Brain Rehabilitation Unit

My Dad spent some time in a brain rehabilitation unit learning to live all over again after he reacted really badly to a pain management regimen, prescribed by doctors, while in the hospital after a fall.  You see, he has Glioblastoma and your brain doesn't react to medicine the same way that yours or mine might.  

He has been out of the brain rehabilitation unit for 18 months and I wanted to give back to the patients.

Last weekend I took my girls and my Dad up to the unit and we walked around with one of his nurses to distribute 5 lap size quilts that I had made.  I loved watching the joy on my girls' faces and my Dad's.  I didn't take any photos to preserve the privacy of the patients.

I can't wait to deliver a second round of quilts with the 3 of them.

Ellies are Finished

I finished sewing the binding on to the Ellie quilt this weekend, added the tag and washed it up.

Ellies

I have another oversized churn dash block baby quilt finished.  This time it is backed in the most perfect elephants.

Finishing up the hand sewn binding and adding a tag tonight.  This is quilt #2 to be donated to the Brain Rehabilitation Unit at Unity Hospital in honor of my Dad.

I am linking up with Fabric Tuesday, Show and Tell Tuesday , Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?, Needle and Thread Thursday andFinish it Friday.

No one fights alone

I finished the quilt for the young woman who I advise and shipped it off to her.  She was diagnosed with fibrolomellar cancer...a rare form of liver cancer that strikes young adults.  The quilt is "silver and bordeaux," our sorority colors and is backed in stars.  The Big Dipper is in our crest.  Messages of hope and encouragement fill the back of the quilt.  

Brain Cancer Quilt Auction

Here's a sneak peak of my flimsy for an upcoming brain cancer quilt auction.  The auction will be held at the end of March over at http://www.charlottesgraceforacure.blogspot.com.

 

The colors are a little off in this photo...it is freezing cold and extra windy here today...not a chance for outdoor photos :)

 

I am linking up with Finish it Up Friday.

My Quilt is Finished

I finished 3 of 4 quilts in time for Christmas.  Since the last one was for me my deadline of Christmas was not firm.  I finished up my quilt Sunday afternoon on the drive back from my parent's house.  Now all of us have the same quilt. 

 

We all have grey ribbons on our quilts in support of my Dad and his battle with Glioblastoma.  I am happy to say that he is responding well to his chemo and had another clear scan a few weeks ago!!

 

 

I am linking up with Fabric Tuesday, Show and Tell Tuesday , Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?, Needle and Thread Thursday and Finish it Friday.

Christmas Quilting

I finished the last quilt in the nick of time for Christmas, sewing the last bit of binding to the quilt around 9:30 on Christmas Eve...talk about cutting it close!  Below is a photo of my Dad with the quilt.  To say he loved it was an understatement.

 

 

There is a grey ribbon appliqued to the corner of each of the quilts that I made for my family.  We are all in this battle called brain cancer together.  For those that don't know, my Dad was diagnosed with Glioblastoma in March 2013...to say this year has been rough is an understatement.  Our world as we know it was forever changed with the diagnosis.  My life is lived in 8 week increments, from one brain scan to the next.  I love my Dad so much and it makes my heart hurt so much that he (and the rest of us) have to go through this, but we are in this together; hence the matching quilts with the ribbons.  

Below is a photo of my Mom and Dad, my brother, my sister and I.  I have started my version of the quilt but didn't get it finished in time for Christmas.  I am hoping to finish it on New Years Day while my hubby watches football and my girls are with my parents.  My sister was very excited to "make the blog."

This is my Dad and my youngest N.  They are buddies...always have been and always will be. 

I am linking up with Fabric Tuesday, Show and Tell Tuesday , Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop? and Finish it Friday.

Another quilt top finished

I finished up another flimsy this morning.  I am making 4 quilts for my side of the family that are all nearly identical.  I have added grey ribbons to the bottom of the quilt for the battle that we are fighting with my Dad and brain cancer.  I am hoping to get this one basted and quilted tonight.

