Cross posted from Community Quilt Project
DavidW's quilt
Peregrine Kate is suffering from endometrial cancer -- please see her recent diary about her cancer journey. Currently, she is finishing an aggressive chemo regime and then will begin radiation treatment after that. This sort of illness is a life changer. Kate has gone from the shock of diagnosis to radical surgery to treatment all within the first year of her marriage (she is a newlywed). On top of everything else, her illness has cost her her job. From her diary:
My immune system took a serious blow from the first round of chemo. I went into that first treatment only three weeks post-surgery, not realizing until later the reason for the haste to get chemotherapy going—after surgery, when the major tumor is removed, often the auxiliary sites act up. (Maybe it’s just as well I didn’t know that at the time). Ten days after the chemo, my blood was drawn to check on a number of items. Unfortunately, my neutrophils (a major component of my white blood cells) were dangerously low—at a 0.4, when 1.0 is low and 0.5 is severe. I was directed to head to the hospital for an injection of Neupogen, a bone-marrow stimulant. I then had my blood re-tested the next day, only to find the level had fallen to 0.2. I got another shot of Neupogen and tried to go about my business. By the end of that evening, I was in the worst pain I have ever experienced; it felt as though someone were cracking my sternum open to do surgery without anesthetic. The next afternoon at about 2:00 PM, I started to run a high fever, and by 6:00 PM I was admitted to the hospital for 48 hours of treatment for neutropenic fever. Fortunately for my physical health, I did not have any infection; unfortunately in other dimensions, my inopportune crisis appears to have cost me my job. More below on that.
JaxDem's quilt, showing backing
We are supporting peregrine kate through her cancer battle with a "love catcher" quilt -- one bearing messages of love and support from this community, transcribed in archival ink on muslin. So far, we have 43 messages -- but need a total of 68 to make a pattern. If you have not left a message for Kate yet, please do do in the comments below.
mango's quilt
If you would like to support the quilt making effort with a donation, here is a PayPal link -- or message me for a snail mail address if you prefer to write a check. Generally, we look for about $10/message to help with time and materials -- but it is not necessary to donate to leave a message. Your loving words will be worth more than gold to Kate...
Goldie, quilt inspector, checks out the backing for mango's quilt
Here is a list of the people who have left messages for peregrine kate so far:
1. Ann R (winglion)
2. Louisiana 1976
3. Otteray Scribe
4. blue jersey mom
5. ramara
6. cfk in the Thumb of Michigan
7. Ekaterin
8. Ulookarmless
9. Maggiejean
10. Ebby
11. DavidW
12. ProvokingMeaning
13. Betson08
14. Asterkitty
15. GlowNZ
16. Runaway Rose
18. John07801
19. Oke
20. Lorikeet
21. Kitsap River
22. RiaD
23. Sara R
24. Ooooh
25. Lightbulb
26. Mortifyd
27. NormAl1792"
28. JekyllnHyde
29. govib
30. Noor B
31. Corvaire
32. mimi
33. Operculum
34. x
35. TokenLiberal
36. Siri
37. Texasmom
38. A gilas girl
39. earicicle
40. JaxDem
41. 4Freedom
42. Pandoras Box
43. Akprincessa
Granny Doc's quilt
These are the community quilts that we have made so far:
othniel (cellulitis and ensuing complications)
exmearden (cancer of heart and lung, RIP)
MsSpentyouth (brain tumor)
Moe99 (lung cancer)
Michelle Caudle (ovarian cancer)
BFSkinner (lupus)
Kitsap River (long wait for kidney donor that ended 2/18/11)
Frederick Clarkson (blood clots)
Dreaming of Better Days (lymphoma)
one bite at a time (lost house and belongings to fire)
Timroff (cellulitis)
Sol Fed Joe (multiple cancers and health problems)
Brubs (AIDS, immune reconstitution syndrome)
rserven (gall bladder infection with dangerous complications)
grndrush (brain tumor, RIP)
ImpeachKingBushII (needs liver transplant)
andsarahtoo (lupus)
Frank Cocozzelli (muscular dystrophy)
luvsathoroughbred (breast cancer)
Predictor (stroke and HIV)
Austex54 (caretaker to othniel)
Theodore Olbermann, RIP
cskendrick (antibiotic resistant infection)
Keith Olbermann (caregiver to father)
Juan (cancer)
Ana (a young horse belonging to Juan, hit by truck)
MA Liberal’s mother (Alzheimer’s)
Charles CurtisStanley (caretaker to Kitsap River)
Lorikeet (cervical cancer)
Dr. Lori (metastatic cancer)
ulookarmless (cancer, heart condition, stroke)
riverlover (caregiver to husband suffering from liver failure, now widowed)
Melody Townsel (caregiver to dying father, now deceased)
dadanation (AIDS)
Dr. William F. Harrison (leukemia, RIP)
Larry Bailey (sudden loss of partner to heart attack)
ramara (adopted son with fetal alcohol syndrome)
Noor B (herniated disk from car accident)
Louisiana 1976 (fibromyalgia, severe arthritis, depression)
stumpy (MS, stroke, RIP)
bleeding heart's niece (cancer, RIP)
escapee (failure of corneal surgery)
SarahLee (lymphoma, Lyme Disease)
Bustergirl (ovarian cancer)
mimi's niece (cancer)
ZenTrainer (breast cancer)
Miss Blue (severe injury to shoulder, anxiety over coverage for surgery)
Granny Doc (bladder cancer)
mango (heart attack)
nudger (ovarian cancer, RIP)
DaNang65 (heart condition)
Lt. Choi (exhaustion)
Nurse Kelley (spinal stenosis)
Ben Masel (lung cancer, RIP)
Otterary Scribe (caregiver and grieving grandfather)
Aji (chronic pain from autoimmune diseases including fibromyalgia, inflammatory arthritis, and Chronic Epstein-Barr Virus Syndrome)
JaxDem (suddenly widowed)
DavidW (AIDS and other undiagnosed illness)
ZenTrainer's quilt
We are close to completing the quilt top for Jester the Marine who was wounded in Afghanistan -- and hope to have his quilt layered this evening.
Miss Blue's quilt
These are upcoming community quilts:
Daily Kos Community
alliedoc (cancer)
Sensible Shoes (caring for sister with brain cancer)
Plutonium Page (pulmonary embolisms, pulmonary infarction)
MsGrin (life long heart problems requiring multiple surgeries)
UnaSpensor (Lyme disease)
MA Liberal (caretaker to her mother who has dementia)
labwitchy (diffuse scleroderma)
paradox (cyclical vomiting syndrome, PTSD, depression)
Stranded Wind (Lyme Disease and other health issues)
woodtick (caretaker to mother who has Alzheimer's)
Ellinorianne (rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia)
Joanneleon (Lyme disease)
Boots says, "Thank you for supporting community quilts!"
PAYPAL LINK FOR PEREGRINE KATE'S QUILT -- THANK YOU!
Namaste.