Columbia Memorial | Health Compass | Winter 2019

“To play the violin is to feel alive,” says Kim Angelis, world-renowned violinist and North Coast resident. As a professional violinist, she has performed worldwide. Her music was used in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and in films and ballets. “Playing the violin is what God wanted me to do,” Angelis says. “Many people struggle with finding their purpose in life, and I never had to. I’ve been very blessed that way.” After attending college, she met and married her husband, Josef Gault, a guitarist. For years, the two performed concerts together, traveling around the world. More than 15 years ago, they moved to Astoria. But the last several years have been difficult for Angelis. Her husband began to develop early onset dementia in 2011. The duo continued to perform, but had to stop in 2016 when Josef kept getting lost in their concert programs due to the dementia. He was placed in a memory care community, where he currently resides. Angelis tried to regroup and played solo concerts occasionally. But on Jan. 9, 2018, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her treatment prevented her from playing the violin, and she became depressed. During her 50 years of playing the violin, she had not gone more than two weeks without practicing. After chemotherapy and a mastectomy, she could play again, but she had no concert engagements scheduled. During her radiation treatments at the CMH-OHSU Knight Cancer Collaborative, she felt as though she had nothing to work for, and the radiation techs noticed she was down. Radiation Oncologist Sahar Rosenbaum, MD, encouraged her to play at the Cancer Collaborative. “Immediately, the cloud was lifted off my spirit. That day, I went home and practiced with joy,” Angelis says, lighting up. “It was a turning point for me.” Angelis performed in her first full- length concert on Dec. 2, 2018. She hopes to play many more soon and record a new CD in March 2019. COLUMBIA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL 2111 Exchange St. Astoria, OR 97103 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Walla Walla, WA Permit No. 44 PLANETREE IN ACTION Find us on social media! @cmhcommunity @cmhcommunity linkedin.com/company/ columbia-memorial-hospital @cmhcommunity Defeating cancer: The violin voyager’s story Read the rest of the story online at columbiamemorial.org/violinist . Photo credit: April Rose of Whimsical Eye Photography