Asking for your help

1. The next time you're in a group or at work, look around at the people. 
2. Look at the women now.
3. COUNT the women in the room now.
4. Now look back at them and realize that ONE IN EIGHT of them will get                                                       breast cancer in their lifetime!!!
    
Scarey, isn't it?  Will it be you, or your best friend, mother, sister?

I know I've been missing for a long time!  I've been healing and working in the garden.

Most of you know I'm a breast cancer SURVIVOR and then had a botched surgery last fall that kept me in bed for 7 months.  But that's now over....history... and now I feel up to trying to walk in the 2012 Making Strides Against  Breast Cancer 5K Walk!  It is in Springfield, MO. on Saturday, October 20th at 9:00 a.m.  If you are local, I'd like to invite you to walk with me!  If not, please go to my webpage and make a donation.  No amount is too small!
  

  




The link to my personal page is

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/SheriDeMate

I've been walking with little Jimmie Dean, but I'm afraid I have a ways to go to walk 3.1 miles~that's what a 5K Really is!  They did tell me that they have markers on the way to tell you how far you've been, in case you need to turn around and go back to the starting point!  And they even have people that will pick you up if you find you can't make it all the way.  OMG I hope that's not me!  So far Mickey and my BFF Angie are walking with me.  

PROMISE I'll start blogging again!!  Really!  I'm doing some interesting stuff!

Thank you in advance for your contribution to a huge cause. Remember One out of Eight!!        

Here's the link  http://main.acsevents.org/goto/SheriDeMate
                   or click  My webpage to go directly to website!
Peace,
Sheri

The best thing about your best friend…

She “gets” you, really Gets you.  When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer the first thing that came to mind was, “I can’t even plant a tree and watch it grow”.  I love gardening and nature.  So this spring after completing my treatment we went to the nursery and I picked out my “cancer tree”.  A red maple.  They came out a few weeks later and planted it in our back yard.  So my cancer tree has become very special to me.  So I was surprised, but then again not…when Tammy bought me a necklace with a tree of life on it for Christmas. (Actually it’s a tree of knowledge, but we’re calling it the tree of life)

 

She understands the importance of my little Charlie Brown tree.  I think she, Mickey and my mom are the only ones who Truly understand just how important the symbolism.  I think they even get my obsession with the Virgin Mary too!  No, I’m not Catholic, but I’m so drawn to icons of Her.  I bought myself a necklace with Mary on it.

This is the pendant I made for her.  I only got one pic of her wearing it and she’d kill me if I posted it.  (her eyes are closed)

I made my parents a smaller version of my Sunflower rug.

I finished the beading at noon on Christmas day and I was serving lunch for family at 2:00! 

I thought I could finish it the night before, but I wanted to have a little energy for Christmas day.

And I MUST show you our little Santa Jimmie Dean!  That’s his heating pad he’s standing on too.  No, he’s not spoiled. 

 

Tomorrow is hooking at the Brentwood Library @5:00 pm.  Stop by if you can!

Peace,

Sheri

My hooked pumpkin....ta da!

I did this piece for a challenge and I can't remember Where the challenge was!!! The theme was hooking something round.  Anyone else involved in the challenge?  I love it anyway.  So glad I did it.  I had the pattern for years and this just got me motivated to do it. I used a real pumpkin stem that I saved and dried from last year. (See it IS handy to be a hoarder)  It is JoEllen's pattern.

 www.befruitfulkreations.com

Also I've made some progress on the cat rug.  His name is Max, I found out. 

The color planning has begun.  I am going to have to dye the red to the right, the turquoise and the pink on his chin.

1st day hooking

I was noticing little fuzzy hairs on the top of the linen.  It is bleached and I have never used this brand before.  NOT liking this!

You probably can't even see it.  But it was really bugging me.  So here's contemplating using my Usual linen!

You all know me and you KNOW I changed to the other linen!!! I re-drew and re-colored it.

OK, now hooking on the new linen.

