Friday, May 28, 2010

Cycle of Life

Today was one of those "Food for Thought" days. I went to a baby shower for a dear young friend.
The shower was fun. Great people, great food, I won a bright red dahlia plant for being able to take my shoes off and on really fast with a balloon stuck under my shirt. Our name tags all bore funny baby-related names. I was "Fertile". My friend was "Poop" and the grandmother-to-be was "Nipples". Hilarious.
But while I was there I found out that a dear older friend, Carol,  had suffered a massive stroke and was in a nursing home. I was told that she was unable to communicate and probably wouldn't recognize me. I feared the worst. I stopped in on my way home from the shower and found a (somewhat) pleasant suprise. Carol was sitting up in a wheelchair. She couldn't speak, but her eyes talked for her. She recognized me and squeezed my hand. I told her about the jewelry I was making and promised to bring her a new bright red pin when I visited next week. She gave me a little upturn of her left lip.
Carol is a two time cancer survivor and sent me many cards of encouragement when I was going through chemo and radiation. She is a collector of antiques and loves the color red. And she's incredibly generous.
I told her how much her cards meant to me and talked about how my hair was growing back (it's about 3 inches now) , but didn't come back red and curly like I hoped - an ongoing joke since I was already pretty grey before I got cancer. Her eyes danced with the conversation and  she gave me the little lip tip again. I could see her frustration at not being able to communicate, but I could tell that she understood everything I was saying.
I don't know if Carol will make a full recovery, but I am certain she will recover as much as she possibly can and will show us her true grit. She's a tough cookie and a great model of determination.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I am so sorry about your friend, Cenya! But she does indeed sound determined and strong. I'll hold her (and you) in my thoughts. We are going through something similar with a dear friend of ours. it's hugely scary, frustrating and sad to see him in this condition.

Sharon Lovejoy said...

I found you through Jodi's blog and I am happy I did.

This is very close to home for me.

In your post "Brand New Me" I love it that you are reinventing yourself. We all need to do that periodically.

Thanks for the intimate glimpses of your life,

Let's wish for red curls!

Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

debsgarden said...

I am very late reading this post. I hope that by now your friend Carol is showing steady improvement. My dad was unable to speak the last year of his life, and it was incredibly frustrating. About your hair - I have a friend who had long, straight red hair before chemo. Afterwards, it came back black and curly!