My Therapy Quilt
Hey Everyone, I Hope your all Well and staying safe?
I want to show you what I’ve called My Therapy Quilt and how
this quilt has helped me out.
The story behind the quilt and why it’s called My Therapy
Quilt is because making this quilt has either helped me or is helping me get
through some horrible times of my life.
Where the quilt began.
Back in late August 2018 my mom wasn’t herself she was
sleeping loads and wasn’t 100%. She wasn’t eating much and what I called at the
time “That’s not my mom” (even though she was my mom, it was just her character
wasn’t there)
In Late September while we were in our local supermarket, I
was looking at my mom and the lights are brighter in the supermarkets than what
we have in our homes. I remember looking at my mom as saying your eyes and skin
are going yellow. My Mom said I know I’m having tests at the moment via the
doctors to see what is happening.
Early October 2018 my mom was in and out of hospital having
tests. We found out she had cancer of the liver and it was that big they didn’t
know how to operate, because normally the tumors grow on the outside of the
liver and not very often in what they call the bio tube. However, and like mom
always says She must be different lol.
By late October 2018 mom was admitted into hospital RSH
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital as her levels were dropping and they needed to get
drains into her to help take away the bad stuff the liver was producing. They
said chemo wasn’t going to help at this stage as they needed to operate fast. Unfortunately,
no one in that hospital Knew what they needed to do as the tube leading to the
liver was the major thing for the body. So, and we thank them as a family for admitting
to this because this was out of their depth for that field. However, they kept
mom in as they knew they couldn’t send her home in the state she was in. They
were trying to get a bed at the leading hospital Queen Elizabeth (QE) in
Birmingham which has a Liver ward and the leading specialist in the country for
the type of cancer mom had. However, waiting for a bed was a long wait the
longest wait ever.
Mid November mom came very ill while still in hospital at
RSH and as a family was told to expect the worst. That’s when me and my father
asked if it was ok to be with her through the whole day and can someone stay
with her at night so she would always have someone with her. My Mom didn’t know
what was happening bless her and still to this day can’t remember these few months
in this one hospital. So, as we were waiting for my sister from Australia to
fly in, we came up with a plan. So, I slept most nights at the hospital and my
father stayed during the day. The hospital at the time thanked us as they come
attached to mom and knew they couldn’t always be there for her because they had
a lot of other patients to look after as well. So, between me, my dad and my
older sister we stayed with mom. My middle sister who worked full time did her
bit by helping dad with keeping him and my older sister feed. We pulled
together as a family and this went on for around 3 weeks. Which like I have
said to my mom and dad I will do it all over again if needed family means
everything to me. In the space of 3
weeks we were prepared by the hospital twice that my mom may not make it.
The 2nd week of December my mom started picking
up again and then out of nowhere a bed came available at QE Birmingham. We were
so happy as we knew something could be done. Mom got transferred to the new
hospital and we followed too. However, they are a Military Hospital where
leading Army, Navy and RAF personnel train up so the staying overnight wasn’t
allowed. There was one good thing though that their visiting hours during the
day were a lot longer because they had a vision of family helps you heal etc. So,
my dad travelled every day bless him to Birmingham to be with my mom, I went 3
times a week and my sisters did too. However mid-December my older sister
needed to travel back home as she had family herself to get back to.
A couple of days before Christmas day mom was told there is
no possible chance, they could operate this side of Christmas. The hospital did
say though that my mom’s levels were ok, and she could go home if you take care
of the drains that are coming out of your body. Mom was all for coming home for
a few weeks as she had enough of the hospitals. They did promise her by the 2nd
week of January 2019 we will have you back in for the operation.
I bet you’re wondering where the quilt comes in, so in
October I was still on Sewing Quarter TV channel and doing my demos on the
latest bag pattern I designed. However, in late October I wasn’t feeling
anything and needed something new to take my mind off everything. I used to
find quilting a therapy, So I finally decided to get out the Liberty of London
Fabric I had been saving up from all the visits to the Liberty of London Shop
over the years with hubby. So, I didn’t know what design I was going to make
but I decided to just cut 2 ½ inch wide strips and see what I come up with. After
cutting them out I found a triangle 12-inch rule which I had never used in my
tools. A plan was formed, I was to sew all the strips together in sets of four
strips, then cut out all the triangles. That’s as far as I got in October and
the 1st week in November 2018. Then mom got worse and that’s where
we decided to be with her 24hours a day. I stopped working on the quilt after
that for a while as my thoughts were all over the place and all I wanted to do
was make my mom better.
