Loss, Illness and Hats

I have been absent from this space at first because I left for a trip to visit a friend, then because I was getting ready for a craft fair and lastly because of a large loss.  We lost a wonderful neighbor whom we known for over 18 years to suicide.  She was a woman who always had time for a chat and a chuckle and was the glue that held our little city block together.  Up and down our alley way she would walk and check in on people working in their yards or tease the kids riding their bikes.  She didn't mind the neighborhood children filching her delicious raspberries out of her garden and was always generous sharing plants and her love of gardening.  I still can't believe she's gone and keep expecting to see her in her yard weeding or watering as I pass by on my way somewhere.  It hurts to know she was suffering and none of us knew she needed our help.  It was a total shock to us all.

To deal with my sadness I've turned to knitting hats for cancer patients who have lost their hair to chemo therapy.  I just have this need to give comfort and help someone since I can no longer help my neighbor.  My friend Amy lost her mom to cancer a couple of years ago, and to deal with her grief she organized a group called Team Yarn to knit chemo caps.   She then personally distributes them all over the Twin Cities metro area here in MN.  Sadly, their is a large need for these hats as many people come here from all over for treatment.  It's really helped her process the loss of her mother.  I have knit hats for her here and there over the last 2 years for fun and to support her, but now I am knitting in earnest.  In fact, I've gone through my entire stash and scraps of yarn and knit up everything that is soft enough for a chemo cap.  I'm up to a dozen so far, knitting about one hat per day.

I have the time for all this knitting because a week after the news of my neighbor I had an onset of Vertigo that landed me in the hospital.  Vertigo is extreme dizziness that then causes nausea and vomiting.  After a lot of tests the doctors told me it was brought on my an inflammation in my inner ear and that I just have to wait it out until it goes away in some 2 - 6 weeks.  Now, I'm much better than I was in the hospital and the nausea has past, but I'm still dizzy and I can't drive.  The first week my husband stayed home and took care of me as I couldn't walk around that well, but this week I'm on my own and am managing ok.  Except now, my son contracted Strep Throat and is out of commission as well.  Thus, my poor husband is working his regular job, caring for us, doing all the driving to Doctor appointments, washing dishes, cooking, laundry and cleaning.  And what's amazing is he does it all with a smile.  We may be down and out, but I sure feel very lucky.

Joining in with Andrea for Fiber Arts Friday.