When I was in college I called home one day to talk to my special grandparent-ish people, Edna & Ed. I had recently changed majors from Biology to Fine Arts. When they asked what I would be studying I replied, “Natural Dyeing.” “What?” they asked, “Why would you want to study that?” They of course thought…
Author: Iridacea
My blog Dream Bird Studio, which houses my work as an artist. Mostly fiber arts, much about natural dyes.
I also blog about health, nature and consciousness on Pookaride.com. I started blogging after being diagnosed with breast cancer as a way of keeping my large far flung family up to date. I keep writing though I am no longer cancering with the hope that my experience will benefit others.
You say Placebo, and I say Nocebo.
pla·ce·bo (pləˈsēbō) a. A substance containing no medication and prescribed or given to reinforce a patient’s expectation to get well. b. An inactive substance or preparation used as a control in an experiment or test to determine the effectiveness of a medicinal drug. no·ce·bo (nəˈsēbō) A detrimental effect on health produced by psychological or psychosomatic…
Gift Economy
Our beloved and spoiled chickens lay the most beautiful eggs. Each time we travel to appointments with doctors and healers we try to bring them a dozen eggs. It is an effort to bring the transactions with my doctors closer to the gift economy- mutual benefit is the goal. I hope also that for my Portland doctors,…
Radiation
“There’s radiation on my windshield Paranoia in my mind and my heart is weighted down with the mistakes of my own kind.” Joanne Rand Back a few weeks ago when I was declared to be at stage 0, I decided to forgo radiation treatments. On Friday morning I received an upsetting call from the Radiation…
The Cure for Cowbirds
Yesterday on my walk with Joe, we saw one of the little yellow warblers flitting amongst the branches of a blooming scotch broom. They are so beautiful, with a quick cheerfulness and a loopy small-bird flight pattern – as if they are always skipping or dancing. We also happened upon a courtship routine of a few brown-headed…
On being a modified radical.
By many accounts I was a radical before any of this cancer-ing journey began – starting a worker cooperative is enough for that title. Plus I believe in lots of “radical” notions, like universal health care, environmental stewardship, self education and homebirth. I believe in a loving creative god, the consciousness of the entire universe, which doesn’t smite…
Amazing Grace.
Today we traveled into Portland to have my post surgery follow up appointment with Dr. de LaMelena, and to have my drains removed. I got some news that makes my heart sing. The pathology report shows a Pathologically Complete Response. – which means they could find NO cancer-ing cells – in neither my removed breast tissue nor the…
An Essay on Transition
“Be kind. Everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden.” Ian MacLaren We are here for such a short while, and never know when we may be departing. The sudden death of a friend this past week both hurts my heart, and opens me to being grateful that I am still here. I ache for…
Released from the hospital.
I am recovering nicely from the surgery, we had excellent care while there. The benefits of the paravertabral block include less pain post surgery- which means I have been comfortable. I was released today to go home with my family. Dr. De la Melena suggested we stay in Portland tonight so we are at my…
All is well!
Kathleen and I just talked with Dr. DelaMelena: surgery is complete, and Iris flew through smoothly. We’ll go meet her in an hour or so, after they’ve eased her back out of anesthesia. There’s a man sharing the waiting room with us who looks remarkably like Iris’s father, fedora, mustache, and all. A reassuring proxy…
Surgery day
Surgery day is in progress. We’re off to a positive start, with smiling, friendly helpers at every turn. I’ll post an update as soon as I know more. – Joe
Hell Yeah or No
Here is a bit of a modern proverb on how to negotiate our too busy lives by Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby!. It is only 1 minute long and definitely worth watching if you ever find yourself saying Yes to more than you can fit on your plate. http://vimeo.com/25496723 Since my diagnosis many people have offered…
Riding the Pooka 