Friday, August 15, 2008

Cancer Chic - Me and My Vacuum

As soon as I find the cable that connects my camera to the computer, I will post some before and after pictures of

Me and My Vacuum

(thinking of Me and My Shadow song)

After my nurse, L., finished packing the wound and then attaching the "drape" (which I called a "lid" yesterday), I looked down and realized that there are several feet of tubing that goes from my body to the pump. Maybe as much as 8-10 feet. Talk about a tether!

It's a clear tubing and I thought I might just stuff it in my pocket, but there's no pocket that's big enough for all of that. So, whaddya do?

Why decorate it, of course! I thought I might decorate it with beads and wear the tubing as a necklace or a belt and I still have to play around to see if that works. But when I got home, I thought about that curling ribbon you put on gifts. Perfect!

So, I'm experimenting with it a bit and will probably change it periodically, but I like it. I figure, people are going to notice the damn thing anyway. Might as well have fun with it and if someone asks, I'll just tell them the truth.

You do lose some vanity and also some inhibitions when you have cancer. It's out of your hands, to a certain extent, so you might as well play and enjoy the experience!

Hope everyone has a great day! Sincerely, Seven

2 comments:

Wendy S. Harpham, MD said...

Hi,
Years ago I met an incredible woman who gave meaning to 'cancer chic' for me. She'd lost her eye to cancer when she was a kid. As a young adult, she got tired of the troubles with her prosthetic eye, so she switched to eye patches. This woman would either take extra fabric from the hem of a dress or she would somehow find the same fabric, and she would sew a matching eye patch. She did elegant, dressy-casual, funky, you name it! What most people hid or tried to deny, she flaunted in the most fabulous way.

Hoping your tubing does it's job well and looks fabulous while doing it.

With hope, Wendy

Carver said...

I am glad you still have your sense of humor Dee. I had to deal with tubing for 9 weeks due to ongoing fluid issues after my groin dissection. It was a long tube with a bulb at the end which had to be emptied. The tube went in through my lower abdomen. Because of where it was I was able to pen the bulb to my skirt or dress and let the tube fall down under my clothes. The downside was pants didn't work well as it showed up as a bulge. I guess where yours is would be harder in some ways. Is there room for the tube to fall down your side under a big top. What we used to call peasant tops perhaps? Good luck and you can always have fun with it and decorate as you suggested.