Michael Bischoff
LInk to CaringBridge.org
A Healing Journey: Michael Bischoff’s Story
Chapter 2 : Healing from Man & Nature
Section 2.1 : Nature’s Healing
Michael Bischoff of Minneapolis hopes for a cure from brain cancer, and for a long life. But with little ability to control his prognosis, Michael’s main focus is on finding wholeness in each moment.
Simply put: He has chosen to heal.
He said, “My understanding of the main work of healing is receiving love, and opening up to that. Medical treatments complement that, and can support that. But the essence of healing is really opening up to love in the world.”
Husband to Jenny Larson, and Dad to Isiah and Grace, no one writes more powerfully about what healing looks like than Michael. In his own words, from his CaringBridge Journal:
“Shortly after I was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most aggressive kind of brain cancer, I had the audacity to write a list of the ways I believed I would be healed.
“And today, after 23 months of living with this cancer, from which I should already be gone, I have the audacity to write a list of the ways that I believe I have been healed, and my understanding of the next steps of healing in each of those areas.
“In my current medical situation, the prognosis and average survival time are still poor. But I don’t want that to stop me from celebrating the healing that has already happened.
Section 2.2 : “Here is What Has Healed Me”
- Nature: When my health stabilized after active medical treatment, I committed to sitting next to the Mississippi River each day, and doing the Japanese practice of ‘nature bathing,’ as a part of my treatment. Herons have worked closely with the river as healers for me, starting in Florida and continuing in my regular visits to a heron rookery in Minneapolis. I’ve recently increased my commitment to the river, promising to give back to the river, in gratitude for its contributions to me.
- Creativity: I have fallen in love with storytelling, both telling my own stories and holding space for others as they tell their stories of healing.
- Community: More than ever, I feel alive because of and through my relationships with all of you. I’m alive to give everything I can to my kids, and to receive and pass on love. My strong desire now is that everyone facing a health crisis has as much community support as I have had.
- Skillful Medical Care: Masterful surgery, loving, proactive primary care, creative new treatments, and countless wonderful nurses and other caregivers have carried me through this time, providing a foundation for nature, art, and community to do their thing.
“Even if I die tomorrow, I still want to celebrate miraculous healing today. I don’t want to measure the miracle by how long I live, but by how much nature, art, and community bring us closer to living life abundantly and freely.
“I’m not done with healing. I’m just getting started, and I don’t think healing will end with death.”
University of Minnesota Health Cancer Care specialists as well as experts with the University’s Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing played a big role in Michael Bischoff’s care and healing journey.
Jonathan Adler, PhD, left, Dr. Annie Brewster, Dr. John Trusheim and Michael Bischoff
Section 2.3 : Doctor / Patient Heart-to-Heart
CaringBridge author Michael Bischoff of Minneapolis, a husband and dad of two living with glioblastoma multiforme, and his neuro-oncologist, Dr. John Trusheim, had a heart-to-heart conversation—before an audience of thousands, listening in-person and via Facebook Live—about what it’s like to have, and to treat, a terrible brain cancer.
The conversation, which took the form of a healing story session, was facilitated by Dr. Annie Brewster and Jonathan Adler, PhD, of the Boston-based Health Story Collaborative.
The depth of the what doctor and patient shared was so powerful, and so beautiful. We invite you to watch this video, whether you are a patient, caregiver, family, friend or medical professional.
Here are just a few snippets that should not be missed:
- Hear Michael talk about the healing power of storytelling, and how it gives hope, and strength. “Even if I die tomorrow,” he said, “I still want to celebrate miraculous healing today.” (Listen from the 8-minute mark.)
- Listen to Dr. Trusheim, assistant clinical professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, medical director of neuro-oncology at the Virginia Piper Cancer Institute and medical director of the Givens Brain Tumor Center at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, reflect on how physicians might be perceived as “aloof” in a clinical setting. He said, “I have always felt that the doctor has to be compassionate, but objective.” (Watch from the 43-minute mark.) And how he describes his role in Michael’s health journey, “The job of the doctor is to be able to step back and say, ‘What is best for this patient?’” (Watch from the 1:05 mark.)
- Dr. Brewster, a practicing physician who is also a patient living with multiple sclerosis, talks about how doctors navigate the boundary, and sometimes blurred lines, between compassion and objectivity. (Watch from the 1:06 mark.)
- Dr. Adler, whose primary research focus has been on the relationship between storytelling and mental health, talks about observing students at Harvard Medical School learn about partnerships between doctors and patients. (Watch from the 1:08 mark.)
Michael said that starting his CaringBridge site in 2015, on the day of his brain tumor diagnosis, was the start of finding ways to tell his story of illness and healing in ways that connect him to others and support his well-being. He said, “I’m deeply grateful for how CaringBridge has made that possible for me, and so many others.”