The Mechanics of Myeloma

     Interestingly enough, on the 2nd year anniversary of Susan's stem cell transplant, I finished a chapter in the Donkey book. To me this is one of the most important chapters because it breaks down the cancer into easily understood chunks. 

     I was surprised at the effect writing this chapter had on me. I found it to be quite calming. It helped to take the scariness out of the equation for a while. If I could retrace and recite the steps to her illness, perhaps it wouldn't be such a mystery.

    The difficult part for me in writing this chapter is remembering what actually happened and in which order. My sketchbook was a great help, but I hadn't recorded what myeloma is (because at the time, I didn't really know). So the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation website was invaluable.

     

     One very important thing I learned from that time, the days soon after my partner's diagnosis, is how awkward it is for health professionals to issue a prognosis. They're not good at issuing such news. And it seems that they are (thankfully) often wrong. Whenever the palliative team arrived, I associated them with death, so I kept wondering, 'Is she dying now?'

   The next chapter I'm working on now is about the steps taken to immobilize my partner's back. I documented this part pretty clearly, and my memory is sharp. I just can't seem to settle on a title page for this chapter. It'll just have to keep percolating, I guess.

Grateful

     It's been a while. The end of the school year is near, and you would think that things would be winding down, now that standardized testing is over. But no...there's the mad dash of field trips, more assessments, cocooning silkworms, and then of course one of my students swallows a foxtail.

     But none of this affects me today because today is my partner's rebirthday! Two years ago today she received the bone marrow transplant that has extended her life a year beyond the initial prognosis. I am so proud of her. She went through hell and now has a life that she is enjoying to the fullest. To celebrate, we went out to dinner at our favorite vegan restaurant, aptly named: Cafe Gratitude.

All Three Again

     This weekend my partner and I bought a small travel trailer. A cute little thing for hitting the road with without having to stay in a motel with our three dogs. After we towed it home, we needed some help pushing it into our driveway, so my partner called our son-in-law, and he and his dad came and within seconds, our adorable trailer was perfectly situated close to the house, right where we wanted it. 

I felt extremely grateful. Anyway, this son-in-law and dad are the main human characters in Stella. I realized that I want to continue working on this graphic novel for them.

Stella about to be captured

     As my partner and I plan our road trips with the travel trailer, it dawns on me that I don't want to work on Donkey and Stella since they are now on computer. Instead I guess I'll be working on St. Nicholas. Looks like I'll, once again, be working on all three! There's a reason I named this blog Restless Boots.

     Stella is a wordless graphic novel. As I began drawing it out from the beginning, I noticed how well the images told the story. One of my favorite wordless graphic novels is Robot Dreams by Sara Varon. With gorgeous line and subtle color, Sara tells the story of friendship and the struggle to keep it.