Celebrating victories

When my husband finished his 35th radiation treatment I wanted to celebrate in a special way. Since I love to quilt I made him a signature quilt that was signed by his co-workers, friends and parishioners from church and gave it to him after the last treatment. I'm curious how others have celebrated victories and milestones... this is a link to a picture of the quilt. I haven't quite figured out how to embed the picture in the post just yet.

 

http://csn.cancer.org/sites/default/files/images/signature quilt2_0.preview.JPG

 

Barbara

Comments

  • twinklepigs
    twinklepigs Member Posts: 11
    Wow!

    Oh my heavens...your quilt is gorgeous!!! That was a great idea! I'm sorry I don't have any input on celebrations as of yet. My husbands rad tech asked him what he was going to do to celebrate his last treatment tomorrow and he said "take some pain meds and go to bed". We are not feeling very good at the moment but I'm hoping it will get better. Looking forward to hearing celebrations from others too. Your quilt is breathtaking and so special!

  • Barbaraek
    Barbaraek Member Posts: 626

    Wow!

    Oh my heavens...your quilt is gorgeous!!! That was a great idea! I'm sorry I don't have any input on celebrations as of yet. My husbands rad tech asked him what he was going to do to celebrate his last treatment tomorrow and he said "take some pain meds and go to bed". We are not feeling very good at the moment but I'm hoping it will get better. Looking forward to hearing celebrations from others too. Your quilt is breathtaking and so special!

    We had cake and punch too

    which of course he couldn't eat or drink! But I wanted to thank all the docs and his co-workers (he is a surgeon in a cancer center) for all their support, so we held our brief celebration right there in the hospital. Then, like your husband it was off to bed courtesy of some Ativan, covered up in his new quilt.

     

    Barbara

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    Oh...it's gorgeous!!

    You are talented....I'd love to be able to quilt!  One of the gals at work made me a quilt when I was going through treatment....it was all dogs (my passion)....I cried.  When I finished rads, I walked into the lobby, and my family had shown up to celebrate.  My two sisters and brother-in-law....They'd tied empty cans of Ensure to the back of my car, and put a big sign in the window that said "Just finished radiation"....When Greg and I were driving home from the hospital, we got high fives and honking horns the whole way....LOL.  Personally, I celebrated by not going in for the Amifostine shot before rads....I figured my saliva glands would do fine if I skipped one day of "daily sick"...

    image

  • twinklepigs
    twinklepigs Member Posts: 11

    Oh...it's gorgeous!!

    You are talented....I'd love to be able to quilt!  One of the gals at work made me a quilt when I was going through treatment....it was all dogs (my passion)....I cried.  When I finished rads, I walked into the lobby, and my family had shown up to celebrate.  My two sisters and brother-in-law....They'd tied empty cans of Ensure to the back of my car, and put a big sign in the window that said "Just finished radiation"....When Greg and I were driving home from the hospital, we got high fives and honking horns the whole way....LOL.  Personally, I celebrated by not going in for the Amifostine shot before rads....I figured my saliva glands would do fine if I skipped one day of "daily sick"...

    image

    Love it!

    I love that strangers were acknowledging the enormity of what you had just been through. I guess cancer has touched the lives of many and provides some kind of unity for all people. You doggie in your profile pic is just gorgeous. Do you still have your quilt?

     

  • wmc
    wmc Member Posts: 1,804
    I recommend celebrating everything.

    I don't talk about my illness on Facebook, but in the WebWhispers I will because it is secret. But I do come here and celebrate and shair what happened. They may seem like no big deal to most, but to the ones fighting they can be major. As a laryngectomee I was told many things I can no longer do. So when I relearned how to whistle it was Major. It took working at it every day for two months, and when I showed my SLP her jaw dropped and she got her camera as I blew up a balloon. Having stage 3 COPD and being a neck breather it is  major as most can never do that. The first time I could really smell something. If the wind is just right I can smell some. My luck it was a mowed lawn and dog poop, just my luck. When I came home after surgery I had to get my soup with a straw because I had to learn how to use a spoon all over, it just ran out my mouth. Some can't use a straw and some can. 

    When your treatment is done you want fireworks as that is very MAJOR and be so proud of what you did. The doctors say the treatment for H&N is the second worse to go through. I always like it when someons will say, "I can imagen what that was like, or what you went through". They mean well. But my wife still does not know what I go through every day with having to breathe out my neck and put tweezers in my stoma to clean it and pray I don't touch the wall because I gag and cough untill I turn red from my head all the way to the center of my chest, and see stars. Then I get to squirt 3ml of saline down to clean and cough like hell. But I an alive and I thank God every morrning I open my eyes and can breathe. I don't regret any of it. But no one reallys knows what we do go through. We are survivors, so celabrate everything.....