So, In January 2019 my mom’s operation came around. I went
back to the TV and started back on the Sewing Quarter because mom made me
promise to go back. The day I went back on the TV in January was the day before
her Operation. The next day was her operation and it took 11 hours; my mom and
dad didn’t want us girls there. So, I remember this day I picked up the quilt
blocks and started sewing them together. I remember checking my phone every 5
to 10 mins waiting to see if there was any news. By the 2nd row of
sewing all the triangles together, I had enough I was melting down and so
worried I had to stop. By the 11th hour I had heard from dad and mom
was out. We were told mom has just over 80% of her liver removed and some new
tubes put into her body. The most common amount of liver removed is normally
around 65%, so this was one of the biggest amounts the hospital said they had
ever done.
My dad said its best you don’t come in for a few days after
the operation as she won’t be awake, she will be on a support machine. I stayed
home another day, but what followed was a phone call from my dad that day
saying my mom had a stroke over night. So, the next few days my mom was having
tests to see the extent of the damage that was caused by the stroke. I still
don’t understand half the things dad was telling me as I was mentally preparing
for a life a change for mom. However, my mom woke up, she knew who my dad was
and knew she had 3 girls and a lot of grandbabies as she calls them. She knew
her age and she knew most of everyone’s names in the family.
The next few weeks I carried on working on the quilt but
after sewing a few triangles each time my heart wasn’t in it. So, I put it away
in a posh poker dot box for another day as I needed to write some new patterns
for the Sewing Quarter as it was back then.
My mom surprised the hospital, we were told that mom
wouldn’t make a full recovery and it would be around 14 months before mom would
take her 1st steps. I laugh at this every time, they don’t know my
mom (she thinks she is Supergirl or wonder women) She was taking her 1st
steps in Mid-February with help with the hospital and my dad. By the start of
March my mom was being transferred to a GP hospital Local to us in Bridgnorth
and they were helping us get the house ready for my mom to come home.
Mom has surprised us all and the hospital, she can walk
without help OK steps and stairs are still a NO go, but she can walk for ages
until she gets tired and needs her walking frame aid or wheel chair.
Her memory is about 95% back, she is our Rockstar. She
proved she needed less than 14 months. She is now back to 95% of herself, but still
gets sleepy and tired. But every day I see my mom getting back to her usual
self.
So, the quilt got put to one side after this event as work
picked up and time flew by until recently well let’s just say the last few
weeks.
Present time year 2020
As you know the whole world is going through a bad time now.
At this present moment we are on lockdown (I’m writing this 4th
April 2020). There is ¾ of the world on lockdown due to a deadly virus (Called
COVID 19) which is killing thousands upon thousands of people worldwide. In the
UK alone we have lost 4313 and this is still rising. When lock down started on March
23rd 2020 my anxiety went out the roof as I wasn’t understanding
what was going on and how the hell to come to terms with a lockdown life. We
have been ordered by the Government to Keep 2 metres apart outside our houses
and not to mix with family outside our own household. To only go out for
essentials such as shopping (that of basic food) and only to exercise once a
day. If you have a cough or high fever plus other symptoms you are advised to
not leave your house and to self-isolate away from others. That’s what me and
my hubby have been doing since the 24th March as we developed a
cough, a sting in the eyes, my Temperature went up and I was finding at one
point hard to breath these are classed as mild symptoms so the government have
ruled that if you have any of these to self-isolate away from others for at
least 14 days until it clears up. So, guess what I picked up my Quilt from back
when mom was in hospital and now it’s finished. It’s helped me out loads while
we are getting over whatever this flu like thing. This has not helped my
anxiety at all and its right what they say sewing is a therapy, my quilt is
proof of that.
So, if you are feeling down pick up that needle and thread
and sew. Turn on your machine and sew, get those thoughts out of your head and
create something new for you.
We are still in lockdown, but I have faith in the world to
make this right and we will get through this. Just remember we are one day
closer to this all being over, so our life’s can go back to normal.
Stay home and stay safe everyone
B
X
