‘After my mother’s death, everything just unraveled, and I went from job to job to try and figure out what to do.’

Huntington

“My mother was the one who instilled the importance of education in my sister, Diana, and me. After our mother passed away from cancer when I was a senior in high school and Diana was in college, my educational career, ironically, slipped away.

“After my mother’s death, everything just unraveled, and I went from job to job to try and figure out what to do. It was a really rough time. I turned down a baseball scholarship and dropped out of college.

“I did go on to graduate from Stony Brook two years ago, but getting my bachelor’s degree escaped me until then. After I finished high school, my father had to continue running his business, and I had to take care of the house and run errands, do laundry and even help out with the business for a while. At 17, that was not what I had envisioned my life to be.

“Meanwhile, Diana was coping on her own, a few states away at college. Diana and I had to lean on each other even more in those years. In a way, our mother’s passing actually brought Diana and me even closer.

“Our mother had the type of personality that everyone gravitated to. She wasn’t even a teacher, and yet there were dozens of teachers from Walt Whitman High School who attended her funeral. It’s a true testament to how loved she was by the community and the leaders of the school districts.”

It’s incredible how writing was an outlet for the two of them, and that they were doing it side by side, without the other knowing. Their connection was always poetry.

“Our mother was the personification of love and nurturing. When I was in the second grade, for Halloween, she surprised the whole class — including me — by dressing up as Little Red Riding Hood and delivering everyone a personalized handmade gift bag.

“When I played baseball, she wanted to wrap me in bubble wrap to protect me. She wanted me to wear catcher’s gear playing third base. What’s funny is she attended only two games, and during the first one, a foul ball from another field broke her nose. The second time, a few years later, she showed up late and asked where I was. I had taken a ball to the mouth and was getting stitches. She was protective of us but let us grow on our own.

“Throughout our mother’s sickness, Diana wrote poetry about our mother’s cancer. While going through the things our mother left behind, she found that our mother was writing poetry about the cancer as well. Some poetry was in journals, some scribbled on Post-it Notes. We’ve put it together into a book for safekeeping for now. It’s incredible how writing was an outlet for the two of them, and that they were doing it side by side, without the other knowing. Their connection was always poetry.

“We had two very different relationships with our mother, but both were special. I was younger than Diana, so my relationship with our mother was more of me trudging around when she asked me to bring up the laundry, rather than being able to bond over Bob Dylan like Diana was able to. I constantly wish my mom could have known the adult I turned into and not just my adolescent self.”

Some people think it’s crazy to go into business with a sibling, but there’s no one else I’d rather go into business with. We remain a team always.

“Diana and I started our tutoring company a year ago, but we can’t take full credit for the idea. Our mother’s passion for education was an inspiration, but our father also had a huge role. He actually had the idea when we were much younger. He always said that since knowledge is so important, no matter what happens in this world, there will always be a need for tutoring. He planted the seed for our company, and we wouldn’t be here without him.

“Although he has faced many daunting health issues of his own, he always ensured us that each moment was a learning experience. From losing an eye as a teenager, to open heart surgery, to neuropathy, to stage 4 kidney disease, he has inspired us with his perseverance and ability to find the positives throughout any hardships. Never has he complained or made excuses; yet, somehow, he continues to bounce back with more optimism each day. The wisdom we have gained from his strength, entrepreneurial spirit, and selflessness has been integral for the foundation of our company. It’s been amazing to be able to share our students’ successes with him.

“Diana and I both love education, but she is the master at the English SAT and ACT exams. She also taught English in South Korea for a few years. Even though we both value academia, we’re opposites in how we handle it. She would be the one who would come home from school and lock herself in her room to study for six hours. I was the one doing my homework at the back of class or during lunch. I was still able to get stellar grades, but we went about it differently.

“We each play into our strengths to run the tutoring company. Schools can be like a second home, and teachers make such an impact on students’ lives. We take pride in our character, and a lot of that is built from the community that raised us.

“With our mother’s death and father’s health, Diana and I became even more bonded. Some people think it’s crazy to go into business with a sibling, but there’s no one else I’d rather go into business with. We remain a team always.”

Interviewed by Melanie Gulbas

‘To most people, PD stands for Parkinson’s disease, but I say it stands for perseverance and determination.’

Old Westbury

“When I learned at 37 that I had Parkinson’s disease, I was devastated. As a podiatrist and foot surgeon, I knew my medical career was going to end, and I was worried about my health. But my depression didn’t last long. I returned to dancing. I had taken lessons since I was 2 years old and resumed classes again as a form of therapy.

