Recovery Mode

 Finding out that you have a cancerous lump is scary.
What is even scarier is the speed with which all the wheels of treatment start.  Scary because when there is speed in treatment means it is very serious.

Two weeks after finding out, surgery. Three weeks later meet with the Radiology Oncologist, one week later the Medical Oncologist.  Two days later radiology mapping is done. Eight days after that starts the radiation which for me will be 25 treatments over 5 weeks.

Three months of giving your life over to the medical establishment completely and absolutely if you choose that route.  Which I have.

At this point I am a day away from mapping where I hear I will have a CT Scan and be marked up with permanent marker. (These colours will join the still blue stains from blue dye injection to locate sentinel lymph nodes. I am over joyed. I am a colouring book.) Then I will get 3 small pinprick tattoos to assist in the actual radiation procedure.

All of this is to reduce the chance of cancer returning because it was all removed in surgery.  I am glad..no not the word... thankful ...that I got my lump checked on. I am thankful that it was a small tumour that I could feel while it was small.  I am thankful there is a location and a system in my community where I can get help keeping the cancer away from me for as long as possible.

I had a day away from all of this on Sunday when I spent a day on the beach. Yes under a canopy with lots of sunscreen and a hat. No sunburn this year. I needed to stop and breath deeply before more dragging through the healing system.

Sunset over Georgian Bay

Happy 65th Birthday to my ever patient husband.

Compassion and Aging

One of the things about running a yarn shop is that I am a part of the community.

Not just a shop owner and knitting adviser.

Also a person who hears all the good and bad things that are in my clients live's. A bartender of sorts I guess. People come to relax and to relate and, sometimes, for rescue.

Rescue of the knitting/crocheting kind and of the personal kind.

Over the past years I have received a handful of items that were started by someone ill or now deceased for completion. I find it really difficult to say no to these requests. Yes, I know, not very business like. But...I yam what I yam!

Yesterday was about the saddest request I have ever received. Sad for me mainly because the couple involved were still a "real couple" even in their mid 80s.

A few months ago the couple was in purchasing yarn for the woman to knit a sweater for her husband. She sat dressed to perfection calmly waiting for him to choose the yarn and the style he wanted. He, in his jaunty hat that she had knit for him many years earlier, hemmed and hawed and touched all the yarn before settling on Manos wool Classica.

Back to yesterday. The gentleman, now donning a jaunty tartan hat, came into the shop carrying a brown paper bag. Alone. Already I am worried.

When asked how he was doing he responded "Not well."....aw geez....

Well, the story is, his wife has been knitting the sweater and has it almost finished but 2 weeks ago she started forgetting. She (who once taught knitting) often can't remember how to knit. She often doesn't remember him. She is, in his words "Losing her mind."

Such sadness. How much I wanted to be able to do for him. What I will do for him is finish his sweater.

And, I will not charge him for it. I just can't.

She had finished the back and both arms and most of one front. You can tell where she started to forget. Instead of decreasing for the arm hole she increased. It must have made her feel so helpless. The poor woman. The poor man.

Today he popped in to bring the rest of the yarn I would need to complete the project.

And Chocolate

And a hug.

note: Photos used were one available on the web, not mine.
Couple is by godw1nz.wordpress.com/ Woman's eye is at ehow.com