogger, as part of our Procovery: Through My Eyes blog series.

Personalized Hope

Randy received his first vaccine nearly two weeks ago, and receives his second one this week!
We can’t imagine a better fit for Randy, a cancer treatment that is personalized, individual, innovative and hopeful—a treatment that banks on the wonder and the individuality of the body! 

“I suspect that the body’s immune system is more intelligent than anything we could configure to recognize foreign cells or agents, and more effective than traditional treatments at leaving healthy cells alone.” – Dr. Linda Liau 
“It’s not just personalized medicine – it’s also personalized hope.” – Hank Zavaleta
In addition to this vaccine, Randy began a new additional treatment! We may just post a video or some photos so that you can see where we are now, on this path and walk along with us, if you want to!

Glory ipod

During this time, we have really been reminded, not just daily, but oh, maybe… every second of every day, of the power and beauty of Procovery. 
As always, we appreciate every wonderful wish and prayer and card and thought sent this way. We marvel, often, that we are amazed and in awe of how complex and challenging and painful this path is………………and yet, we have so much going for us, including work that makes our hearts sing, a family that is spectacular, health insurance that is a blessing, and so on.
And yet, it can be hard just to get through the day.  Imagine how challenging this path can be for people who don’t have these particular resources. THAT, we all agree, is one of the primary reasons we do (and live!) Procovery.
Until next time…
-Kathleen

Ups and Downs

I can’t quite remember what time Randy and I pulled up to UCLA on the morning of March 3, but what I do know is that it was very early—and it seemed that no one was around but the two of us. As we pulled up to the hospital, though, we saw four people standing together in the dark, and soon realized it was our four children (our two daughters and their sweethearts, who have become our additional two!) Seeing the four of them there, we felt less alone and maybe less scared.

Now we were a unit of six!

Once out of the car, and after hugs all around, Randy led the way and ran up the stairs to the hospital, reaching the top before any of us. He was ready for this surgery, appreciative of the opportunity, and eager for it to be over, with him home, and moving forward.
This brain surgery would be performed by a brilliant surgeon, Dr. Linda Liau. Dr. Liau is, we believe, EXACTLY the kind of person most people wish would go in to her line of work. In a field of darkness she brings so very much light. She brings light because of her skill, light because of her manner of interacting, light because of her dedication and extraordinary research and yes, light because of her hope. 

If things went according to the plan, Randy would be eligible, weeks down the road, for a cutting-edge clinical trial. A clinical trial of which, Dr. Liau is the principal investigator, and a clinical trial that in many ways, seems to have the name Procovery written all over it.
We understood that Randy’s speech and right side functionality would likely be negatively impacted by the surgery in the weeks just following the surgery, but that then both would likely improve, even beyond his current status. In preparation for this, the night before the surgery, he and I prepared index cards with words we felt would most likely help us target words and communications over the next several days.
 
However, we soon learned that what was to be a four or five day hospitalization with Randy walking out of the hospital became a five week, exhausting and challenging ordeal, with Randy leaving the hospital in a wheelchair.
This hospitalization really, often, seemed to be one step forward and five back. “Backsliding” never feels great, I would guess, but in this instance (as in many) there was an added level of anxiety on all of our behalves, as we were shooting for Randy to be enrolled in this particular clinical trial and timing and functionality were both factors.
One night, after Randy had spent the week moving from surgery to ICU to the regular hospital, to neuro rehab, then, very quickly transferred back to the regular hospital due to an accumulation of fluid, when Randy and I were both feeling the pressure of “backsliding” we received the following words in an email from one of our amazing, four children—
“One of the rules of Procovery is to accept backsliding. Randy’s will is not what is backsliding but his body’s rhythms are just that; swings of energy and natural flows of healing, rest, and recovery. There will be ups and downs, and he can continue to stay positive and more forward no matter what!”

When Harry Met Sally… dvd

Hubba hubba, ding ding DING. It is amazing what the right words, at the right time, can do. And time and time again, our kids had them for us. Time and time again, they said just the right thing, they brought in just the right thing, they did just the right thing. Time and time again.
But now, here we are nearly 10 weeks later, and while Randy is still working round-the-clock on his healing path– he is home, with us, where he belongs!
AND, as much as we were afraid it might not work out for Randy vis a vis the clinical trial, he is now enrolled!
More to follow…

-Kathleen

2nd Procovery Song is Now Up!

Hello!
If you have taken a few minutes to listen to our Procovery Podcasts to date (if not, please follow this link http://www.procovery.com/podcasts/) you probably know that we say every time that we at Procovery Institute learn from the field, we learn from experience and… we learn from you! And as a result the Procovery program is always growing… and this includes our website!
I’m happy to share with you today that we have a new Procovery song up on the Music page! As you know, Just Start Anywhere was added to the website recently and we are pleased to now include the Procovery song, I Am Rising!
I Am Rising is a powerful song of hope… so please visit the music page, sit back, relax and have a listen!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and stay tuned for the next Procovery song to be added!
-Acasia
Procovery Program Manager
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