Right, so nothing super duper major has been happening update-wise in the last few days, so that makes things easier, lol. Basically, I'm just gonna go through facebook and tumblr posts so remember what all happened XD
The 20th was a giant blur after taking two sleeping pills the night before. I'd taken one at like...9:30 and then the second at 12:30. And they worked! Sort of o.O I mean I passed out, but i'm not sure it was a very restful sleep, so it didn't feel very worth it... Watched Tangled with my Aunt and Uncle, and managed to doodle Punz even while nodding off every few seconds. I dunno if that's talent or crazy XD We had chinese for dinner, and played a few rounds of Scattergories and Pix-it and it was fun ^^
The 21st was nothing short of insane. Health update wise, my food tube started leaking more. It's basically the stuff in the beginning of the small intestines...sorta half digested muck. It's not pleasant, it can itch and burn and sting...but we've got a system figured out to keep it clean ^^
But nah, that wasn't the crazy bit. The crazy bit was that through the efforts of a bunch of dear friends online, they turned the 21st into Alie Day! A day where people wear green in honor of both me and to spread liver cancer awareness! And holy wow, was it WAY more successful than I ever could have imagined! I figured my friends would wear green, but only a few of them...who could be bothered? But hundreds of people took part! People i've never met or had any direct contact with took part! Someone wrote a message on a green coconut and took pictures with it all over their city! I had people in green saying hello to me all day long on facebook and I could barely keep up with things there! And that's ignoring the many messages on tumblr and deviantArt, the bazillion times people made journals about me on deviantArt, the gift art posted there or sent to me drectly... And somehow, a few amazing girls managed not only to suggest me for a Daily Deviation (a special spotlight of sorts on deviantArt, where an art piece is selected and showcased as a special daily pick. It's a HUGE honor and something I never ever everrr thought i'd get!), but to schedule it so that it would arrive on the 21st. On Alie Day. This piece:
Here it is on deviantArt if you'd like to see the description I gave originally ^^ It's just so amazing...the meaning behind this piece is a large part of why it was picked, I'm sure. (Art-wise I wouldn't have ever picked it, it's not that great. I have much more impressive work I admit ^^;) But because this is the first piece I drew after learning I had cancer... This is the piece I got a few prints of for the nurses and doctors at the hospital as a thank you for taking such good care of me. This piece got me through some rough lonely, painful nights as I reminded myself that I'm an artist and that there's beauty everywhere as long as you open your eyes to see it.
I still can't understand it. How did I manage to find so many amazing people and get them involved in my life? What did I do that was so right that I was able to somehow end up with what is clearly the most amazing and supportive group of friends in the entire world? Seriously, you guys...you're so amazing. I can never explain it, I've tried to and I keep running out of words. There simply aren't any. Maybe that's the cheap way out, but i'm not sure this is a battle I can win. Heck, this is a battle I'm alright with losing! Being unable to find words means that maybe I can convince people at least a little bit how much they mean to me!
Eh, a girl can hope =P
Alright, so the 22nd was...sleepy blurriness? And a giant visit of like 7 people all at once, lol. My dad's parents, brother and new (new to me anyways) sister-in-law drove up from New Mexico, so that's 4. And at the same time, my great aunt Linda was driven down from Fort Collins by her...daughter and...grandson? I'm honestly not sure how they're related, I've only met em maybe once before. Which was a teeny bit awkward, but it wasn't awful. One plus to having that many people over at once is that the focus isn't constantly on me which was nice. I was also having a nice strong, awake day, so I was able to come downstairs to see them, join them for lunch (lasagna mmm), and show them how my digital drawing worked since it was really impossible to explain otherwise, lol.
23rd involved a visit to the hospital for another fluid drain. It wasn't bad either, they were really fast :) Seriously, I was in and set up within in the hour, they got over 2 liters out... I did have to roll over a little, but it got more fluid and didn't hurt so it was worth it. Really, it wasn't a bad visit in the least, lol. They are talking about just making it a weekly appt right away, since I seem to need it weekly anyway and this way i'll be in and out even quicker. Maybe even more than weekly...I went from Friday to thursday ad they got out more fluid... Maybe instead of weekly I need it every few days... I mean it's only been a couple days but I can already tell its building up again. Annoyingly fast...grr...
Anyways, later that evening the Dessert Night crew came over ^^ For those who don't know, myself and afew friends used to have what we called Dessert Night. It was my resolution that year to go one day a week without electronics, and out of boredom I ended up making desserts, lol. So I invited them and we hung out weekly for a few months, just eating dessert and talking and doodling and such ^^ It ended eventually, but this week Rachel made us fresh blackberry mousse and holy crapola was it amazing!
And on the 24th, I...well everything sucked, mostly. The food tube got twisted and I was in some really bad pain for ages, it was really less than fun ^^; Eventually though I was able to move around enough to do a careful shower washup with the help oh my mom. It's a little weird still, letting her scrub me from head to toe. She understands though, she'll do what she can but she really works to make sure that i'm comfortable and pain free and not awkward about things. She's seriously amazing guys, she really is <3
Then a friend who recently moved to town came to visit! Well, mummy picked her up, lol. But yeah, they got Kneader's (seriously, BEST SMOOTHIES EVER) and came here. Since I wasn't really up for leaving the house, this was easier, and Eve was such a sweetheart about the whole thing! We ended up watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, though I was half asleep for most of it ^^ She stayed the night in the guest room ad meanwhile I passed out. Like...I fell fast asleep and didn't move until morning. It was...awesome! Weird, but awesome!
I'm hoping I can manage the same thing tonight. We'll have to see. Not long of a wait though, I can barely keep my eyes open :P So goodnight all~!!
