Hi Dr. Mike,

I don't know where to begin. I guess I'll start by thanking you, my life started a 180 degree turn on April 30, 1999, the day I left your office, coming to a full circle the week or so that followed that eventful day. I haven't been the same since.

Leaving your office that day I did have hope that our session would help me because you said I wouldn't notice then change right away, that it would take a few days. I clung to that hope. It was all I had to hang on to. I admit I was so skeptical. I questioned whether or not I had actually "come under" hypnosis. I didn't' feel any different. I was still depressed and still felt a sense of hopelessness. Prior to seeing you I had tried everything - counseling and psycotherapy - numerous drugs (lithium, prozac, zoloft and deseryl).

And yes the different meds would help awhile and my hope would be rekindled that perhaps this new Rx was the answer, only to eventually hit bottom again. Suicide seemed the only alternative. I couldn't bear another day of the hopelessness, the debilitating panic attacks, my shattered life.I was at the end of my rope. I had tied the knot and was hanging with all the strenght I had left I me, but the knot was slowly coming loose, fraying to the point I only had strands left.

I was determined to give the hypnosis a chance so I flushed the lithium and put the deseryl up on the highest shelf out of sight, in my medicine cabinet where it remains to this day - a sort of safety net , just in case. I look forward to the day when I am comfortable enough to flush it down the toilet also, along with the ever so slight degree of feeling that I might need that crutch someday.

In the meantime, it's still my safety net, my life preserver. I was drowning but I am swimming more effortlessly, and the water is becoming shallower. I can feel the ocean floor with the tips of my toes and soon I'll sink my feet into the wet sand, stand tall and walk out onto the warm sandy beach. I really believe that. I see the shore - the preverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

Some days are diamonds, some days are stones, but I will always visualize the mountain tops on either side of me when I'm in the valley. I'm free, I'm independent, I'm confident for the first time in my life. I welcome challenges because I anticipate the culmination of victory and OH how sweet it is. My family and friends are in awe. They ponder. In amazement they must pinch themselves as surely they are dreaming - afterall I am a miracle.

I'm soaring like an eagle, not working like a buzzard. It's likened to a metamorphasis-I've actually emerged from my cocoon. I am a beautiful monarch butterfly soaring on a cushion of air. Like the butterfly I must flap my wings to stay airborne. When I flap my wings, I am reminded of where I came from, then I soar and realize I've reached my ultimate goal. I'm running throught the meadow, my hair flowing in the wind. I am smiling.

Dr.Mike, I inhale and fill my lungs to capacity with the beauty of peace, freedom, serenity. The hopelessness, depression, panic attacks and low self esteem are a thing of the past. I walk straight and tall. I no longer bite my tongue therefore I don't allow people to steal my energy.

My wounds are healed, I no longer pull off the scabs, it is not necessary. I've even been able to forgive myself for the mistakes I've made in the past - by realizing a fool keeps making the same mistakes, a wise man learns from his mistakes. I'm no longer foolish - I'm wiser.

Thank God. Thank you Dr. Mike. I'll never forget you.

Sincerely, Lila Lightfoot