“Dance has been clinically proven to improve some symptoms of Parkinson’s. The beats of music help an individual have more fluid movement, decrease tremors and curtail memory loss in some cases. It helped me, but I wanted to assist others, too. I connected with the Mark Morris Dance Company in Brooklyn, which had started a Parkinson’s program years earlier. I took their training seminars and created Dance Party for Parkinson’s Inc. And off we went!

“The Tilles Center officials at C.W. Post College contacted me about starting a program on Long Island. I, of course, was enthusiastic about the idea, but I wanted people to be able to take classes free of charge. And it happened! We’ve had this dance program for five years at no cost to the participants. We meet once a month with 20-40 individuals. We offer tap to ballet to hip-hop. I am involved; I don’t teach, but I do dance. My partner is a gentleman named Steve who has been coming since we began. Steve and I love to do the ‘stroll.’ Participants have told me that our dance classes make them forget even if it’s just for an hour that they have Parkinson’s. It’s been a godsend to so many people. And the Tilles Center has been most generous: They often give our participants free or discounted tickets to their dance shows.

“It’s been 14 years since I was diagnosed. To most people, P.D. stands for Parkinson’s disease, but I say it stands for perseverance and determination. I am hopeful that research will continue to find better treatments for this disease. In the meantime, I owe my life to my friends, family and the dance teachers who continue to keep me and hundreds of others moving. We will never stop dancing until a cure is found.”

Interviewed by Saul Schachter

‘We have a whole community of cup stackers. There are some people who do this on Long Island, but it’s mainly all over the world.’

Merrick

“Cup stacking is where you stack specially designed cups in certain sequences as fast as you can. I was inspired to start cup stacking by just seeing videos on social media. It just seemed very different from other hobbies. It seemed unique.

“I started just getting random plastic cups out of the closet, and just started stacking them randomly without even knowing what I was doing at the time.

“A couple years later, when I started realizing I was going pretty fast, it just kind of clicked where I could do this competitively — and right now, I am in the top 500 in the world.

“I would say this is absolutely an art form. We have a whole community of cup stackers. There are some people who do this on Long Island, but it’s mainly all over the world.

“I am also on Team USA for cup stacking. When I became a member, it felt like a huge, exciting thing for me. I felt really honored because just a select handful are a part of this team. It felt really good.

“I think going to California for a stacking tournament was really the biggest moment of my life currently. Oceanside, California, is where cup stacking was invented, back in the ’80s. And basically, I went to the place where it all began.

“My ultimate goal for cup stacking is to go to the world championships in Korea this year. I have been fundraising and hope to make enough money by October.

“Cup stacking isn’t always fun, and no one can be perfect at it. You will have mess-ups, and sometimes it is not just a good day for stacking, and you don’t want to overdo it.

“You don’t want to get frustrated doing one sequence repeatedly and then getting really mad about it. I mean, sometimes when you get a record speed, it’s absolutely that feeling of relief. But sometimes it’s just not one of those days. And that’s OK.”

‘I like to serve the community because I live here. I see these people every day, whether here at the shop, restaurants or while in the grocery store.’

Hicksville

“We came to this country in 1994 with nothing in our pockets. My first job barely made the end goals. My brother-in-law was in the gas station business. He said, ‘Hey, why don’t you come and join me?’ I started as an outside full-service gas attendant and worked my way up to a night cashier and then a day cashier. My boss saw potential in me and gave me the job of assistant manager at the shop. This was back in 1998, and ever since, I have been running the shop. In June 2021, we took over the whole gas station: the service, the gas as well as the convenience store. My new name, AJ Petroleum, is the first initial of my wife and cousin’s name.

“I like to serve the community because I live here. I see these people every day, whether here at the shop, restaurants or while in the grocery store. It is not just a salesmanship here. I have a relationship with the customers — not just because they have a car, but just because we live in the same area. When I am out with my family on the weekend or day off, I see them. We meet. We talk. It’s not just a relationship that, ‘Hey, you’re my mechanic and that’s it.’ Outside the shop we also have a relationship with the customers.

“I try my best to help them in any which way I can. Sometimes they don’t have enough money to pay the whole bill. So I give them the opportunities to pay in payments so at least they can get on the road safely with their cars. Their family members, kids and parents come over here. Our goal is to give them service in the best way possible.

