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Oprah opens up about how a recent health scare changed her perspective on life

Cape Town – Oprah is sharing her gratitude for her health in the November issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.

In her “What I Know for Sure” column the media mogul opened up about how a recent health scare changed her perspective on life and taught her to be more grateful for her health.

It all started on what Oprah describes as “an ordinary Friday morning” when she turned to grab a “pinch of salt” to add to her scrambled eggs, and “noticed a bit of soreness” in her neck.

Taking a look at her neck in the mirror, Oprah says she then noticed some swelling under the left side of her chin.

Just like anyone would, Oprah took to Google to find out what the problem could be, but after receiving negative and scary results, she sought the opinion of a medical professional.

While waiting to see the doctor, Oprah admits she thought of the worst possible scenarios.

“For the next four hours, I thought the worst. Why would a neck suddenly swell? Maybe it wasn’t sudden. Maybe whatever it was had been growing for days, or longer, and I only now noticed,” she wrote.

“When I finally opened my mouth to say ‘ahhh,’ I was prepared for the doctor to say, ‘I’m so sorry, Ms. Winfrey, you have... insert terrible disease’.”

And while the 64-year-old had feared the worst, it turned out to be blocked salivary glands, which could be cured by simply drinking a lot of water and “sucking on some lemons to stimulate” her “salivary ducts”.

READ THE FULL COLUMN HERE.

So, what has Oprah learned from her health scare?

“I was grateful. Not just because things weren’t worse, but for the simple awareness that a tiny salivary gland can get clogged with mucus or crystallised-calcium stones and disrupt your whole system.”

Oprah added that she now thinks about all the wonders of the human body and gives thanks for them.

“Wherever you are in your life’s journey - whatever the status of your career, your relationships, your finances, whether you’re successful or struggling, happy or not - I know for sure that you need look no further than your own body to offer a prayer of thanksgiving.”

LISTEN TO OPRAH’S NARRATION OF HER COLUMN HERE:

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