    Bill

  • Barbaraek
    Barbaraek Member Posts: 626

    Oh...it's gorgeous!!

    You are talented....I'd love to be able to quilt!  One of the gals at work made me a quilt when I was going through treatment....it was all dogs (my passion)....I cried.  When I finished rads, I walked into the lobby, and my family had shown up to celebrate.  My two sisters and brother-in-law....They'd tied empty cans of Ensure to the back of my car, and put a big sign in the window that said "Just finished radiation"....When Greg and I were driving home from the hospital, we got high fives and honking horns the whole way....LOL.  Personally, I celebrated by not going in for the Amifostine shot before rads....I figured my saliva glands would do fine if I skipped one day of "daily sick"...

    image

    Ensure cans!

    OMG Phrannie...Ensure cans is too funny. It is so vital to have a sense of humor when your world gets turned upside down. When we had the cake and punch in the hospital's boardroom we talked about doing Ensure shots as a show of solidarity!

    Barbara

  • Barbaraek
    Barbaraek Member Posts: 626
    wmc said:

    I recommend celebrating everything.

    I don't talk about my illness on Facebook, but in the WebWhispers I will because it is secret. But I do come here and celebrate and shair what happened. They may seem like no big deal to most, but to the ones fighting they can be major. As a laryngectomee I was told many things I can no longer do. So when I relearned how to whistle it was Major. It took working at it every day for two months, and when I showed my SLP her jaw dropped and she got her camera as I blew up a balloon. Having stage 3 COPD and being a neck breather it is  major as most can never do that. The first time I could really smell something. If the wind is just right I can smell some. My luck it was a mowed lawn and dog poop, just my luck. When I came home after surgery I had to get my soup with a straw because I had to learn how to use a spoon all over, it just ran out my mouth. Some can't use a straw and some can. 

    When your treatment is done you want fireworks as that is very MAJOR and be so proud of what you did. The doctors say the treatment for H&N is the second worse to go through. I always like it when someons will say, "I can imagen what that was like, or what you went through". They mean well. But my wife still does not know what I go through every day with having to breathe out my neck and put tweezers in my stoma to clean it and pray I don't touch the wall because I gag and cough untill I turn red from my head all the way to the center of my chest, and see stars. Then I get to squirt 3ml of saline down to clean and cough like hell. But I an alive and I thank God every morrning I open my eyes and can breathe. I don't regret any of it. But no one reallys knows what we do go through. We are survivors, so celabrate everything.....

    Bill

    Well Said Bill

    For sure, my husband and I see everything differently now and you're spot on - we should celebrate EVERY day.

     

    Barbara

  • Barbaraek
    Barbaraek Member Posts: 626
    I did it! Thanks!

    Signature Quilt

     

    Yay! Thanks for the photo instructions!

    Barbara

  • Noellesmom
    Noellesmom Member Posts: 1,859 Member
    Barbaraek said:

    I did it! Thanks!

    Signature Quilt

     

    Yay! Thanks for the photo instructions!

    Barbara

    Beautiful!

    Beautiful quilt and beautiful celebration!

  • kdot2003
    kdot2003 Member Posts: 143
    wow so beautiful!!!  I guess

    wow so beautiful!!!  I guess each day is a victory too.  Have to try and hold on to that.  

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    Barbaraek said:

    I did it! Thanks!

    Signature Quilt

     

    Yay! Thanks for the photo instructions!

    Barbara

    I LOVE IT!!!

    I love quilts....when we were at the fair this year, I sent Greg to go do his thing, so I could spend time looking at the quilts...there's just something so personal about them...so loving about them....a piece of art.

    p

  • MrsBD
    MrsBD Member Posts: 617 Member
    Celebrating

    Barbara, the quilt is beautiful and it is such a great idea to include others in your celebration. On my last day of radiation, the techs played a CD of "Pomp and Circumstance " and gave me a diploma signed by everyone on my team. Then we stomped and smashed the mask. When my husband and I got home, in a rather anticlimactic ending, I took a nap. Enjoy your celebration (and congratulations on getting the picture to post)!

    Beth

  • jakesaround
    jakesaround Member Posts: 34
    I am jealous...

    I love the quilt Barbara, and I am officially jealous as I am a quilt snob. if I cuddle up on the couch or in bed a quilt is what I want.  Great idea on the post treatment celebration gift thing, I will start planting seeds for that new set of golf clubs I have been wanting For my post treatment reward/gift. lol

    jake...

  • avisemi
    avisemi Member Posts: 172
    Love the quilt! OMG, when did

    Love the quilt! OMG, when did you have time to make it on top of everything else? SUPER WIFE! :)