“I have seen it grow a lot. Once they deal with me, they feel pretty comfortable and confident that they can rely on me. The hope for the business is to grow and have a steady clientele. We do that by giving the best service and honest advice. We make sure that we fix only what needs to be fixed. We are not trying to sell to you every time you come here. I tell it like it is and what needs to be done. Then, I give the choice to the customer. And by doing that, I gain their trust that I’m giving them the right opinion. People do value that. I take every single car that I bring into the shop personally. I treat it like it’s my daughter, mother or wife driving the car.”

‘I think guiding the youth is very important in whatever way. I have always enjoyed when I had coaching jobs. Making impressions on kids is important.’

North Baldwin

“I’ve really been playing sports all my life. I started taking sports very seriously probably in high school, when it started to get competitive. I was on travel teams, as well as school teams for track and field and lacrosse. I decided to stick with lacrosse.

“In my senior year of high school, I got an athletic scholarship to the University of Hartford. I played Division I lacrosse there for four years. I’ve also just been blessed with opportunities from it, especially being that not a lot of Black people are prominent in the college game at the Division I level. I got a lot of opportunities there to coach and speak at events.

“After declaring my communications major and getting into classes, I started to see that I really enjoy it and found a good fit for me. It was something I was decent at without much effort. Then I learned how to hone that skill. I picked it based on strength and a lot of the transferable skills. I started to see that there were way more opportunities in it than I had originally pictured.

I remember my first coach, my first dance teacher — you don’t forget those people. To know that you have that impact on young people has been cool.

“Now, as a Girl Scouts program associate and member of the IDEA Lab, I didn’t really know how much I would get to use my athletic background. But they saw it as an opportunity to open a new door. It’s the first year of this sports division that I’m heading up with one of my partners. So far, we’ve had camps, clinics and an event to celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day — just really trying to expose the girls to more opportunities.

“At almost every event, if I am on the staff sheet, I am running it. I have a microphone in my hand or delegating tasks. So, I’d say all those communication skills come in handy. Girl Scouts has always been about community service and just being a strong member of society. But athletics can kind of do that for you and bring you places.

“Now working with the kids has made me realize it’s something that I like. I think guiding the youth is very important in whatever way. I have always enjoyed when I had coaching jobs. Making impressions on kids is important. I remember my first coach, my first dance teacher — you don’t forget those people. To know that you have that impact on young people has been cool.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell

‘Death doulas help the soul leave the body in the most peaceful and comfortable way possible.’

Deer Park

“I worked in a pharmacy for all my life, most recently as a manager, but once I was diagnosed with three cancers in the same year during 2019, I started to wonder if there was something out there that would be more fulfilling. I had raised four kids – my youngest was 12 – and I had more time on my hands. I wanted to make a difference.

“I just stumbled upon the answer while reading a book. The main character was a death doula. I had never heard of one before that. I knew what a doula was, so I kind of put two and two together. I figured out that a death doula is a holistic practitioner who helps the patient and their family and their caregivers with any physical, social, emotional, psychological and spiritual issues during the dying process. Just like a doula helps a mother bring a child into the world in the best way possible, death doulas help the soul leave the body in the most peaceful and comfortable way possible.

“I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a pretty honorable position.’ I thought that it was really cool, but I put it out of my mind. And then, about six months later, same thing. I’m reading a book and the main character meets a death doula. And I said, ‘Wow, there it is again. That’s really strange.’

“I started wondering how you become one. I did research and found that there were schools and institutions that I could learn how to be a death doula, such as the Doulagivers Institute. I reached out, and within two weeks I was enrolled in the session. I took the class, and then afterwards, I had to fill 15 hours of pro bono work to get certified. And now here I am.

“As death doulas, we help the caregivers with coming to reality and coming to grips with their loved one dying. We help the patient carry out their wishes, because a lot of times what they want is not specifically what gets done. Their family doesn’t want to let them go or for numerous reasons. We are there to just make the whole process easier for everybody in the most comfortable and peaceful way possible.”

We are trained to know how the body begins to shut down and how to help the family and the patient be prepared for the last stages with comfort and peace.

“We’re trained in the 10 most common disease processes. So, although I’m a holistic practitioner, we’re trained in the symptoms of tight symptom management for pain and shortness of breath and what medications will help. We’re trained in the medication that’s usually in the hospice care kit. It helps the family be able to say and do the things they want to before their loved one dies and helps to alleviate any fear or anxiety when certain symptoms arise. We are trained to know how the body begins to shut down and how to help the family and the patient be prepared for the last stages with comfort and peace.

