Mailbox Brigade.

My neighbors Sara, Allison, Tara, Lisa, and Sue and I put together 29 mailbox swags as part of the Mailbox Brigade benefiting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. None of us claims to be  particularly gifted with floral arrangements. We made up for our lack of expertise with a lot of enthusiasm. A little design 101, bunches of evergreens and holly berries, a huge red or blue bow for each swag, and we had 29 lovely packages to deliver to mailboxes in our neighborhood.

My frigid, messy garage became the work site. At least we were out of the wind.

Mixing fir, magnolia, boxwood, and holly takes its toll on the hands. Note Allison is wearing gloves. I didn't. Guess whose hands AREN'T cut and covered with sap.

Clumps of greens bound together and ready for installation. They don't look like much here, but check out the finished product ...

 

 

The Knitternall mailbox looks really nice. The little card says we belong to the Community Friends supporting CHOA.

What am I missing here?

I react emotionally to a lot of things. T likes to study, think, and reflect before he reacts. Somehow we arrive on the same page most of the time.

This morning, I saw the following headline on the AJC's web front page:

Child in hospital; mom may be sent home

Barbados woman's visa extension denied; daughter, 7, treated for cancer. 

Evidently Mom applied for two extensions to their visas; daughter's was approved, hers was denied. She must return to Barbados, without her daughter, by next Thursday.

Just reading that headline sent shivers down my spine. I cannot imagine leaving a child alone in a hospital, even one as stellar as Scottish Rite. And this child is anxious, ill, and in total isolation while undergoing treatment for neuroblastoma in the AFLAC cancer unit.

Sadly, it happens. When our son was there (multiple times), there were often children crying alone and inconsolable, no loved one in sight. The nurses are caring, but harried, and certainly could not sit bedside for hours, stroking arms, rubbing the restless out of legs, and giving careful hugs around medical lines and gauges.
 

Further reading of the article reveals puzzlement by  the Scottish Rite social worker who helped mom apply for the extension and the Immigration service spokesperson, as well as Mom herself.  

Gooding has been separated from a husband and 2-year-old son during the ordeal. She has assured immigration officials she isn't trying stay in the U.S.

"My life is there," she said. "The one thing driving Niamh through this whole treatment is, ‘are we closer to getting back home?'"

Is there a "rest of the story," as T often tells me? Is Mom wanted for something, or has Homeland Security redflagged her for some reason? Will we discover in the next few days that the story was "spun" to tweak our empathy?

I've decided that I don't care. That little girl needs her mom with her.

I pray that common sense rather than red tape prevails here. 

Dueling Projects

Today . . .

Son is leading his last Eagle Project workday. He's recruited at least a half dozen Scouts from Troop 764 to sort games and package them for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The Scouts will be labeling, sorting, cleaning, and accessorizing the sets. (I'm very sure snacking will be involved since Son made sure we had plenty of chips, sweets, and sodas.) He ended up with 26 game systems and enough games that each patient will have about 3 to enjoy while they're in the hospital. T will be the parent on deck while the guys work things out. If all goes well, he'll be ready to deliver them next week and begin his final paperwork.

AT THE SAME TIME,

Daughter and I are headed to Mill Glen Clubhouse to simmer spaghetti, set up the room, and prepare for this evening's Spaghetti Supper, the final fundraiser for her Odyssey of the Mind team's trip to World Finals. (Departure is this Wednesday!).

All that comes this afternoon and evening. But right now, it's quiet.   I could smell newly cut grass and caught the heady, earthy aroma of the tomato plants as I let the dog out this morning.  The keystrokes as I blog are the loudest sound in the kitchen.  Birds are warbling outside and my dog is grumbling deep in his throat as he glares at the neighbor's cat high-stepping through the wet grass in the back yard.  And I can hear T stirring upstairs as he reacts to the aroma of coffee.

This is the peaceful time, my favorite time of the day.

Good morning.

Meanwhile, back at the Knitternall ranch . . .

I've noticed times when favorite blogs go silent for awhile. Sometimes it's a week. Often it's longer. I always understood that life happens and blogs aren't always a top priority for their authors.

Which is the case for this blog.

Life has most definitely happened, culminating in another hospitalization for our teen. Earlier abdominal surgeries for Crohn's complications resulted in scarring in the lower intestine. We saw a steady increase in pain and flareups, then a complete blockage of his digestive tract.  He spent a week in that most wonderful hospital, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, at the same time as his surgeon and primary gastroentorologist had hospital rounds. The good news is he had the care of the specialists who know him best and he avoided surgery this time. The bad news is that the stricture remains. He handled the purgatory of stomach pain, NG tube, picc line, and other tortures with grace, occasional cursing, and more patience than I would have had in his place.

A neighbor sent me a wonderful missive focusing on the "thanksgiving" in the bad things that happen to all of us at one time or another. In the same spirit, I offer thanks as well:

Thanks to God for being with our family through this ordeal.

Thanks that our family is home, together, for this holiday weekend.


Thanks that the good people of Dunwoody Nature Center's Board and staff weathered my prolonged absence with kindness and a can-do spirit.


