On Saturday, November 13, 2010 we will donate 50% of the proceeds from services to a fund to finance alternative treatment for our dear friend Agnes who was instrumental in Cinnabar's skincare. Agnes was recently diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment.This is an opportunity to help someone who has always opened her heart and hands those who have needed her. Now it is our turn to help her, but we cannot do it alone. We need your help and the help of many communities, so please, whatever you can spare, please help us to help our friend, Agnes Toshitsune.
Agnes always thinks of those less fortunate than herself. Until she was diagnosed with cancer, Agnes gave free haircuts to the disabled; volunteered at the Rock and always urged those around her to give their recycling, extra goods, and clothing to help the poor-even from her hospital bed!
Agnes' faith and her cultural heritage have kept her strongly motivated all her life. Like you and I, Agnes has had her share of difficult times, but has always been resourceful and healthy enough to take care of herself, her adult disabled daughter, and her son. Agnes' abilities, her spa and salon knowledge have always been in high demand, but those of you who have faced a cancer diagnosis know that Agnes must now depend on others. And so we ask that you help us to help her in pursuing her treatment and recovery.
Agnes in her own words:
My name is Agnes Toshitsune, and I am from Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. I am a member of the Lakota Tribe. As a Native American, I have always believed in the healing abilities of herbs and supplements. When I was a little girl, I would watch my grandmother, Agnes Yellowrobe, use her garden to heal those around her. No one on the reservation had access or could afford traditional western medicine. Even my mother, a nurse, knew the value of non-traditional medicine and the wisdom of using natural substances from the earth, just as her mother had, to heal.Born in the forties, I know how difficult life was for the native peoples. I have worked all my life. As a child I cleaned houses, babysat, and even helped a horticulturalist in his greenhouse. Throughout life, I have worked very hard, without regret.
In 1995, I had to leave the business I shared and had worked so hard to establish, when my husband deserted my family and me. Due to circumstances, I had to walk away from my home, my business, and the life I had worked so hard to create. Now, I became one of the many working poor. Living from paycheck to paycheck, and never knowing from one month to the next whether I would be able to afford my rent or the necessities of basic life.
Like millions of Americans, I could not afford health insurance. Now, I find myself dependent on a system of healthcare that does not include nor offer additional alternative treatments to patients like myself. However, we all know that statistically, alternative treatments, when used in conjunction with "current medical modalities" have better patient outcomes. We have all seen the commercials; read the books; or heard the stories of people who, just like me and you, have managed to beat cancer through the use of many and varied therapies that were once viewed with derision. Now, we are advised to question physicians, just like my mother, the nurse, told me to do, through the stories she would bring home from working in the hospital. And, we know that miracles happen.
If you can find it in your heart to help, you will always be in my prayers. If you would like to speak to me, please email me at: elistat1hrc.sdcoxmail.com.
I thank God for all of the wonderful Tribes here in San Diego; they have helped me tremendously. I thank God for all of the caring and concerned people praying for me. I thank God, for anyone who can assist me.
God Bless You,
Agnes Toshitsune