“We don’t give the medication, we’re not hands on, but we’re there to offer support and help. I also help the family set up the room for the patient so it’s most comfortable for them. And it’s good to have somebody in there to just remember all these things that they can’t keep on their mind, and to be there for them spiritually and emotionally. We can help with the patient writing their own eulogy or writing something for the family for after they go. We also help with forgiveness if they’re holding on to animosity toward anybody.

“What I really like about being a death doula is that I feel that in other cultures, death is still sacred. There’s sanctity in death. America, in our culture, it’s taboo to talk about it. Nobody ever wants to talk about it, like it’s a bad thing. And I don’t really think that that’s helping anybody because it’s something that every single person will 100 percent experience, and not talking about it can bring more problems than not.

“I get some of my focus for the job from the time right after I got cancer. I was diagnosed with breast cancer first. Then I had a routine colonoscopy before my chemo started, and they found high-grade dysplasia in my colon. And then soon after, I found out that I had skin cancer. It was a really tough time. I had to come to grips with my own mortality. I had to really use all of my tools to remain calm and remain positive.”

Interviewed by KJ Bannan

‘I was playing with hair back in high school and stuff, but I never thought about doing it as a business until I was 31.’

Patchogue

“I was born and raised in Miller Place. It was not easy growing up there. Everybody always made fun of me just for being different. I always was a trendsetter, so in my head I was like, be careful. That’s dangerous. You can’t be too weird, you know?

“I was playing with hair back in high school and stuff, but I never thought about doing it as a business until I was 31. I was working at Sally’s Beauty, and I really loved what I did.

“There was a salon next door, and they’d always come in and ask me for help for like, formulating things. And I’m like, what am I doing? I was making $9 an hour on the books and helping people with color. I was like, why don’t I do this for a living? I went back to school at 31, and everyone else was 18, but I did it.

“I moved back to Long Island and worked in a ton of salons, but I found it hard to fit in with the style of work and fantasy colors that I do.

“After the last salon I worked at, I felt like I was fired for being myself. I knew I wanted to have my own space. I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to either rent a chair or a suite,’ and I was really scared. I picked the smallest room I could at Salons by JC.

“And now we’re going on the second year, and it’s really like a little village of artists. I moved to a bigger room and have continued to grow. I had to learn how to market. I had to learn how to advertise. I had to learn the tricks of the trade, you know? Everyone here is passionate about their work.

“This experience has felt so different for me because I could finally be who I needed to be. I can do what I need and use what I need and feel comfortable and not have always feel like this pressure of having to make sales. I could finally be 100 percent me.”

My advice for everyone is: Ignore people and be yourself. Turn off the social media and just keep going. Don’t give up because there is a future.

“I love everybody that comes in here. I’m very grateful for every single person because they chose me out of the millions of hairstylists on the Island. I totally appreciate that. I take such pride in my work, and I stand behind it. I love what I do, and I can’t wait to wake up every morning and come here.

“My clients range from all different ages. They’re usually looking for something different and alternative, not mainstream. They’re looking for somebody that cares. They’re looking for somebody that understands them. I was bullied all throughout school just for being me, for being different, for being too small, for being too weird, you know? I understand that it can be hard and scary to be yourself.

“I feel really honored that I’m able to give them their dream hair and hopefully help them feel confident. Now that I’m on my own, I can finally do these things that I need to do, use the brands I need to use. I got a job with the color brand that I use. I applied, and they got back to me right away, so now I’m an educator for them. When I got that job, I felt like, is this really my life?

“The end goal is to open an alternative hair salon on Long Island. I want it to be specialized in fantasy colors and all that kind of stuff. I have a friend who does tattoos. I would love to make it a hair and tattoo salon.

“My advice for everyone is: Ignore people and be yourself. Turn off the social media and just keep going. Don’t give up, because there is a future. You have a future. This could be it. There were times in my life that I wanted to die, and it sucked. But here we are now. I made it. I, and I even made a child. Like, I got this this far life. It’s really crazy!”

Interviewed by Maggie Melito

‘I got a phone call asking, “Do you do funeral work? We want to warn you, it’s for a baby.”’

Patchogue

“The original intent of my company was just bridal flower preservation. In 2016, I got a phone call and said, ‘Do you do funeral work? We want to warn you it’s for a baby.’ In came Kyleigh Hope’s flowers. She opened my eyes to the loss world. I preserved the funeral flowers. It was surreal that I was touching the flowers from the coffin of a baby. We originally told the family about pricing, and when we finished, we felt like it wasn’t right to charge.

