Mindless Knitting; Thought-provoking Reading

I feel so lucky to be part of this blogging community. I can't thank you all enough for your comments and thoughts and prayers. Especially being cooped up in the house, it really helped to feel all that support from all of you!

So, an update: The incision seems to continue to heal. I have been doing a good job playing couch potato, partly because it hurts less when I don't move! I really can't complain. I've had good care and good company. I am VERY squeamish, though, and I kind of freak out when my hand brushes against a staple!

I set up a few hat projects before my surgery, including this Toboggan Run, a pattern by Jaala Spiro of Knit Circus.

Isn't the yarn fabulous? It is Fox Trail Fibre Arts MCN Worsted. I picked up this skein in Montreal last year. The yellows and oranges really pop out from the dark gray. It's going to be a gift. I kind of hate to give away the yarn, but there is a limit to how many knitted items one girl needs!

Still reading these two books. The Sixth Extinction  bogs down in the middle and is very depressing -- a litany of how we are destroying the oceans and the forests, etc. I appreciate that we need to know this information, it's just hard to read. The last couple chapters are more varied, though, and I should finish this soon.

Homegoing is a sweeping, multi-generational story of eight generations beginning with two half-sisters in Africa during the era of the slave trade. It is an important book, but not always easy to read.

Joining up with Kat for Unraveled.

Whether to Share, Good News, a Lesson and Knitting

I'm sure that none of use bares all online. I certainly don't want to advertise all my short-comings to the world. Then there is the question of tone; I don't want to be moaning and complaining all the time. Who wants to read that? And often the difficulties in our lives involve other people, so we need to respect their privacy.

I've been thinking about what to share online a lot since early May, when I was diagnosed with a skin cancer, Squamous Cell Carcinoma. This is generally a very treatable cancer that stays on the surface of the skin. However, this lesion on my right thigh was misdiagnosed by a dermatologist a decade ago, so has grown unchecked -- until it bothered me enough to see another dermatologist this past spring.

It took the dermatologist less than a second to look at it and order a biopsy. I knew then that it had to be cancer. The biopsy came back positive and a Mohs procedure was scheduled for July 6. Two months is a long time to wait when you don't know the extent of the cancer, but the rush of the last month of school helped distract me, as did the trip to Copenhagen.

The Mohs procedure went well. The doctor is reasonably confident they removed all the cancer, but she is going to put me on a chemo surface treatment when the incision heals. And the incision is healing beautifully so far! If I get through the next week without any signs of infection, I'll be in the clear.

I should mention that my husband is an amazing nurse, and my incredible daughter flew in from Florida to be around at this time. Of course, my mom is here in Madison, too, to help out.

That's the good news. Here is the lesson: Be paranoid about odd things on your skin! I don't know how the first dermatologist missed that this lesion was cancer, but I sure wish I would have gotten a second opinion! It would have been a much easier procedure when a smaller area was involved.

As for knitting ... the photos are of an Antarktis, my second. Until the surgeon went in with the Mohs, we didn't know how deep the cancer was or what the recovery would be like. In the days before the procedure, I set up this project as a mindless, soothing knitting activity. And it has been perfect.

I'm usually careful about keeping track of ball bands, but somehow I lost this one. What I can tell you is that the yarn comes from one of my favorite (and local!) dyers: Knit Circus. Fortunately, the recovery is going very smoothly and I can also work on other projects, so I won't be boring you with endless photos of this shawl!

I haven't been up to reading blogs and commenting, but I'll be starting that today. I look forward to seeing what you've been up to!