Social Workers in the News: Cancer Survivor Opens ‘Healing Garden’

The Chicage Tribune recently featured a social worker and cancer survivor in St. Charles who  offers oasis to those who need moments of peace, quiet.

By Alexa Aguilar |Special to the Tribune | July 29, 2009

When Deborah Marqui of St. Charles planted the first flowers in her garden more than 30 years ago, she envisioned it as a place her family would enjoy in the years to come.

But instead it flowered into a 2-acre “healing garden” that helped her through two bouts of cancer and now offers a peaceful escape to anyone looking for a quiet place.

The shaded woods and flowering beds hidden just off a busy St. Charles street offered her so much peace that after she lost a friend to cancer, she decided to open the gardens monthly to the public. She’s seen the research that links time spent in nature and quiet with health benefits. But she also has experienced firsthand its restorative effects….”I needed to heal my body, mind and spirit,” said Marqui, a licensed clinical social worker. “Cancer has a way of waking you up. … I needed to chill and ground myself.”…full article