Thursday 13: A Chemo and Senior Angels Update

 It looks like it has been almost two years since I did any kind of Chemo or Senior Angels update, so I think it’s definitely time for one. In the interest of not letting it get too long, I thought a Thursday 13 would be a good format for it.

If you’re not familiar with Chemo Angels and Senior Angels, you can read my long post about them here. The very short version is that they’re programs that match volunteers (known as card angels or chemo angels) with patients or seniors (known as buddies), and the volunteer sends cards/letters to the patient/senior. I volunteer as a card angel with both programs.

As usual, with this kind of post, the photos are just a random assortment.

 

Now, on to the update.

1. I’m still writing to my original senior buddy. I’ve been writing to her since November 2019, shortly after I started with the program. She has written me back a few times and is doing well overall.

2. Her daughter manages her check-ins and is great about mentioning specific things that she enjoys hearing about or pictures she really likes, which makes it much easier to write to her.

3. My chemo buddy from last time (the one who sent me the sweet gift at the beginning of 2021) finished with the program. Unfortunately, she’ll most likely be back for more chemo at some point, but she was getting an extended break and leaving the program for that.

4. The chemo buddy who became my regular buddy after I was substitute card angel for a while also finished with the program during an extended chemo break. We’ve exchanged a few emails since then, and she sent me a Christmas card last year. It sounds like she’s doing fairly well, which makes me very happy.

5. My first-ever teenage buddy, the one I called Anna in my last update, finished her chemo and is cancer free. Her mom has posted a few updates on the Facebook page she set up during Anna’s chemo. Anna’s hair has grown back and was beautiful in her prom pictures. She will start college in the fall and is living life to the full. I love those updates, and I’m delighted at how well she’s doing after everything she went through.

6. I had another teenage buddy for most of last year. We’ll call her Kate for purposes of the update. Kate finished her chemo earlier this year and is now cancer free. Kate’s mom wasn’t as detailed in her check-ins as Anna’s mom was, so it was a little harder to gauge what she did or didn’t like. I’m delighted that she’s finished and cancer free.

7. Last summer, I substituted for a 10-year-old girl for about a month while her regular card angel took a break. We’ll call her Denise for purposes of the update. Denise loves to draw, and at the end of my time writing to her, she sent me some pictures she drew of my cats. (Yes, I always share pictures of my cats with my buddies.) Because I was only her substitute, I didn’t get updates about Denise and her progress. I truly hope she’s healthy and happy now.

8. That’s the only bad thing about being a substitute; that you don’t find out when they finish their treatment or how they’re doing.

9. Once my assignment with Kate ended, I got back on the list for another buddy. I was matched to my newest buddy last month. We’ll call her Jane for update purposes.

10. It’s too soon to have heard anything from a check-in of Jane’s, and her information sheet was a little sparse. So, right now, I’m mostly guessing about what to write to her about. I’m hoping that she’ll provide a little more information in some of her check-ins. She does like to read, though, so talking about books is always an option.

11. Recently, Chemo Angels has asked for volunteers willing to write to male patients (adults and/or teenagers). Apparently, some volunteers are only comfortable writing to women or young childreb, and there’s a shortage of volunteers willing to take on male buddies. If you’re interested in volunteering and willing to have a male buddy, this is a great time to sign up. If you’re on the fence about volunteering with Chemo/Senior Angels, I highly encourage you to give it a try. It’s not very time-consuming at all, and it’s an incredibly rewarding experience. So many of the volunteers in the Facebook group talk about feeling like we get more from it than our buddies do, and I really feel like that’s true sometimes.

12. I’ve volunteered to take a male buddy if there’s someone with some interests in common with me. Now that I’ve had a couple of teenage buddies, I’m fine with having a younger buddy (though I’m still not up for taking on a very young child). And I work in a very male-dominated field, so I’m perfectly fine with having a male buddy.

13. I’m still so grateful to Bijoux and Betty for sharing their experiences with Chemo Angels. I don’t think I would have heard of the program otherwise, and I love being a card angel.

 

I truly believe that we all have a responsibility to do something, however small, to help others if we’re able. At times, I’ve had a hard time finding that something for myself, but Chemo Angels/Senior Angels has been a really good fit for me. I know it’s a very, very small thing in the grand scheme of things, but I’m okay with that. I like small, behind-the-scenes things, and I’m very much okay with sending cards that hopefully brighten someone’s day a little bit.

Crochet Cat Couch

I think I’m a very, very slow crocheter.  Back in September, I decided I was going to make my sister, Gabby, a crocheted cat couch.  She first asked for it in 2020.  In 2021, I told her it was beyond my skill level.  In 2022, when The Crochet Crowd released a left-handed tutorial, I decided to give it a try.

My original plan was to give it to her when we had our early Christmas celebration in November.  That didn’t work out.  My next plan was to give it to her at Christmas since we were planning to go to her house.  That didn’t work out either. 

We finally made plans to go stay with Gabby and Amy this past weekend, so I got to work on the cat couch in earnest. 

I had done the gauge swatch back in November. 

I also made the dust ruffle and got started on the couch. 

The pattern was largely a repeat of single crochet, double crochet.  It sounds simple, right?  For some reason, I couldn’t manage to remember the stitch and count the stitches.  I pulled out a few rows, then started relying very heavily on stitch markers. 

It was VERY slow going.   It took me days to finish one side of one cushion.  I also learned that I HATE slip stitching, which the pattern has a decent amount of.  I’m convinced it’s called slip stitching because of how often the hook slips out of the yarn when you do it. 

I’m in a few crochet groups on Facebook, and quite a few people who make the couch say they’ll never make another one.

I looked on Etsy to price them.  They’re all over $100.00, and some are close to $200.00.  I understand why!  I did notice, though, that some seemed to be based on a different pattern.  So, I started looking for more tutorials.  I found this one that I liked.

I finally decided to cobble together my own pattern based on these two tutorials and started over on the couch.  I kept the dust ruffle, though.

I didn’t tell Gabby I was working on it.  I wasn’t sure I’d succeed in making it. 

Fortunately, it worked.  I’m sure you can tell that there are a lot of mistakes.  I have ideas on how to fix most of them, and I think the next couch will look a lot better. 

I was running out of time and energy, so I didn’t make any throw pillows.  And I went really simple for the blanket.  It’s just a continuous granny square based on this tutorial.  I think it might have been a little neater if I’d used a smaller hook.  Next time!

When we got to Gabby and Amy’s. Gabby was cooking dinner, so Amy helped us carry stuff in.  Actually, she helped Nick carry most of the stuff in while I was in the kitchen with Gabby.  As soon as they brought the cat couch in, Amy told Gabby she had to come see what Nick had just brought in. 

Gabby was very excited!  She said she didn’t think I’d ever make it since I had told her it was beyond my skill level.  She and Amy both say it looks nice and looks like something they’d be willing to pay for from a store.  I’m not sure about that.  It’s definitely cute, but there are mistakes and things I could have done better.  But, I’m very glad they like it.   And, honestly, I’m still kind of proud of it, even though it’s not perfect.  It’s the biggest crochet project I’ve done thus far. 

More importantly, their cats like it.

Dobby is their most adventurous cat and he was on it within a few minutes.

I also need to make one for our cats.  Caroline was very interested in it.  She was even on it while I was sewing on the dust ruffle.

Gabby sent me this picture today of another one of their cats, Flitwick, on the couch.  It’s definitely cat approved!