~Alie
Hold strong, Alie! :::hugs::::
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw that art piece, I didn't know what it was but it just shining with strength and after reading your blog, now I know why. Because it's a reflection of your spirit! =) Keep writing! I'll be reading!
ReplyDeleteThinking much of you and wishing you to stay strong and positive. I think you really have won the hearts of many of us. Being a bit ill myself, I find you are inspiring me to be stronger and not give up... Much love Alie and many hugs (Veronica-art.deviantat) <3
ReplyDeleteAww your mum is amazing, send her lots of love! Funnily enough I was watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang myself the other night and it made me think of you (I think we talked about it aaages ago). Oh me ol' bamboo! I'm chuffed to bits that you had a blast on Tuesday, it was such a brilliant turn out. Felt like an all-day party! :D
ReplyDeleteAlie, here's a little something to make you smile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8ZJrfeohzU <3
ReplyDeleteYour mum sounds like awesome support! I'm doing a 10km cancer run this summer and although we have never met and possibly only spoke once in passing on DA for Disney Heroines, I'm going to link people to your art on my raising page to both show your awesome designs but spread some awareness here in Britain. Keep enjoying tasty desserts!
ReplyDeleteDear Alie,
ReplyDeleteThis has been weighing on my mind for a while and I really, really, hope you aren't offended by this.
I have to ask, has anyone ever talked to you about God? Have you ever heard about Jesus? Before I go any further, let me explain why I want to share what I know about God with you. God is a part of everyone’s life, every day, in every situation, I have never known life without knowing he was there even when I was being hateful and probably would have preferred he not be looking at me. Long ago, my church showed a video in which a person put forth the statement, “If you believe that God exist and Hell exists, and anyone who doesn’t believe in God and what He has to say goes to Hell, than you must really hate someone to not tell them about God.” I’m not sure if you’re a Christian, but if you aren’t, how could I live knowing I did nothing to share my faith with you. If this sounds like I am only sharing my faith to self-satisfy me, than I apologize. That is not my intention at all. Please, please, read to the end. Now I’m painfully shy and talking with anyone is often hard for me so if this sounds partially canned, it is. Got Life is a program put together to help people share their personal relationship with God and uses the word LIFE as an acrostic of sorts. I’ll start it in a second. Some of the words like sinning are what I call church speak, sinning is pretty simple – it is doing things that separate us from God. If you have ever lied (even a white lie), ever stolen, no matter the size, ever looked after someone in lust, were ever disrespectful to your parents, etc. (there are more), then by God’s standards, you are guilty of sin and must live separate from Him for all eternity. No one could live up to the letter of the law and God knew we couldn’t so He gave us a free gift to make up for all of our failings so we could go and live with Him in peace with His love surrounding us eternally, no hurt, no pain, no tears, please continue reading below. In regards to how verses are read, let’s take a look at John 3:16. John refers to the book in the Bible. 3 refers to the chapter in that book. 16 refers to the “sentence” in that chapter. Sometime a “sentence” will have more than one sentence or will be only part of a sentence. If you are still having problems, just type the verse into google. biblegateway .com should pop up and I recommend the Holman Christian Standard Bible version. It reads very easily. Now on to L.I.F.E.
L is for Love. Now you may be asking, “What’s love got to do with it?” You may be familiar with this accompanying verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son (Jesus Christ), that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” – John 3:16. Because God loves you, He created you, gave you life, and wants to have a one-on-one relationship with you. He is the creator of everything on this earth, an artist deluxe, everything he made was beautiful and pure before sin entered the world
DeleteI is for Isolation. “If God loves me and wants a relationship, why am I isolated from Him?” The answer to that question comes in the form of two verses, Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, and Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sin causes isolation from God. It is rebellion against God and keeps us from eternal life.
F is for Forgiveness. How can we get past this isolation and have a relationship with God? “For Jesus Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He may bring us to God.” – 1st Peter 3:18. The only way our relationship can be restored with God is our sins must be forgiven. Jesus Christ died on the cross for this very purpose. His death and resurrection made it possible for us to be forgiven, all we have to do is ask for it. That’s it, it is free, no working, no needing to add up brownie points, just believe and ask for forgiveness, it is the solution.
E is for Eternal Life…real or ridiculous? Now this isn’t referring to eternal life on earth. What it is referring to is an eternal life after death with God in Heaven. “I (Jesus Christ) have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” - John 10:10 and “But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be[a] children of God, to those who believe in His name.” - John 1:12. If you accept Jesus as your Savior, and mean it whole-heartedly, than a life free of pain and sorrows exist in Heaven after death.
If you want to have a personal relationship with God, than it only takes 3 simple steps. 1) Admit that you are a sinner and are willing to turn 180 from your sins. Verse “Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out.” – Acts 3:19 2) Believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again from the dead. 3) Confess verbally your belief in Jesus Christ. “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9. A one on one relationship is available with the Creator of the universe just for free, there is never a moment while you are alive that it is too late to enter into a relationship with him.
All this info may be confusing especially if you’ve never heard any of it before. A video named The Story uses music and art to explain the Bible from start to finish. I would be more than willing to send you a copy if you so desired. Please feel free to ask me any questions via email at epona51@yahoo.com. If I’ve offended you in any way, I am deeply sorry and please understand that was not my intention. Contrary to popular belief, Christians don’t try to purposefully offend everyone they meet. You are special to God just like everyone He has created and He gifted you with an amazing way of expressing yourself through your art, thank you for sharing with all of us
Again, thank you so much for spotlighting one of my poems in your journal.
You have touched many lives.
Praying for you, Karen a.ka. epona51