Nothing New to See Here

So, um, yeah. As of this writing, I haven't done much of any work on the gloves from two weeks ago...

(I may have done more on Sunday, but it won't be done in time for me to post it before this post goes live.)

I don't have any good excuse for my lack of progress. Just life, I guess. Maybe next week?

* * *

Since last Monday was a holiday, some of my regular readers didn't see my post. So, I'm reposting from last week. (For those of you who were here last week, I made no significant changes to the rest of this post.)

One month short of a year ago, I shared my sister-in-law's GoFundMe with you all. From that post:

Heather, my sister-in-law, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in April 2012. She has an aggressive form of MS, and she needs help for her best treatment option... (Go here for the full post.)

That took her to Panama in July of last year. Since then, I've been trying to get her to do another interview to update you all as to her progress, but with one thing and another...

The GoFundMe has been updated this weekend with what's going on right now...

Short version:
Heather’s health has rapidly declined over the past 4 months. She is currently back in Panama getting another round of stem cell treatments. She’s been there for a week and will be down there for a total of 3 weeks.  

Full update:
February was 6 months from the stem cell treatment in Panama. A routine MRI was scheduled to keep tabs on Heather’s progress. When she got a call from her doctor and was asked to come in for the results, we knew there was a problem.  

The MRI showed that she still only had the one lesion on her pituitary gland, but there were indications that something much worse was ahead. What her doctor saw was the precursor to something called Schilder’s disease. This is an extremely rare type of MS that has only been diagnosed in 99 people in 100 years. Heather became number 100... (Go here for the full update.)

If you could share Heather's story with your social networks, they would greatly appreciate it.

Unforeseen Complications

Last week, I showed you the trial glove for the request I had gotten... 

Today, I totally planned on having the final pair to show off. But things didn't go according to plan.

I bought snaps for the closure on the wrist as that's what the pattern called for. I had the bright idea to finish up both wrist bands and sew on the snaps before finishing off the rest of the glove. This was a brilliant move, but not for the reasons I expected.

See, the snaps did not work.

They looked sloppy...

And when you unsnap them, well, they work, but they feel like they're going to tear off.

It's really hard to show this in a picture, but if I could hand this to you and have you unsnap the snaps, you'd see what I mean.

I tried crocheting a bit more on the ends, but that didn't help. And while I started thinking about what to add to reinforce the snaps, I realized that this was way too much work for something that was supposed to be an afterthought at the end of the project.

This is why trying this now was brilliant. I would have lost my mind if I had finished two whole gloves and the snaps didn't work.

Using buttons was suggested. It meant I had to start over, because I would have to put a buttonhole in the wrist band. But as I hadn't gotten much further than the wrist band anyway...

Ah, much better! Of course, that means that I spent Saturday redoing wrist bands rather than finishing gloves. And that means I have no finished gloves to show you (as they haven't been finished yet). But there's always next week.

* * *

And finally, one month short of a year ago, I shared my sister-in-law's GoFundMe with you all. From that post:

Heather, my sister-in-law, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in April 2012. She has an aggressive form of MS, and she needs help for her best treatment option... (Go here for the full post.)

That took her to Panama in July of last year. Since then, I've been trying to get her to do another interview to update you all as to her progress, but with one thing and another...

The GoFundMe has been updated this weekend with what's going on right now...

Short version:
Heather’s health has rapidly declined over the past 4 months. She is currently back in Panama getting another round of stem cell treatments. She’s been there for a week and will be down there for a total of 3 weeks.  

Full update:
February was 6 months from the stem cell treatment in Panama. A routine MRI was scheduled to keep tabs on Heather’s progress. When she got a call from her doctor and was asked to come in for the results, we knew there was a problem.  

The MRI showed that she still only had the one lesion on her pituitary gland, but there were indications that something much worse was ahead. What her doctor saw was the precursor to something called Schilder’s disease. This is an extremely rare type of MS that has only been diagnosed in 99 people in 100 years. Heather became number 100... (Go here for the full update.)

If you could share Heather's story with your social networks, they would greatly appreciate it.

Please Share and Support

Image by Donnee Spencer

I don't often talk about my family here. Now that I do a search, I find that I told some stories of when they moved four years ago and a story involving niece and eldest nephew (A.K.A. ArcherGirl and HapkidoKid). (I have four nephews in total: eldest, middle, and the twins.)

Oh, and I also show off the stuff I knit for them. Like last Christmas. Or for Heather's birthday last year. (So, I guess I do talk about them, albeit in a roundabout way.)

Well, the reason that I bring this up today is for a cause. Heather, my sister-in-law, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in April 2012. She has an aggressive form of MS, and she needs help for her best treatment option. She's joined us today.

Hello, Heather

Hello to you, Liz!

To fund this treatment, Heather has a GoFundMe. But, Heather, you didn't start this yourself, did you? Who started it and why?

Actually, an acquaintance started the fundraising for me. Her name is Lori and I have gotten to know her a bit through my kids' archery practices and tournaments. She is a very kind lady that felt she could do this small thing to help me and my family. 

 This is not the first treatment you'll undergo. What were you doing this past Christmas?

On December 19, 2014, I began a treatment at UCLA Medical Center. I received eleven, eight hour chemotherapy treatments. It was equivalent to about nine months of chemo, compressed, in order to kill off my immune system. After that, I received stem cell therapy, as part of a clinical trial. 

I found out about a month ago that while the clinical trial is considering me a "success", I only received minimal benefits. In order to see more, long-term, improvement; I need more stem cells.

So, to get more stem cells, you need another treatment. Where do you have to go for this one?

The most affordable option that I have right now is the Panama University Hospital in Panama City, Panama. They are working in partnership with Johns Hopkins University Hospital to give people with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, the stem cell therapy that is my best option; but not yet FDA approved in the United States. 

Why hasn't the FDA approved it?

Sadly, due to misinformation, our country denies permission and funding for stem cell therapies; even though other countries have proven the effectiveness. 

I saw a bit of your travails on getting a passport on Facebook. Did you get your passport? What exactly happened there?

I was able to get all the forms approved and sent off, but it takes 2-3 weeks for processing. I've never had a passport before, and I had no idea how difficult it would be! Not due to the procedure, per se, mostly because the other 50 people applying 1) didn't fill out the forms properly, or 2) didn't bring the proper documents, or 3) didn't read the instructions. Then, they want to argue about their mistake and really solidify your belief that most people are really stupid. 

We all wish you well. Now, where can we go to help you out with all of this?

Here is the link to the GoFundMe page: http://www.gofundme.com/vr6sq2t

Please consider sharing on your social media pages! Thank you for taking the time to help me. 

Thanks for taking the time, Heather. Let us know how it goes.

And thank you for stopping by. I hope you can help, even if just by sharing this for your followers. Thanks.