sharings from Pauline O'Shea, Patient Advocate, Public speaker, Media spokesperson & Writer on the challenges & healing that life has to offer
As a heart patient who has survived multiple heart attacks as a result of a condition called SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection) combined with a medical misdiagnosis, and then went on to experience a cardiac arrest, open heart surgery and a diagnosis of heart failure, you may think I'd sort of fallen out of love… Continue reading ‘A HEART’, by Pauline O’Shea… a poem written for everyone who has one!
I am blessed to have my mother still with me, but I know many who do not. I know those too who have lost a child, and those who longed for them but never had them, both having to live with absence in their hearts, often invisible to the outside world. I have met people… Continue reading ‘A MOTHER’S DAY FOR ALL’, reflection and poem, by Pauline O’Shea
Wishing all the wonderful women of the world in the home, in business, caring for others, dealing with wars, in the world of sports, art, media, volunteering in their communities, in religious life, dealing with challenges, dealing with loss, dealing with children, dealing with elderly parents, living alone, bereaved, separated, living with a health diagnosis,… Continue reading Happy International Women’s Day 2022 💗 from Pauline O’Shea
Main photo by Michelle Leman from Pexels thank you to Michelle and to her brave and beautiful model. In a recent conversation with a fellow heart failure patient, who has had the condition for five years, she began to cry when she talked about her interactions with a lifelong friend post diagnosis. With her permission, I quote her… Continue reading The INVISIBILITY of our illnesses or struggles can be an extra challenge, but there are ways to overcome…
From political conflicts, to culture wars, celebrity twitter rows, to mask wearing divergent opinion, it seems conflict is the new dominant feature in our daily lives, now that the Covid tide is receding (we hope!). We are back to hearing about lots of ‘outrage’ to this and that, lots of accusations of fake news when… Continue reading CONFLICT & CANCEL CULTURE are now bed fellows, but is this combination a missed opportunity for ALL to heal?
Love is in the air this week, in case you've missed the card and chocolate stands emblazoned with reminders of February 14th being Valentine's Day. We have been commercially encouraged everywhere it seems to deliver our love in the form of chocolates, flowers, cards and well, whatever else we might be willing to stretch to… Continue reading To LOVE regardless… how St. Valentine’s message can help our wellbeing & healing
This week saw the murder of a beautiful young teacher and talented musician, in Ireland, who simply went for a run by a river on a popular walkway, after work, on a bright January afternoon, only to have it end up costing her, her life. It has shocked our nation, both men and women, who… Continue reading ‘For all the women’, by Pauline O’Shea
While for many of us, Christmas will be a very, or relatively, merry affair, for some, it may not. If you have lost a loved one, a job, your good bill of health, your home, or your relationship over the last year, then Christmas might involve coping with that empty chair, or that other gaping… Continue reading Christmas for the BROKEN-HEARTED…. a tale of finding light after loss
It was a week where the poet in me emerged to the public, finally out of my chrysalis, ready to flap my poetic wings through the use of technology to express my inner world... I hope that readers enjoy 'For You'... ©Pauline O’Shea If you would like to see more poems by Pauline, please click… Continue reading ‘For You’ by Pauline O’Shea
She had no idea there was a mountain to climb before she was brought to its base. Even then she didn’t know much about it, but felt the journey begin amidst the firm but gentle clasp of the adult hands on either side of her, holding her two small soft hands, with dimpled knuckles, in… Continue reading “The Mountain Climbers” in APPRECIATION for ALL those who accompany us on the journey
When I regained consciousness in ICU after open heart surgery, bleary eyed and with a raging temperature from an infection that made me feel like I had landed at the gates of hell, the first thing I remember seeing was my Dad’s red coat. He was coming through a door, and talking to me, as… Continue reading The power of LOVE in healing…
We had been married for 20 years and together for 29, when our marriage ended. Teens to forty somethings, we had journeyed together from REM to Coldplay and through lots more debatable ‘good’ music choices in between. A marriage is a complex affair. It is a melting pot of history, dreams, intimacy, finances, sometimes children,… Continue reading “CONSCIOUS UNCOUPLING”… sorry Gwyneth, I’m not as good as you at it… but I’m getting there!
The healing of life 