We recently connected with Sandra Albornoz and have shared our conversation below.
Sandra, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My name is Sandra Albornoz Schwarzkopf. I am a proud Colombian living in Miami, and a mother of two beautiful children who have been my inspiration.
I found art to be part of my path to fulfillment and healing.
God has given me so many virtues and talents, so many opportunities… what I do know is that illness does not define me and it developed my resilience. For me, going through cancer for more than 9 years is a learning opportunity. I clearly see a before and after, I now live my life with infinite gratitude for who I am, and everything and everyone around me. I try to stay focused on my purpose, and understand that it depends on me how to react to each of the challenges that life offers me. If I am here, it is because I still have a lot to give and receive, and my desire is to live fully each day, with happiness and the conviction that I am not alone, that I have always been and will continue to be guided by God, and accompanied by my angels.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I work on many projects simultaneously, the main one is an emotional growth group called “Círculo de Gotas de Amor” – “Loving Drops Circle “, however I am also a mother, wife, daughter, artist, writer, speaker, and other things.
As a writer I published a beautiful book titled “Gotas de Amor”, available on Amazon in spanish. In the book you will find a prologue written by my father a few days before transcending, an introduction that narrates my process, and a final part where you can find the guide “Integral Being: care of the body, mind and spirit.” There are also 35 short messages that touch on topics such as fear, vulnerability, uncertainty and many others, and that are a source of inspiration to move forward with optimism. The book can be opened to any page, and enjoy the message of the moment. It also includes a series of works of art that offer the possibility of focusing and continuing with our healing process.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three main qualities that have helped me living with a supremely rare cancer are Faith, resilience and discipline. When you face a challenge of this size, where uncertainty becomes your daily companion, and pain is present almost continuously, you really question the priorities in your life. Very early in this process I decreed that I want to be happy, and to achieve this I work every day with immeasurable faith, since God is the one who gives me the strength to continue.
When I talk about discipline, I mean being supremely careful in how I nourish my body, my mind, and my spirit. I have developed a healthy lifestyle, focused on proper emotional management, and I also practice meditation daily to strengthen my faith. This whole process has developed my resilience, since, after each diagnosis and surgery, I could have chosen the route of feeling like a victim, immersed in depression, however, God gave me the strength to see life with optimism, and live each moment with gratitude centered on service and love.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
In 2015 I was diagnosed with a supremely rare Cancer called Pseudomyxoma Peritonei. I have had five surgeries, suffered very intense pain, lost more than 6 organs, and have more than 10 scars. My latest diagnosis is type 4 cancer and two metastases, since from the stomach area it went to the two lungs, and then to the pelvic area. In July I have a high-risk surgery to remove the masses and mucin, and they are going to apply chemotherapy at high temperatures.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandraalbornozartpage;
http://www.instagram.com/sandraalbornozlovingdrops - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandra.albornoz.37
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sandraalbornoz