I am linking up with Fabric Tuesday, Show and Tell Tuesday , Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop? and Finish it Friday.

WIP Wednesday

It may not look like a lot, but for my current place in life this is a lot and it means progress/coping with the challenges that my family is facing. I cut out the fabric for the March and April Mystery Block of Month blocks. I will setup my machine again and sew tonight.

My Dad is my biggest fan regarding my quilting and has always encouraged me and shown off my work to friends and coworkers. By not sewing right now I am letting him down and letting cancer win...he isn't letting cancer win so why should I?

I am still struggling with all of this....struggling a lot. I have good days and some really bad days. He was just ruled ineligible for a trial he had enrolled in because he got a stupid blood clot in his leg. No one knows why because he was up and walking less than 24 hours post op and had those inflatable boots on before that. I just want him to catch a break...I want him to respond to the chemo and radiation and I want him to be part of the 3%!

No sewing here

I would love to have something to show but I don't. I have had a hard time sitting and sewing since my Dad's diagnosis. The only sewing I have done in the last 4 weeks is his quilt.

I want to sew and the quietness is normally much needed and enjoyed with my crazy-hectic life as a working Momma/volunteer/mentor/ Girl Scouts Leader...but since my Dad's diagnosis, the peace and quiet leaves me too much time time to let my mind wander to places that it shouldn't.

I wish I could turn back time and be in a place where my Dad didn't have brain cancer, to a time when sewing was a stress buster and when I longed for peace and quiet. My heart is too heavy right now...

Cancer Sucks

To say my world was rocked two weeks ago is an understatement. Exactly two weeks ago my Dad was rushed to the hospital via ambulance after suffering what he called an "earthquake" on the left side of his body while at work. I was on the road for work and rushed home, packed a bag and started the 1.5 hour drive to my parent's house. Thankfully my Aunt was home and talked to me for almost the entire ride to help distract me from the unknown in the emergency room.

They thought he had a stroke....what the doctors would tell us later that night would forever change my life. My Dad had a brain tumor with a large cyst attached to it, much like a water balloon. Several days in the hospital and more tests we knew that his full body scan was clear and surgery to remove and biopsy the tumor was scheduled for March 18th.

Surgery went well and he was discharged after only 4 days. Friday we got preliminary Pathology indicating that the tumor is rare and malignant. We are waiting on final pathology from the research hospital and he met with his neurological oncologist today to develop his treatment plan.

My Aunt (same one who talked to me on my ride) called me on the 15th and asked me to pick her up at the airport on the 16th, she was coming to surprise my Mom and be there for everyone during this marathon. She said she was bringing fabric and we were going to make my Dad a quilt. The backing fabric looks like tree trunks and is quite fitting for my Dad...I have table that he made out of tree trunks. Grey is also perfect as it is the awareness color for brain cancer.

Saturday night we started cutting and sewing fabric at my sister's house. On Sunday, my sister decided that she wanted to learn how to sew and sat and sewed strips together for 2 hours. We sewed and cut on Monday night after the surgery and on Tuesday I left and headed back home, returning on Friday. My aunt sewed all day Friday to finish the quilt top and on Saturday I basted and started quilting. Quilting was finished late Saturday night and I bound the quilt. I am a crazy person who loves to hand bind so on Monday I started to bind the quilt, finishing late Tuesday night so my husband could deliver the quilt when he went to my parent's house Wednesday morning.

I just Facetimed with everyone and got to watch my Dad open his quilt. He loves it. I hate that these are the circumstances that he got his very own quilt, but I know that quilts bring comfort and I hope this brings him a ton of comfort. The quilt tag reads:

"The power of love to change bodies is legendary, built into folklore, common sense, and everyday experience. Love moves the flesh, it pushes matter around…Throughout history, "tender loving care: has uniformly been recognized as a valuable element in healing." ~Larry Dossey
"Wrapping you in tender loving care."

Sorry for the cell phone photos...my sister is sending me better, daylight photos and I will update.