Category Archives for art

white amber and bras

white amber and bras

janice wrote more about the white amber piece i get to carry in my pocket to surgery:

it is believed to have more medicinal powers than the clear types and 
also to have more magical properties.  I tell people that the reason I am 
so healthy is that I am around so much amber so much of the time!  
Anyway, it is believed in "amberland" to have great healing powers 
and the people of the Baltic use it in various ways (I even have some 
lotion), mix it with tea to drink, burn it as incense, etc.  Have heard 
some even more far-fetched uses.  (remind me to tell you sometime).

pretty interesting. yesterday, leanne and i got me fixed up with some sports bras from the sports basement, which should be less painful on the cuts in my breast after surgery. now… the reason i haven’t been fixed up already with sports bras is not so much that i don’t jog, although i don’t, but because i’ve never found one to contain me. we found a couple xl’s (maddeningly scarce), and they seem to work ok, didn’t need to choke me while wrestling over my head and shoulders, and don’t feel like rubber bands around my body. the lovely glitter-adorned package on friday night contained a special lacy bra from the lovely alla prima… just to make me feel better! now that one is a good fit, of course. it would seem like my biopsy is single-handedly saving the local economy.

in my dreams last night, it was a very hot day and i was fixing to climb up a mountain. i was trying to figure out what shoes and shirt to wear. i was having trouble tieing my shoelaces. it was so hot, i hoped i had enough water. but i remember the feeling of how good it was going to be to hike up that mountain.

it’s a bright sunny day in the city today after hard rain on the chinese new year’s parade last night. it looks like a good day for marching.

voicemail from dr grissom

voicemail from dr grissom

my biopsy is in exactly a week, and i called and left several questions for dr grissom today on her voicemail. she called just a little bit later with all the answers i asked for — it’s all on voicemail:

  • i gave you the DCIS chapter because you never know -- there's that 10% chance that it could be, and i always think it's good to be prepared, and then it won't happen!
  • the calcifications very rarely disappear -- i've never seen them disappear actually, although it's talked about in literature
  • biopsy should not affect your mammogram in the future. sometimes you'll have a little scar tissue for awhile, but it goes away, and they can pretty well see everything again
  • you don't really need to prepare your skin
  • sports bra is pretty good, but get one that's a little loose. if possible, something that fastens in the front is easier, and just gives you a little support
  • i don't know exactly where there going to put the needles until they get there and they get it in, so i don't know where i'll put the incision exactly until we get there
  • i will call you with the results and you can tell me on the day of surgery how to get a hold of you. usually you get them in two working days, so if you're having it on friday, usually you get it on the tuesday afterwards; although pathology has been very slow -- i've had some results not come out till friday this week
  • on the day of biopsy, you're there for about four hours and you're sitting around probably for about three, so bring a book - both of you!

(yes, i left off the question about the sushi and the tissue bank – and the cancer and the breastfeeding, feeling both a little premature!).

then, dr. grissom said she’d talk to me next week and if there was any problem or more questions till then just to let her know. it’s really great to have such a responsive surgeon. leaving that list of messages on her voicemail i felt a bit silly and sheepish, but her message, which addressed all the questions, made me feel not foolish at all. that’s awesome.

i saw a little note by leanne’s side of the bed this morning to get little bendy straws for me — “so that i can get my liquids”! it’s a little odd to be expected to be an invalid!

it’s been the most decorated valentine’s day i can remember. we received valentines from everyone from my parents to delancy street movers! die familie enders sent along a lovey hand-made valentine. and leanne– leanne got me the spicy dark chocolates i craved from donnelly in santa cruz. in fact, she requested them from richard directly! jane siberry wrote with global wishes of healing and light; then there was the 50th anniversary gala for del and phyllis last night – a sweet movie and a drink afterwards with sylvia and karin. all-in-all, a great week, even if leanne and eve were looking at me as if i’m about to be devastated. i feel we’re in great hands; the world itself should be so lucky — but is left this week to rely upon duct tape and plastic.

leanne just walked in with a package decorated in glitter that says: “healing beauty for moya’s left breast”!!!

package from mom

package from mom

a package arrived from mom yesterday with several lovely items enclosed. i now
have two separate pieces of amber to ensure a healing experience. from the
amber show in new york, mom got me a pendant that is clear amber on one
side, and white amber – it’s opaque, and i don’t really know why it’s white
but it’s pretty neat – on the other. jan included an amber rock that is
made of that same white substance. whoops; i should say “a piece of amber
vegetable”, now that i know amber is not a rock but a vegetable (well, sap
from a tree). i’ll be able to wear the pendant after the surgery; the
‘rock’ i can take with me in my pocket! just to keep me guessing, there was
also a real rock – actually made of soap – also included. pretty neat
healing package… i hadn’t realized that amber had healing properties.