Not liking the red color I chose.  You guessed it...I pulled it out and made another color choice.  Again...lucky I'm a wool hoarder too!

OK, now I love the pinkish/purple color.  But I HAVE to rip out the outline of his nose.  I used black yarn on it and it's looking scraggly already.  Just imagine what it would look like by the time I hook everything else and drag my hands and arms over it.  On the other outlines I just hand cut the wool.  I can only get it so small though.  I'm wondering what a 2 or 3 cut with a cutting machine looks like.  I simply can't cut it any smaller with scissors!

I may be able to hook some of the oranges in the upper left corner today.  I'm getting WEIRD on the color planning!  If my ProChem dyes would just arrive in the mail I could continue!  Tammy told me I can go over and borrow some of hers this evening if mine doesn't arrive today.

Tomorrow morning I'll be at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K walk.  I'll be in the registration booth.  Come by and see me and give me your cash!  It's at Jordan Valley Park...right by the Cardinals ball field.

Have a great weekend!  And please stop by and make a donation tomorrow.

Peace,

Sheri

Making some progress on antique rug and

the mat for Jimmie Dean's little chair that sits at the front door so he can see out!

First, here's the antique adaptation.  It measures 19" by 42" and there's really not that much more to do.  Just sit down and Do It!!!

I think this shot depicts the colors the best.

Very muted from my usual color palette.   (That's why I think I totally lost interest in it right in the middle of the rug.  When we hooked at JoLynn's a couple of weekends ago, it was my intention to get all the red diamonds hooked around the border.  That made it seem like there's not so much more!  Just fill in some lines now~~~LOL.

And this little mat for J.D. has been what I've been doing while I lost interest in the big star rug!  He sits on this little chair every day and watches the children walking to and from school.  I think he likes his little mat!

Had some not so good health news over the weekend.  I spent all of Saturday night in the ER.  I had seen my MD two weeks earlier for what I thought was asthma.  He gave me an inhaler and it did nothing.  So my radiation oncologist said her husband is a pulmonary specialist and sent me to his office that very minute!  He gave another inhaler, which also didn't help.  That was last Wednesday.  Well, by Saturday afternoon I Could Not Breathe and told Mick to take me to the Urgent Care Clinic.  They did tests that showed a suspected pulmonary embolism (from the surgery)  He said go to the ER immediately!  Your husband can drive you~I don't think you need an ambulance!  Scared the shit out of me!!!  Got to the ER and thank God I was expedited and didn't have to sit in the waiting room with sick babies that don't have health insurance~~~totally another story,  don't get me started on that.  But that's just not right for a mother to have to go there to get treatment for her sick child...

The ER physician comes in and checks the EKG and chest x-rays from the place I had just come from and suggested "congestive heart failure" especially since my breathing was almost impossible when I tried to lay down.  He explained that the left side of my heart showed damage and inflammation~~~ probably from the chemotherapy!!!!

He called my oncologist who said it Was Not from chemo, it was from radiation.  The ER doc was ready to admit me and start running all the heart tests and hook me up with a cardiologist.  Looking back, I wish that's what had happened.

He did, in the hospital start an IV with Lasix and Prednisone to try to get rid of some of the fluid on my lungs.  Then prescribed Prednisone for eight days.  I dread that.  Last time I took it I gained 20 pounds overnight and it took over a year to get it off.  Guess that's the least of my troubles right now though.

Yesterday I saw both oncologists/ the regular one and the radiation one.  Boy are they protective of their special fields of medicine!!!  Again the radiation doctor said it wasn't possible to have any heart damage from only 10 treatments (which makes since to me) but the regular oncologist keeps saying the chemo I took doesn't cause heart problems.  WRONG..... Now I should have known better than this because before I could have the chemo I had to have a MUGA(sp) test to make sure my heart could handle these drugs.  (This is what Tammy does all day in her job in nuclear medicine).  Of course me being me, I came home and read every thing I could find out about the drugs I received.

