Sunday, June 23, 2013

Doing some quilting

OThis is not the final layout; it's only laid out on a bed top so we can visualise the entire quilt and the individual blocks. As you can see, the quilt we're making is really eclectic and bright. I like my quilts like that, but this one is for auction so I wonder if many others will like it.

You'll recognize that some of the blocks were made for a quilt I was making last year - my red and white quilt. They have been requisitioned to make this quilt which we will auction off to raise money for my dd who hasn't been able to work because of ovarian cancer. Can't tell you how much I hate the C word!

Anyway, my eldest dd is doing most of the work with some block help from friends and family. You may recognize the red and white blocks from a quilt I was making last year; I donated them to Laura's quilt. I'll post pictures when it is complete and ready for sale.


Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Life...Life...and more Life

This is a new post using the Blogger app on my iPad. Want to see if it makes it easier to write and post. So let's catch up....

My youngest dd has ovarian cancer which has taken my life in a new direction. Laura has always been a huge support to myself and her older sister so the changes have been monumental to our lives, and poor Laura is having a difficult time coping with the changes which is only natural. First, there was the shock of hearing the diagnosis after thinking that having a hysterectomy was the worst thing that was going to happen to her. Then there was the stunning news that she had stage IV which is the worst. 




For the first 6 weeks after the hysterectomy, I was completely certain that she was strong enough to beat that cancer down, but after 15 weeks of chemotherapy with the resulting damage to her body, I'm starting to question why the doctors are putting her through that...poisoning her until she has no strength left to do much of anything. Her feet and fingers have nerve damage, her mouth has sores, her memory has been impacted and she's unable to sleep at all many nights. Can you imagine what her thoughts are in the middle of the night given her diagnosis?! But Laura believes in her doctors who said they could probably guarantee her a good 26 months if she goes through all of this so I have to be all right with it too. Supportive...that's me! 

What I would really like to do is rail...rail against the lack of any kind of cure for ovarian cancer. The silent killer! Listen, they say, it whispers. Well at the beginning of the whispering should be a test...PAP smears don't work...why are women diagnosed so late that they can only poison themselves to knock those finally yelling nasty cells out? It's what doctors rely on, surgery (horrible if you're at child-bearing age) and then chemotherapy so strong that it cripples you...and you die anyway! 

Do you know the color for ovarian cancer...probably not, but I'll bet you know the color for breast cancer! Why is that? Breast cancer is well advertised and all women know what to look for; it gets lots of money thrown it's way. A 20 year old on facebook has her friends and family wear teal on Tuesdays...her way for her loved ones to show support for her. So, wear teal on Tuesdays, I do. I explain it to as many people as I can because no woman should have to go through what these women are going through. They're alone with something incurable inside them...not fair at all! There has to be a cure...but where's the money going to come from?

So yes, I hope for a cure. As long as Laura is alive I will. 

That's what's been happening in my life but I'm still quilting when I can. Laura's sister and I are making a quilt to auction off in the next month or so; I'll write a bit about that next time. Cancer is not only nasty, it's really expensive!