For Jackie Jerebic, the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty comes to mind when she reflects on her cancer experience \u2026 something along the lines of suffering a great fall and finding herself in pieces.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think they were able to put Humpty back together, but Wellspring definitely helped put me back together,\u201d she said from her home in Edmonton. \u201cWellspring is this amazing safe environment that teaches you everything you need to know to survive \u2013 how it\u2019s possible to live with cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five years ago, after several years of struggling with the trials and disappointments of infertility, Jackie learned she had endometrial cancer. \u201cI was in shock. I couldn\u2019t even answer my phone,\u201d she said, adding that the Stage 3 diagnosis was so jarring, she left work without packing up her desk or saying good-bye to her co-workers.<\/p>\n
Ironically, just months earlier, Jackie and her husband Brian had driven by Wellspring Edmonton House that was, at the time, under construction. She noted the building with interest. \u201cIt looked like it was going to be spa, and I thought to myself \u2013 if that\u2019s a spa, I want to go to it<\/em>. Little did I know that a couple of months later when it opened, I\u2019d be one of the first to join \u2018the spa\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Treatment for Jackie\u2019s cancer included surgery and chemo. While both were considered successful, she has since endured several more surgeries, and is just now at the stable mark known as remission. With a cautious sense of hope, she is looking ahead for the first time in years.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a weird relationship with the word \u2018hope\u2019. Over the years I came to see it as \u2018nope\u2019 \u2013 given my infertility and then the cancer. But Wellspring turned my \u2018nope\u2019 into \u2018hope\u2019,\u201d she said. \u201cAt Wellspring you learn to turn off your brain and let your heart and intuition show you the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Since 2018, Jackie has taken countless Wellspring programs from expressive arts and mediation, to nutrition, exercise and Brain Fog. One of her first, and still among her favourites programs, is the Harp Circle. \u201cI love this group. Early on, when I thought I might die, I thought it would be great to learn to play the harp so I could play it in heaven,\u201d she said, laughing. \u201cI can laugh now, but believe me, I couldn\u2019t laugh five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n The pandemic did not hinder her spirit to learn and grow. With keen awareness of her compromised immune system, she found it a relief to safely connect with her Wellspring community online and was able to stay focussed on her aim to cultivate a new normal.<\/p>\n In recent months, as she contemplated how to go about re-entering the work world, Jackie enrolled in Wellspring\u2019s Returning to Work program, as well as Resumes and Interviews. Both gave her the confidence and skills to reengage with her employer. With newfound knowledge of her rights, a focus on her inner voice, and a wellness plan that puts her health front and centre, Jackie is easing back into her job.<\/p>\n \u201cCancer takes you out of the human race and puts you in a separate room where you are forced to deal with \u2018cancer stuff.\u2019 Then if you survive, you are thrown back into the real world, and that can be really hard! But Wellspring gives you the tools and the guidance to fit back in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n For Jackie, cancer is never completely in the rear-view mirror, but rather a constant companion that she has learned to make space for. \u201cThe way I see it, I\u2019m the driver and cancer is the passenger. It has taught me a lot and I never want to forget these lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Wellspring, she is glad to be back in person with other members she describes as her friends \u2013 those who show no judgment and truly understand what she has been through.<\/p>\n \u201cWe come from all different backgrounds, but at Wellspring we are one,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s an amazing feeling to be in such a safe and caring space.\u201d<\/p>\n As for her earlier premonition about Wellspring Edmonton House being a \u2018spa\u2019 \u2013 it doesn\u2019t fully measure up, but she does describe it as having some magical healing qualities. \u201cWhen you walk through the doors at Wellspring it\u2019s like there is a huge magnet situated at the front entrance, and when you pass through, it takes away all the bad stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Jackie Jerebic, the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty comes to mind when she reflects on her cancer experience \u2026 something along the lines of suffering a great fall and finding herself in pieces. She says Wellspring helped put her back together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-7799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-member-story"],"yoast_head":"\n