1. Adriamycin: side effects:  COMMON:

Damage to the heart with the symptoms of:

swelling of the hands and ankles 

shortness of breath

difficulty breathing

2. Cytoxan: side effects: Rare

Damage to the heart muscle.  Symptoms include difficulty breathing, swelling of the legs and feet and tiring easily.

I was supposed to have a radiation treatment today, but just can't do it right now.  Although the RA Dr. PROMISED ME this wasn't the problem.  Yesterday she said, "do you want this cancer to come back?  Then march down that hall and get your treatment!"  Which I DID!!!  But I just couldn't do it today.  How are you gonna know what's the right thing to do?  I will always question myself now.  what if.....what if...

Good news~~~This Thursday at 4:00 p.m. I am scheduled for an ECHO cardiogram.  This will answer all the questions about my heart.  Even congestive heart failure can be treated with medicine and the breast cancer is gone! Please send out some positive vibes my way!  I truly believe in  Prayer and Positive Thinking.  And I promise to keep you guys informed.

Peace and love,

Sheri

 

Drop Cloth Draperies

I think they look just like linen! These are cotton painters dropcloths. Measuring five feet by nine feet. I purchased each "panel" at Lowe's. About $10.00 each. Then I machine washed and dried them on hot and ironed the "valance". I did this by folding over 13 inches on all of the panels. (with the pretty hemmed side facing front). For the hem, I merely snipped a piece and tore it across!



Clip them onto your drapery rings and VOILA, LINEN DRAPERIES!!! OK some of you with linen draperies are saying I need to get my eyes checked, but I can still have my wallet checked too! I did the living room ~ 2 windows and dining room ~ 1 window, for $30.00!!! I think I'll still add one more to the dining room for fullness.

Been doing a few crafty things. I got out my Fimo clay. (Which my friends knowingly told me to take out of my garage sale stuff to sell) and whipped up some breast cancer jewelry. Ford has a new campaign with "WARRIOR" as the theme for the pink fight. I like it. Sounds tough. Then I made a necklace, the same clay minus the white highlighted letters that says F%@K CANCER! Blazing crude and vulgar~but I like it! You'll just have to use your imagination to see it!

And later this morning I'm going to load up all the scarves and hats and take them to the St. Johns Chub O'Reilly Cancer Center, here in Springfield, MO. The nurses have already told me they'll have to set up a new place to display and distribute them! I'll call them first and let them know I'm coming! That makes me so proud! Proud of YOU!!! Thank you. We have a very nice start!!! (Maybe I should go to work for PBS or somewhere like that!)

I'm also thinking of extending my challenge to Wanda Kerr's THE WELCOME MAT. I think you may need an invitation to join the group, but let me know and I'll gladly "get you in". It's a huge group of rug hookers and fiber artists from all over the world! You probably recognize Wanda's name from Rug Hooking Magazine and the great dyeing recipes she contributes each issue.
And in closing, here's a picture of the progress I'm making on my Antique Star rug.



I'm moving right along~between the nausea and extreme arm fatigue. So Glad I have something to escape to, though. I can't imagine just Sitting here staring at that black box you call a TV. It seems like such a waste of LIFE!

Have a great week!
Peace,
Sheri

My challenge to you

It's the time of year to start thinking about Christmas swaps and fun things like that! I just entered the one on Wool Snippets, as a matter of fact! BUT....I want to CHALLENGE my loving readers to do another kind of giving this year. Something that, before a month ago, I didn't even know there existed a need for! And what a better group than you, my talented readers to help me achieve my goal.
Lots of you have been saying you'll do anything you can to help me~Betcha' didn't think I'd take you up on it did you?

Here's the dilemna.

Lots of women with breast cancer.

Almost all of us will lose our hair from the treatment.

Remember I told you about the blue wigs at the American Cancer Society? Well, their hats aren't much better.