“Preserving Kyleigh’s funeral flowers started the Angel Baby program. It felt so right. Families that suffered loss just had to make so many terrible decisions and had to pay terrible costs. Each year we probably get about 100 new children.

“Because I’m a non-loss mom, loss families learn to circle up with other loss families. I call myself an imposter. People who haven’t experienced a loss like that often can say cruel things without the intention of being cruel. Things like, ‘they’re in a better place,’ or ‘it happened for a reason,’ or ‘you can have another baby.’ These things are meant to make another person feel better, but they often feel worse. Some tend to not bring up the child anymore because bringing up the child will bring tears and pain. They’re kindly trying to avoid doing that but it’s more hurtful.

“We are creating an Angel Baby Garden in Patchogue. The green house will be built this year and will be a sanctuary, very memorial-esq. It will be a tall glass place to let the light in. There will be two grieving angels when you walk in. In the back there will be a fireplace with candles and a bookshelf. The bookshelf will have all the books of all the children and stories that the parents are writing of each of their child. Parents have no rules or restrictions and can write about their child’s past, present, or future. You’ll be able to go in the garden and read about these children. We have about four stories so far. It’s a tough book to write for the parents so we tell them, ‘When you’re ready you can put the book in.’ We have almost 400 angels. I can’t ever fully tell all their stories to everyone. This will be a way to keep their stories going so other families can read. You never know which book you are going to pull.

To realize that while I’m complaining about the dishes in the sink, 15 minutes away from me a mom is cradling her child for the last time. It’s a really awakening moment for me.

“Most of these angels are from Long Island. This made me a softer person. To realize that while I’m complaining about the dishes in the sink, 15 minutes away from me a mom is cradling her child for the last time. It’s a really awakening moment for me. I tell everyone I walk the world a lot softer.

“Our annual vigil started as a banquet. As the families left our first banquet, we had a police escort that took us on a parade through Main Street in Patchogue. We lit Main Street alone with 3,500 candles. I couldn’t believe we pulled it off. Then COVID came and we couldn’t have a banquet. I started to think about how I can still do this with social distancing and make sure everyone felt safe. I always saved a picture of this field and said, ‘Maybe we’ll do a banquet in this field one day.’

“We spaced out the rows seven feet apart. The first vigil we had 8,000 candles in the field at Shorefront Park in Patchogue. Each year I egg myself on to do more. We went on to 16,000. Somebody joked and said, ‘What are you going to do next year, 30,000?’ We did 35,000 candles this year. The candles represent the lives we celebrate.

“We use battery-operated tea lights and save them each year. They go into thousands of recycled jars, and we cricut the names in waterproof vinyl on all the jars. Every angel has at least 10 jars with their names on it. We have Kindergarten classes that write names, honor society, lots of people who are willing to help.

“The vigil pretty much covers the whole shoreline of Shorefront Park. We doubled in size from last year to this year. We had two drones shooting pictures this year. I wanted the view from heaven. I wanted the families to see what their kids see. It’s unreal to see the whole field aglow.

“There’s no speeches or ceremony at the vigil. Everyone can come and go. The world pauses and you can come and go as needed. It’s important for someone in grief, because for them it’s about pausing and being for a moment and acknowledging grief.

“A lot of people tell me they can’t go to the vigil because it’s too sad. But when you stare at grief in the face it’s beautiful. To do that with people who have to stare at it alone and ask people to come with them and look at it, that’s beautiful to see.

Interviewed by Tracey Cheek

‘We work the land and take accountability for it, and seeing the results of all that hard work come to fruition is a wonderful feeling.’

Halesite

“I got interested in farming several years ago when I was in Vermont on the property of a couple who grew their own food and kept animals like sheep, cows and chickens. I got really into gardening during my time there.

“When I came back to Long Island, I got a job at Youngs Farm in Old Brookville. I now work at the Elija Farm in Huntington, which is associated with the Elija School in Levittown.

“Our mission includes educating neurodiverse people, such as those with autism, about farming, and we have classes for both adults and children. I love watching people learn and seeing their delighted reactions when they complete a task that they didn’t think they could, like operating a walk-behind tractor.

“At Elija Farm, we grow our own vegetables and, although we are not certified organic, we follow OMRI [Organic Materials Review Institute] principles and standards. We want to foster a healthy ecosystem to produce healthier plants and richer soil in which the most nutritious vegetables can grow, and those are also the kinds of foods that are the healthiest for people to eat.

I really love watching the landscape change over the course of the seasons and years.

