You know the saying..."When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Well, this past year, life has sent me a truckload of lemons. How exactly to make lemonade with that kind of volume has taken me a whole year!
I'm writing about all of this because it does relate to my jewelry making. So, if you will, please hang in there and I will eventually get to that. This story is about running into huge obstacles and how I found a way to work through them. Keep in mind that I had not been seriously ill until these events unfolded. I was a very healthy 58 year-old woman at the time.
I'm writing about all of this because it does relate to my jewelry making. So, if you will, please hang in there and I will eventually get to that. This story is about running into huge obstacles and how I found a way to work through them. Keep in mind that I had not been seriously ill until these events unfolded. I was a very healthy 58 year-old woman at the time.
And So, The Obstacles Began...
It started the day after Thanksgiving, 2009. I needed surgery for a bowel obstruction. That did not go well and I ended up having 3 stomach surgeries within a 2-week period. During the 3rd surgery, I stopped breathing and had to be put on life support. I was rushed to ICU where I stayed for 16 days before the ventilator could be removed.
As it turned out I had developed ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome). This is often fatal, I am told. However, I survived and went on to rehab for physical and occupational therapy. After a few weeks, I was hospitalized for dehydration. No one really seemed to know what was wrong with me, however. During this hospitalization, we discovered that I had a stomach ulcer. I was re-hydrated and, after a couple of weeks, I went home again.
I did not seem to be getting better at home. After seeing my primary care doctor, I was sent straight from the office visit to the ER where I was admitted for malnutrition. During this hospitalization, they discovered that I had blood clots in my leg and upper arm. I was put on intravenous nutrition and sent by ambulance to another hospital. I was admitted to 4 hospitals before this was over!
The day after I was admitted to the 4th hospital, I had several strokes (30 - 40 strokes as estimated by the doctors). The neurologist told my family that there was no hope of recovery. I suffered paralysis on the left side of my body and did sustain some brain damage.
Needless to say, I did survive, proving the doctors wrong, thankfully. Again, I began physical and occupational therapy at home, had in-home nursing care and continued receiving intravenous nutrition at home for 5 months.
Where Does Jewelry-Making Fit In?
My occupational therapist was also a jewelry designer and wanted me to try making jewelry again. I tried several times over a period of months but just struggled with it, not having the fine motor skills to manage mt hand tools or the hand strength to even hold them. Even when I could complete a simple task, there was no joy in it. It was just too hard!
I decided that I would not force myself to make jewelry. I only wanted to do it if it was fun for me, not an obligation. I tried every couple of months during the first year out of the hospital; then after about 9 months, it started feeling like fun again.
One of the things I learned was that my brain turned things around on me. I found that, if my instinct was to wrap wire to the left, it would turn out wrong. So, I tried a silly experiment. I decided that I would do the opposite of what I thought I should do and, guess what? It worked! This one discovery changed jewelry making for me forever!
What's Happening Now?
I have been making jewelry now for about 3 months. My goal is to make at least one piece per day. I often can make several pieces per day, though. I guess the moral of the story is that obstacles can often be overcome as long as you don't give up. Next month, I plan to have a jewelry sale, primarily featuring my new post-stroke jewelry collection! Of course, I'll be serving lots of lemonade along with the jewelry on that day!