I DO NOT WISH TO INSULT ANYONE, however who may have donated a hand made hat!!!! It's just that they're a little "old" looking!!! And cold looking! I'm guessing the ones in the picture are crocheted because of the holes!?!?! (You can tell what an accomplished knitter and crocheter I am!)

So my challenge is this.

Please knit or crochet a stylish hat or scarf for me to donate! You know with bright colorful cool new yarns and beads and baubles!

But then again, do keep in mind they will need to match coats and other women who's style isn't,let's say, as "eclectic" as mine!


I even saw a pattern on Etsy for a hat with wool yarn dreadlocks on the top!


Talk about cute!!! Here's where to buy the pattern! Her shop name is www.janicerosema.etsy.com. (in case the link doesn't work!) She has wonderful patterns and Great prices!!!

And there were absolutely NO scarves in the boxes! The nursing director told me that certain types of chemo make it unbearable to breath in the cold air!

And fingerless gloves? All the rage!

If it isn't asking too much, could you make up a scarf/hat whatever you feel comfortable making, and mail it to me to take to the breast cancer support group? The December meeting will be Monday December 21st. I sure could take them before AND after that date too though!
There are donation boxes where we get our chemo and in the ACS office right in the door of the Cancer Center.

I don't want to leave out the men either!!! I saw NO men's stuff!!! Their heads get cold too!!! So how about a man's hat or scarf?

And here are the scrub hats I saw before going into surgery. Remember I told you about Ruby, the lady who makes them in sports teams for all of surgery staff? Well she brought me a pattern to my house!!! So I could make some of these to donate to cancer patients too. I liked these 'cause I'm always so hot and they are lightweight cotton. However.....I decided to try one out of fleece. More my style! What do you think?

Cotton:

fleece:
so funny, but soooo me!

Come on girls......
I know you can do it!
And I guarantee you will feel better after you do!

Peace and love,

Sheri

please email me and I'll give you my mailing address!

You have breast cancer

Those are the words I heard on Monday October the 12th at 12:05 p.m. I had felt a lump in my right breast two weekends before and had been to my MD to check it out. He sent me to the Breast Cancer Center at St. Johns Hospital for a diagnostic mammogram. The same day they did an ultrasound and that doctor told me she wouldn't believe it if the results came back negative. What? Me? No one in my family has ever had breast cancer. In fact nobody that I know of has had Any kind of cancer, except for my sister with melanoma.

Then on that Monday my doctor called and gave me the news. I really already knew what he was going to say, from the ultrasound doctor. But I didn't really expect to hear this news ON THE PHONE! I had left a message with the nurse earlier in the day saying that my husband and I would come over to discuss the results. My doctor told me he had never had to do that before! That's because it Shouldn't be done on the phone!!!