Thanks that Phil the Youth Minister Guy could pray for food and have it appear . . . twice! when the teen was finally allowed to eat after a 6-day fast.

Thanks for DHS Latin students and Mock Trial team mates, fellow Troop 764 Scouts, our extended family, and good friends who rallied around our teen, reminded him that he matters, prayed for his recovery, and shared best wishes when he needed them.

Thanks that our daughter is flexible, kind-hearted, and self-reliant. It isn't easy being the sibling of a chronically ill kid.

Thanks for laughter. When Scoutmaster LaRose told our teen he didn't really have to throw himself so completely into research for his Eagle project, he got a huge roar from everyone. (He's collecting handheld Nintendo and Sony game systems, games, and power packs/accessories for Children's, so Volunteer Services can loan them to bedbound tweens and teens during their hospitalizations. He knows, as well as they do, that distraction is a great way to deal with pain. Coloring books and crayons are great for little ones, but older kids need something a bit more . . . advanced.)

Thanks for knitting. I made two pairs of felted slippers, eleven dishcloths, and worked out a sock design for my mom while listening to IV alarms, vitals monitors, distant pages, and a steady stream of Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.  Knitting kept me calm, centered, and alert to our son's needs.

Thanks for NetFlix and wireless internet.  For hours at a time, the teen could forget a bit about the NG tube and enjoy some "transforming" entertainment, update his Facebook friends, play games, journal his Eagle project status, and read uplifting emails.

Thanks that we chose Dunwoody as our home a decade ago, little knowing how much we'd need the hospital campus just 15 minutes from our house.

Thanks that research into Crohn's and its treatment has advanced so much in our teen's lifetime.

Some of the most giving people around our family are now enduring or have suffered their own challenges and losses. Thanks for compassion that springs from the most God-centered part of our souls.

This is truly a Thanksgiving Day for the Knitternall family. Whatever comes next, we are together and we are blessed.

The Sox Shawl

I admit that miles of repeats and stockinette bore me. Then my overachiever nature kicks in and I obsessively knit until the project that is boring me is completed. When I started this shawl, I knew I wanted to knit it for any mom whose child is in the ICU at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. (The nurses present shawls where they see a need.) But the mitered squares lost their appeal after just three were completed. So I crocheted for a while. When that wasn't fun anymore, I tried stockinette. And so on. Miraculously, the shawl turned out to be quite nice and has drawn oohs and aahs from non-knitters who have seen me compulsively knitting on it for the past week or so.

So here's my latest pattern:

The Sox Shawl!
A knit and crochet pattern

Note: gauge, stitch count, etc. are highly flexible in this pattern.

Finished Size: 60" wide at widest points; 30" deep from neck to middle point.

6 skeins Bernat Sox, Hot Tamale (40713) (any similar weight sock yarn can be substituted)

Size 8 (5mm) straight needles

F5 (3.75mm) crochet hook

Section 1

Knit 3 mitered squares in stockinette as follows.

Knit and decrease on the right side.

Purl across on the wrong side.

Cast on 70 stitches. Knit 35, place market, knit 35.

WS: Purl across.

RS: Knit to 2 stitches before marker. K2tog. Slip marker. K2tog. Knit across to end of row.

Continue in pattern until 4 stitches remain.

K2tog. K2tog.

Last row, K2tog and fasten off.

Join three mitered squares with single crochet. The center square will become a diamond, with squares to the right and left. The single crochet chain creates a ridge between the squares.

Section 2
Beginning with a slipknot and the WS of the mitered squares and using an F5 crochet hook, work single crochet pattern along bases of three squares. As you get to one of the points created by the mitered squares, work three single crochets in one stitch to enhance the corner. Work back and forth for approximately 5 inches. Fasten off. Note: starting with the WS helps correct the curling nature of the stockinette.

Section 3
With WS facing you and using size 8 needles, pick up stitches along the side section of the shawl, from the edge to the first point. On my shawl, this was 60 stitches. Picking up stitches on the WS creates a nice ridge between the crocheted section and the knitted stockinette section that follows.

In this section, with the RS facing, you will knit straight on the right edge of the shawl and add a stitch on every knit row on the left edge, creating an angle that follows the angle of the point and which will be grafted to the next section later on.

RS: Knit across to last stitch; knit front and back to increase 1.

WS: Purl across.

Continue in pattern for 32 rows. Bind off.

Sections 4 & 5
With WS facing, pick up stitches along base of section 4 (see schematic) – Section 4 section is located directly to the left of Section 3; Section 5 is located directly to the left of Section 4. Sections 4 and 5 are the largest segments of the shawl.

In this section, with the RS facing, you will add a stitch at the beginning and end of every knit row.

RS: Knit front and back to increase 1; knit across to last stitch, knit front and back to increase 1.

WS: Purl across.

Continue in pattern for 32 rows. Bind off.

Repeat for Section 5.

Section 6

With WS facing, pick up stitches along the left side section of the shawl.

In this section, with the RS facing, you will add a stitch on every knit row at the beginning, then knit across to the edge.

RS: Knit front and back in first stitch, knit across.

WS: Purl across.

