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most emotionally trying issues haunting
my thoughts during my first 15-day hos-
pitalization.” However, a blood test on
Jan. 1 indicated that her blood count was
in a healthy range to lift. Wasting no time,
she immediately hit the gym, developing
a schedule to fit her very regular chemo
treatments.
“Not only do I exercise while connected
to chemo in the hospital, but I continue
to lift whatever I can when my immune
system is up and running. I urge everyone
to seek some form of physical fitness that
excites them!”
2
MENTAL FITNESS
Writing has always been a private
form of therapy for Saleebyan.
She uses writing to channel her
thoughts and her feelings through lan-
guage, and her love of writing led her to
pursue a degree in English.
“Mental fitness comes with keep-
ing your mind active, and reflecting on
my journey was key for me,” she says.
“Everyone deals with life’s challenges in
different ways. Some cancer patients try
to ignore their diagnosis. I embraced it,
reflected on it, contemplated and stared
directly into its eyes, all through my writ-
ing. Being honest with myself about what
I am undergoing and then deciding what
to do about it has kept me motivated at
every turn.”
Saleebyan urges everyone to seek their
own unique channel of expression to keep
motivated and inspired.
3
GOOD CARE
“When your life is in the hands of
experts, you can focus on living,” Salee-
byan says. She credits her recovery to the
expertly trained medical staff at GAMC.
She says, “They literally saved my life.”
While at GAMC, she received treat-
ment from her primary oncologist,
David Shin, MD, who led her through her
chemotherapy.
“Bliss received an intense combina-
tion chemotherapy that is continuously
administered around the clock for several
days inside the hospital,” explains Dr. Shin.
“She endured six hospitalizations every
three weeks.”
She immediately received the most
aggressive and effective form of chemo-
therapy available.
“Over the course of her treatment I
got to know Bliss very well. We formed a
strong bond instantly. She has such a tena-
cious character, she was an ideal patient,”
says Dr. Shin. “Because of Bliss’ positive
character, she was adored by everyone:
the nurses, staff and anyone that met her.
She was like a star on our oncology floor!”
She says this about her care at GAMC:
“The exceptional care of nurses, doctors
and even non-medical staff at the hospital
has made me not only confident in my
care, but feeling almost at home during
my regular six-day hospital stays.”
Saleebyan’s refusal to let her illness
define her everyday life is what kept her
constantly moving forward.
“Fitness, both mental and physical, is
a state of mind, and despite the severe
attack my body is under, I have been
fighting not just for my life, but for my
strength and my dignity, which is more
than intact!” she says. “I could not have
done so well without all the love, the
lifting, and—of course—some good old
fashioned stubbornness!”
Source: International Powerlifting Federation
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T O L E A R N M O R E A B O U T G A M C , V I S I T
A D V E N T I S T H E A LT H . O R G / G L E N D A L E