David G.'s Story
Dear friends,
This week's post will be somewhat personal but I have often been told it is fascinating, so felt to share it. I think it's going to be a while before the movie comes out. :-)
I had arrived at Swarthmore College outside of Philadelphia as a freshman, enthusiastic to see what adventures awaited me there (turned out it was my future wife, but that’s another story :-) ). I woke up one morning with a sick stomach and threw up. Then again a few days later. Then every day. Soon I was sleeping later and later and missing classes, so went to the hospital. They did a ton of tests and found nothing, so they sent me home to my folks in New Jersey. This was many years ago, so there were no CAT scans and PET scans. (Despite what you may be thinking, electricity usage was common, however—I am not that old!)
At home I got worse and worse, I slept almost all day, and was down to 120 pounds (I am 5'11"). My brother-in-law was a hotshot well-connected doctor in Florida, so my mom called him and said "I can't stand this. What should I do?" He said bring him here, so we flew to Florida.
He met us at the airport, looked in my eyes, and immediately knew I had a brain tumor (that's why doctors look in your eyes with that little light—they can see pressure on the brain if there is any). I was rushed to the hospital and after a successful surgery the surgeon said I had about 24 hours left to live when I got to the hospital. Oh my! Had my Mom not called, I'd have died in bed the next day. She then asked the surgeon what the chances of my living through the surgery were and he said about 25%. She then asked what the chance of my coming out without serious impairment was, and he said "zero." He was a brilliant brain surgeon and undoubtedly his skill saved my life.
Years later I found myself living at Ananda Village. I was there about two years and had already become a disciple of Yogananda when it hit me. My surgeon's name was Dr. Gosch. I suddenly realized that Yogananda's family name was also Ghosh—different spelling but identical pronunciation. It was profound for me to realize that even back then, before I had discovered my connection to him, a Ghosh was watching over me. We are never alone, even if we do not recognize it at the time... or ever.
Blessings,
David G., manager
For the staff at East West