For Tomoko

[Japanese translation attached as pdf]

Dearest Friends,

On February 5th, our precious yogini sister Tomoko sustained a very serious head injury whilst traveling in India, from a fall at a train station. Unconscious, friends took her immediately to hospital where she was placed on life support.

A day later, emergency brain surgery was performed. By grace she was in one of India's best hospitals with a wonderful & very senior surgeon. She remained unconscious however, and then semi-conscious, for more than 3 weeks, the likelihood of recovery at that time still very uncertain.

It feels nothing short of miraculous to share now that I have just returned from Tokyo (she was transferred from India to Japan on March 10), where I could visit with Tomoko almost every day, and she has made astonishing progress!!

Just before the transfer from India she started to write, showing that she was comprehending some of what was being asked of her. Soon after she spoke her first words, "Om Namo Narayani" and "Yacchan" (her husband's name) !!

She is now walking (with some assistance), talking (both Japanese & English), writing, drawing, and, while still confused sometimes, is often very lucid in a sweet, slow, honest and very endearing way. How the injury will manifest in future is still hard to predict... everything is very much one day at a time.

But... she is one strong yogini!! That's for sure.

Supported so beautifully by her husband Yasu (who has been with her almost 24/7 since the accident), she now begins what could be a long road to rehabilitation.

Medical costs in India & transfers home to Japan were covered by the very basic insurance that Tomoko had, and hospital costs in Japan by public health.

However, it could be quite some time before she is completely recovered and able to work again, with ongoing medical/rehabilitation costs. Yasu-san has had no time whatsoever to manage his own business, returning to his shop for the first time last Saturday. It's already been nearly 2 months and there could be many more to go with a much-reduced income.

Our wish is that both Tomoko & Yasu can focus all their energies on her recovery, without the need to worry about bills, finances, etc. A little bit of love from a lot of us can go a long way.

With so much love & gratitude,
Lucy, on behalf of all the dear friends who have been there for Tomoko these past months in the most inspiring ways ~ Miranda & Clive, Anouk & Emil, Hanae, Maho, Mikiko, & Hiroshi

[please open pdf below for Japanese translation]