My cousin fell.
She’s been battling a recurrence of breast cancer, and while on vacation in the Outer Banks of NC she took a spill at a lighthouse, splintering her thigh bone.
Apparently there was a tumor hiding in there, so the bone just shattered. I cannot begin to imagine the pain, but every day as I speak with her she sounds better and better. The goal is for her to become well enough to travel home, where she’ll be in rehab for a while, and I’ll probably go down and stay for a bit to help her get organized to take on this new “adventure.”
I told her she was courageous. She said she’s just doing what she has to do. But she is brave.
We talked about how courage is when you have a choice, when you can choose not to be brave but you still are. She feels she’s just doing what she has to do, but I know that she’s made a choice to be funny and strong and honest about this new tsuris. That’s courage, in my book!
The question is whether the tumor was from her breast cancer, or from the skin cancer she had about 10 years ago… Here’s a portion of an email she sent out to friends and family:
The orthopedic surgeon at the first hospital would not touch it, so I took a 2 hr squad ride from Hell to Virginia Beach, VA where Dr J.W. was waiting for me.
He did a 3 hour surgery on it Friday night and put a 22 inch titanium rod from my knee to my hip. The bone was shredded, it looked like 2 scruffy old paint brushes laid end to end, with about 1-1/2 inches between the edges!
Now the pieces are back together, but the bone has about a 1 inch hole in it.
More C
I’ve just heard that my nephew is undergoing a biopsy for Ewing’s Sarcoma, poor kid. We’re waiting to hear the results, and I’m trying to think of silly things to send him to make him smile.
I think a visit to the Archie McPhee website is in order today.
Have I mentioned how sick I am of the C word?
Be warned, to be related to me evidently means you’ll need to increase your major medical coverage.
Book List
I’m working on two chapters for an encyclopedia type book of knitting, and I’m developing a bibliography to include with my chapters.
My two subjects are Shaping and Colorwork. If there’s a book on either that you feel is an absolute necessity for any knitting bookshelf, I’d love to hear about it. I have a nice list already, but it’s always good to hear about books I may have missed!