Last month, I had the great privilege to meet Lee Stroy, a father of five who is my age and a walking medical miracle. In one week, Lee had three strokes and has now made it his mission to tell his story in an effort to educate others about stroke through his nonprofit Counterstroke. His story is one of the most inspiring I have ever been given the great gift to share with others. Read the piece I wrote about Lee for The Washington Post by clicking here and learn more about Lee on his website for Counterstroke.
Tag: health
Wonder: Don’t stay the same
“Longevity means we have to evolve. We have to be able to change.” ~Wolfgang Puck
In a few weeks, my latest piece for The Washington Post is going to be published. It’s an interview with a young man my age who had three strokes within a week. over our hour-long conversation, I was in awe of his strength and courage.
His final statement to me, and the final line in the piece is something that I have not been able to shake. This young man still deals with legacy issues from his strokes. He’s unable to work, he is often tired, and he has memory issues. After almost two years, his doctors told him that he may never fully recover. He may never be exactly the way he was before the strokes. Rather than feel sorry for himself, he said, “That’s okay. I don’t want to be the way I was before. I want to be better.”
His willingness to change and be changed by his experience has brought him this far. I have no doubt that he is poised to go so much further. If the ability to evolve indeed leads to longevity, then this man has a long life ahead of him.
Wonder: And today, a new career chapter begins
I got up this morning and pinched myself. Today, I’m starting my new job as a Director of Product Development in the healthcare technology space. In many ways, this job is bringing my life full-circle and uniting so many disparate points of life together to build something meaningful with a team as passionate about healthy living as I am. I’ve been immersing myself in the design and business of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality as applied to the physical world.
When I was in high school, I thought about becoming a doctor. In college at Penn, I thought about going into the healthcare field as a psychiatrist or an administrator. After I left Broadway theater, I explored the idea of becoming a physical therapist. When I was at American Express, I looked into technology product development applied to areas such as prosthetics and the artificial heart. My yoga and meditation teaching was largely an outgrowth of my passion for health and helping people feel better. I now write for The Washington Post, and most of my stories are about healthcare, medicine, stories of survival from disease, and the technologies and innovations that make that survival possible.
Now I’m pulling together my experience in and passion for product development, business, health, writing, and improving the human condition into one full-time job, in a city I love, with people who are going to be such incredible role models and mentors to me. My whole life has been preparing me for this, and I am excited to begin.
Wonder: What the Cox commercial of a dancing grandpa teaches us about technology
I love this commercial for its focus on the use of technology to connect people across generations in a spirit of joy and fun. This is the promise I’m intent on fulfilling in my new role as the Director of Envolve Innovation Lab, a healthcare tech innovation center owned by Centene, where I will be working on artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) products. I’m using my love of business, design, and technology to help people live healthier, happier lives. This is the kind of work I was born to do.
Wonder: Finding inspiration in healthcare technology
“Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.” ~Sir William Osler
I spent a good part of the weekend delving into the most recent healthcare technology innovations. A number of publications released their lists of promising new possibilities, and I was astounded by what’s on the horizon.
In a time when there is so much negativity and heartbreak around the world, this reading lifted me up. Nanobots in the blood to fight disease, mind transfer, smart hospitals (akin to smart homes), simulators for surgical training, the simulation of disease outcomes, DNA transfer, the increased appreciation and value of mindfulness, and augmenting human capabilities with sensing prosthetics. The list goes on, and it sent my mind spiraling upward.
It was also a reminder that no matter how bleak the world may seem, the desire for all of us to live healthier, happier lives drives an incredible amount of creativity. The power of creativity and the role of imagination in building a better world is always something we can count on.
Wonder: The only thing you need to know to meditate
Here’s the only way to meditate: you have to sit down and close your eyes for some amount of time on a regular basis.
I’d say daily, but that freaks people out. I’d say 18 minutes a pop, but that also freaks people out. A friend of mine recently asked me if I could help her learn how to meditate. I gave her ideas, techniques, and tips of how to make sitting there with yourself tolerable for some length of time, but ultimately whether or not my friend wants to meditate is really the deciding factor.
I shared my practice—every day, at some point, I sit on my couch, turn on the timer on my phone for 18 minutes, turn off every kind of device that makes a sound, close my eyes, and do nothing. (The 18 minutes is purely an arbitrary number that just works for me and take my 18 minutes whenever I can get it – morning, noon, or night.) Sometimes I’m happy. Other times I’m less happy—meaning angry, sad, disappointed, frustrated, sick, or just in a funk of some kind. No matter what my emotional state, I sit there and just be and breathe. Most of the time, Phineas crawls into my lap and goes to sleep. There’s no magic formula. That’s it. That’s all I do. It’s enough for me and it’s enough for you, too.
You don’t need any fancy clothes, sitting apparatus, or pricey classes and workshops. You don’t need permission. You don’t need someone to tell you how to do it. All it takes is practice and a desire to practice. The rest you’ll learn along the way. Your breath and your heartbeat will teach you everything you need to know.
I can tell you this about my daily meditation practice: I never regret it.
Christa Avampato 