From there he scheduled me an appointment with an oncologist. Dr. Raju, a woman. I liked the fact that she was a woman. She actually has breasts. (Not that men don't. But you know what I mean.) Mickey, and my mom and dad went to this appointment. The nurse seated us all in a tiny examination room. Again... I expected to meet with her in her office, with her sitting behind her desk and explaining everything to us. NOT....
She put my chart up on her laptop and began reading the test results. She said, "You have advanced ductal carcinoma and it's bad". Then she just looked at the floor and shook her head. I can't count the times she did this. Talk about freaking you out!?!?! Hadn't I felt anything before now? Why didn't I know about this sooner? How could this be at least a stage three cancer and me not know it? I thought I was the one who was supposed to be asking the questions. She did an exam and then immediately called the surgeon, who is just a few buildings down. He was in surgery at the time, but agreed to meet us in 15 minutes. Can you believe what I was thinking by this time? I talked my parents into going home before we went to meet with him. They looked so pale and fragile. I assured them we would call the minute we left.
This guy was all of 30 years old~if that... I like that too. I think young doctors are so much more informed than the older ones. Sorry, doctors. But anyway he said the same thing. This cancer is bad and at least a stage three. He said I must first do chemo and then he would see me in the spring for surgery. A mastectomy and reconstruction at the same time. This new procedure is called a something flap. It involves taking fat from your lower abdomen and making a breast out of it. I thought he was kidding when he said you get a tummy tuck too. He scheduled a CT and PET scan to see if the cancer had spread to my bones or other organs. Those tests were on Thursday the 22nd also at the hospital.
And on Friday the 23rd I met the surgeon again. This time in the "holding cell" awaiting the surgery to put the chemo port in.
My life has been in S L O W motion since all of this happened. It honestly feels like the diagnosis was a month ago. I have to keep looking at the calendar to have it all make sense. Actually it was only 16 days from diagnosis to putting the port in.
Tomorrow Mickey and I go to "chemo class" at 4:00 and they will schedule the first treatment then. It's not really a class as I would have assumed, it's a one on one with us and a nurse. Explaining what to expect, etc.
In just these few short days I have bought two wigs. One blond, the other red. And yesterday evening I had my hair cut short. Razor cut at the nape of my neck and then coming down longer to my chin in the front. Again....it's like slow motion, but has happened so quickly.
I started keeping a journal on that Monday. And I am seriously thinking about writing a book and maybe titling it, "You have breast cancer. Take two aspirin and don't call me, I'll call you." Do you know that I didn't receive as much as a pamphlet at the oncologists office and I have had Several times where the doctors offices haven't even returned my phone calls! It is absurd. I thought that maybe I could write a sort of instructional manual for breast cancer.
So that's what I've been doing and why you haven't heard from me in so long.
And THANK YOU to all of my friends and family who have sent cards, flowers and well wishes my way. I'm astonished to know the number of people all over the country who are praying for me and my family. Again Thank You.
I'll write again soon.
Say a little prayer please. And please go get your mammograms.
Peace,
Sheri

Please say a prayer tonight....

.......for Katie. My cyber friend from Warsaw, MO. She has been diagnosed with stage one breast cancer and had lumpectomy surgery today. She's so sweet and caring. I've never met her in person, but I feel like we really know each other. One day I will go to Warsaw and meet her. Her friend Patti has a rug hooking shop on the square in town. It's only about 90 minutes from Springfield and I hear it is a wonderful shop. (Not like I need any more patterns or wool) but I love going to new hooking places. You can always find a piece of wool that you love the color of, but have no idea what you're going to do with it. Better buy it now though, it might come in handy. Anyway back to Katie, I'm sure she'll appreciate all the prayers from my readers. Hope you have a fast recovery my friend.

It snowed lightly here Sunday night and Monday. Just enough to get me excited!! I absolutely love the snow. I know it's weird. I don't even mind to shovel it!! I used to love to go to the mall parking lot at night and "do donuts" in my car. After the mall was closed of course.

I took Jimmie Dean back to the vet for his recheck. He put him on another antibiotic for another 14 days. He said the bronchitis is hard to get rid of in dogs. Who knew? This is Dr. Linn DVM. He is so kind I wish he could be MY doctor. He spent more time with me than any MD has ever spent. And happily answered all of my questions. After we left the vet I took him by the breeders and she gave him his third puppy shot and worming medicine. I felt so sorry for him that we went to Pet Warehouse for a new sweater for him! Also a couple of new toys. One for today and the rest for his Christmas stocking.

I told the ladies at the reception desk at the Vet office that I was scrapbooking him they said it was the first time anyone had photographed them for a doggie scrapbook!! I don't have any kids so he really is like my baby.

I do have grandkids though, my husband has four boys. Talk about good luck...I get grandkids to play with and send home and didn't have to raise any myself! Just kidding....I love kids and really wanted some-just didn't happen for me.

Here's the big boy posing in his new sweater. He actually liked it! I had been having him sleep on a heating pad on his bed. They told me to do that till he's 2.5 pounds or six months. He weighed 2.2 pounds yesterday.

Good night and please don't forget to pray for our hooking friend Katie.

Peace,

Sheri