“We just secured a beautiful greenhouse through a generous donation, and we want to start branching out into growing plants, flowers and vegetables that can be sold to visitors. We also want to open up more farming, baking and art classes to the general public.

“We want to raise awareness about the existence of the farm and bring more people here on a daily basis and encourage people to buy local produce.

“It’s wonderful to be able to shake the hand of the person who grew the food that you eat. Right now, the Elija Farm is home to five chickens, and I am currently raising six chicks to add to the flock. Our chickens have a beautiful henhouse that even includes a swing; eventually, we would like to have ducks and goats, too.

“I really love watching the landscape change over the course of the seasons and years. We work the land and take accountability for it, and seeing the results of all that hard work come to fruition is a wonderful feeling.”

Interviewed by Meagan Meehan

‘I teach my students, we do not see death, we only see things that can be prevented and give messages delivered with grace.’

Huntington

“My mom was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in 1994. I went to a psychic, and as I walked in the door, he brought up my mother. He said, ‘You’re worried about a woman above you?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He asked for her picture, looked at it, and told me that she had it in her breasts, ribcage, skull and pelvis — which was absolutely correct.

“Then he said, ‘I know a healer that works with cancer and has some success. Would your mother be interested?’ I said, ‘She’s got nothing to lose.’ I took her the next day and she went into remission for 15 years. She died at age 84 and had a very comfortable life. She went to her oncologist every six weeks, and he loved to see her because she was always healthy. The cancer almost froze in place.

“So that sent me on my journey. As years went by, my mother said, ‘I got this so that you could do that.’ It all kind of fell right into place. I went to a paranormal class, and three weeks in, I got burning hot hands. I had no idea why my hands were hot.

“I said to my husband, ‘My hands are like hot pokers. I can’t cool them down. I thought menopause was hot flashes, not hot hands.’ As soon as I touched somebody the following week, their pain went away.

“I was astounded! I talked to God and said, ‘Look, I surrender. I am here to do whatever it is I’m supposed to do.’ When I started to heal people, one after the next, I decided if I teach a class, I can teach people not to get sick. I could teach them how to love and honor themselves. Forgive others.

“I also found out that when I meditated people, they would go into deep meditation and when they came out of it, their psychic gifts were right there. So, then I said, ‘OK, I guess I have another job. I’m supposed to do this and teach them how.’

“Fortunately, I’ve been very successful at it. For Theresa Caputo, the Long Island Medium, my job was to ascend her and take her to the next level. But I teach them integrity. I teach my students, we do not see death, we only see things that can be prevented and give messages delivered with grace.

“I’ve taught thousands of people over 28 years. It’s been a journey to say the least — and a journey that is far from over. Even at 73, I’ve got a long way to go!”

I see miracles every day. I call this the miracle business.

“I don’t find it to be different healing people online or in person. There was no internet when I started years ago, so I spoke on the phone. If I couldn’t speak to somebody from another country because of time constraints, I would write their name on a piece of paper, and I would literally close my eyes and focus my hands over the paper. And then I said, ‘Well, I don’t really need the paper because the energy travels by thought.’ So, I stopped using the paper. And then as the pandemic came, I was working with people on Skype, and they would heal.

“I had a cousin that went to Japan for work for three weeks. It was winter, and he was boarding the plane in Boston and slipped on the ice, fracturing several ribs. And he couldn’t turn around. He had to go. He didn’t really believe in what I did. But we had a family reunion that summer and there was some talk around the campground. He wrote to me and said, ‘Patricia, I fell, and I can’t breathe. I went to a walk-in clinic here, but there was a language barrier. I have to sit at meetings for three weeks and I can’t even get off the bed.’ So, I asked him the time difference, and I think I had to work at 8 o’clock in the morning for him in order to match his time. And I just told him to lay down. I did the healing, and that was the end of it. He sent me a big edible arrangement. But this is the part that I try to teach my students and the people that I heal; I don’t do it. It comes through me. The energy runs through me before it goes to you. It’s coming through my head and feet and out my hands because I call from two directions — Mother Earth and God.

“All I am is a catalyst. I couldn’t possibly do this. There’s no way. I couldn’t touch people the way that I touch them. I’ve seen babies walk that couldn’t stand or walk that had genetic diseases.

“He couldn’t even speak because we were both a little bit astounded. I’m always shocked. So I see miracles every day. I call this the miracle business. Each one of us has intuition. There’s no one on this planet that does not have a gift. They just don’t know how to open it.”

Interviewed by Jay Max