Continue in pattern for 32 rows. Bind off.

Single crochet to join the edges between Sections 3 & 4, 4&5, and 5&6, creating a raised ridge in each section.

Section 7
With the WS facing and beginning with a slipknot and using an F5 crochet hook, work single crochet pattern along bases of Sections 3-6. As you get to one of the points, work three single crochets in one stitch to enhance the corner. Work back and forth for approximately 1 inch. Fasten off. Note: starting with the WS helps correct the curling nature of the stockinette.

Finishing

Single crochet at least one row around the entire shawl to help any curled edges lie down. I single crocheted two rows all the way around. Fasten off.

SCHEMATIC

Section 1: Blue
Section 2: Yellow
Sections 3-6: Green
Section 7: Purple

The long straight lines indicate the general angles of the shawl. Note that this schematic is NOT an accurate reflection of the shawl's proportions.

Remicade knitting

Today is A's eight-week Remicade infusion. We'll stop for a chicken biscuit at Chic Fil A then head for the lab for his 10:00 appointment. The good news is that today is a school holiday, so he isn't missing classes. (A does not consider that good news. He loves to miss classes.)

Remicade is coded by the insurance company like chemotherapy, and there are many similarities. Every eight weeks, he's hooked up to an IV for 3 hours of measured dosage. The infusion lab is staffed by GI Care for Kids (the pediatric gastroenterology practice) so it's set up for the primarily tween and teen patients' comfort. Recliners, a TV, a bunch of current DVD's, snack tray and two amazing nurses, plus half a dozen pediatric GIs right around the corner and Children's Healthcare/Scottish Rite across the street just in case . . . it's a fantastic arrangement.

Remicade has been a last-ditch measure to control Adam's severe Crohn's, and so far it's preventing the perforations and sepsis he's endured in the past. We're praying that the inevitable development of Remicade antibodies is far in the future because there isn't much in the research pipeline to go to next.

Meanwhile, we parents get to perch in a microscope waiting "room" that's anything but comfortable. Seven armless seats with the worst ergonomics I've ever seen in an airless anteroom that's about 8 feet wide by 12 feet long! I always try to angle for the corner seat because that way I'm not in the path of strollers headed to the lab that shares the infusion lab's space, nor will the door to the lab smack me in the knees. Otherwise, it's a constant dodge.

I truly do not mind the waiting room because I appreciate the space set aside for patients. I can get up and move around. The patients are tethered to their IVs.

Three hours of Remicade equates to really productive knitting. I hope to get to the heel of Jaywalker #2 and swatch a new project. Plus I have a J. D. Robb in case my hands get tired.

The "Making Do" Philosophy

There's a reality check in any family's life. Ours was the impact of medical costs. We are grateful for the exemplary care our son has received by pediatric gastroenterologists, by our providential proximity to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, by the rapid rate of research into treatment and (we pray) a cure for Crohn's Disease, by a generous and responsive health plan provided by my husband's employer, and the fact that Remicade is working for him. But all this comes at a tremendous cost. No health insurance covers 100%. 20% adds up when you're dealing with medical costs that run up to six figures each year.

Making do is our mantra. My children are still young enough not to realize how much their parents skimp and move and adjust and tweak. And that's wonderful. They take pleasure in family traditions, occasional outings and luxuries, and the continuity of everyday life. I've found resources that make our budget happy while indulging them in their special pleasures. Thrift shops and estate sales, consignment shops and sales, homemade cooking and hand-crafted treats - put it all together, and we live darned well!

Making Do Pointer #1: Income isn't really disposable.
If you find a Goodwill Store in a very upscale area of town, check it out! I have searched elbow to elbow with women decked in couture and found designer jeans, Coldwater Creek, and Chico's in mint condition for myself, and the trendiest Abercrombie & Fitch, Limited Too, and N Kids outfits for my daughter. It seems disposable income equates to a disposable attitude about nearly-new fashions!

Making Do Pointer #2: Shop with purpose.
I can't stand keeping up with coupons. It's just too much work. Instead, I always work with a menu and a shopping list. I plan four meals a week, two of which have no meat, and try to limit my shopping to just one trip. I find that my costs stay much lower when I'm disciplined. Buying off the menu and spontaneously always costs more!

Making Do Pointer #3: Make your hobby self-funding.
The Shakers got it right. Take pleasure in hand craftsmanship. Utilitarian objects can also be aesthetically pleasing. Knitting is my indulgence as well as a source of income. It began when my son was hospitalized the first time. He went from tummy pains to full septic shock in a matter of months. A dear lady in my Bible Study handed me a pair of needles and yarn and showed me how to knit. I knitted my first prayer shawl in the ICU during ten days of critical condition and slowly improvement. I knitted my first handbag during the few months we were "back to normal." Then I knitted scarf after scarf, another shawl, a few more handbags, and more when he went critical again, perforating at the ileum and sustaining multiple surgeries.

I sold more than $500 worth of those handbags and scarves the first bazaar I tried - that was more than enough to pay for the yarn and add some to the kitty for future projects. Such "self-funding" takes the guilt out of something I love doing so much.

Making do. It's a GREAT thing!