What's Bright & Has Dots All Over...

This is my second year donating a piece of art for my friend Meghan's philanthropy's art auction. The photo below is just a portion of the 30 inch x 30 inch canvas, which took over 60+ hours to create. I hope that it raises gobs of money for their fundraiser!!! I'm off to shower, and then off to the auction!!! Hope everyone has a wonderful evening!

Community



"Humans, like this piece, are full of color. They are constantly changing, shifting, growing, reaching. Even at our darkest points, we're never far from connection, laughter, euphoria. Each person, each color, is stunning alone, but when they come together, when WE come together, each unique shade, hue, and tint become more vivid. We are all more beautiful, more alive, as a part of our community, our human family."

More Hope

I received an email from my friend Meghan this morning. You might remember her from the WPIG art auction, or from surprising me by buying my art donation named Hope that she then turned into a fundraiser for my medical funds. Anyway, Megs emailed me and asked if I would be interested in donating one of my prints to an art auction that raises funds for uncompensated care at Seattle Children's hospital. How awesome is that! Meghan is so connected, and she always comes up with the best ideas.

HOPE

When I painted and donated to the WPIG auction, I created a variation of one of my favorite original pieces. When it came to naming it, I sat in a chair and stared at the completed canvas. The first word that came to my mind was HOPE. Little did I realize that it signified hope not only for me, but also for those benefiting at Ryther (the organization benefiting from the WPIG auction), and now hopefully - there's that word again - it will benefit some children in need of medical care. I'm honored to get to help, and thank you to Meghan for facilitating that. Hope is such a beautiful word, and to me it signifies such a variety of emotions like perseverance, belief, happiness, and solidarity.

Here's some information if you want to attend the second annual Bids For Kids, silent and live auction. Somehow, I just know it will be a lot of fun!  

Click on the photo to be directed to the website

More "Hope"

The first day of 2-2-2 twice daily went great yesterday. I was dizzy and felt a little bit disconnected to my limbs, but that's no big thing. I was able to avoid eating until noon, at which point I made a homemade humus bok choy sandwich, and ate an apple. The most noticeable side affect came at 11:01 am (I'm taking copious notes). I had a sharp pain in my head, then I had a rushed taste of metal in my mouth. Within seconds it was gone. I'm hoping that it was a massive explosion of cancer cells, that all of the iron spontaneously combusted, and now my body is flushing out the debris. A girl can dream can't she?!? :)

It's nerve wracking to put myself out there with this new treatment. I kept worrying last night, what if it's a bust? But then, while we were laying in bed, I asked Danny to give me his mental illustration of the artemether as it gets digested. Of course he leant to a military analogy. He kept saying things like, "The artemether soldiers are marching through your intestines." And I asked, "Are they singing a marching song like the do in the movies?!?" It was fun to take the stress out of the situation. I'm lucky to have a man that will play along.

Today I have a break from the artemether, piperine and butyrate. Tomorrow, though, we double the dosage and take the pills twice. Instead of the 2-2-2 twice daily, it will be 4-4-4 twice daily. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I keep telling myself, "Why not believe that I can beat this. Why not believe that the artemether will work. Why not believe that I can change my destiny. Maybe ridding myself of this cancer IS my destiny!"

I want this protocol to work so badly, not just for me, but for all of my friends that I've met that also have brain cancer. I am in the perfect position to try new things. I have a supportive husband that never ceases to amaze me. I have a great family that helps me stay on track that researches all of the alternatives. I have friends that walk hand in hand with me, that keep me laughing, and smother me in hugs. I don't have the responsibility of children. I have the drive to stay on course. I want this to work so that I can be a guinea pig to help others change their destiny too. There is no reason why we can't beat this. Doctors don't even really know what causes brain cancer. They believe it could be a wide variety of things. If there are a wide variety of causes, then it's fair to reason that there could multiple cures. We just have to figure them out! And, if this artemether doesn't work, then that doesn't mean that other things won't.

Here's a fun photo from last night's dinner.
It looks pretty boring, but it was surprising filling.
Shown: Homemade spinach and jalapeno humus, raw broccoli (for dipping), and an everything but the kitchen sink salad (purple kale, arugala, spinach, green onions, garlic, tomato, avocado, fresh cracked pepper, squeezed lime, & extra virgin olive oil)

Danny is such a sport. Often nights, dinner is a simple meal. Last night might have been the most simple meal in a long time. I think, maybe, I was trying to make up for the naughty martinis from Saturday night. Like I've always said, I have to be just a little bit bad or I get stir crazy. The little gremlin in me needs to be fed, then I can go on with strength and determination.

On another note, I have an amazing story of friendship and love. I have no idea how my life has been so magical. I am the luckiest girl. I have been surrounded with literally, living angles. Do you remember the piece of art that I made for my friend Meghan's philanthropy? It was called, "Hope." Anyway, last night, Meghan stopped by with a huge package, she had called earlier, asking for help. When she arrived, she started cutting open the package, and I just assumed she needed a bunch of cutting done for someone's Christmas present or something. Nope. She needed me to sign a few things....

Meghan bought my piece of art at the WPIG Pigture Perfect Art Auction so that she would have the rights. She then came up with the idea to contact a bunch of my girlfriends (shown below in the row boat), to chip in to start a site on Etsy.com to fundraise. It's called Hope For Jess and it's prints of my piece of art. How cool is that!?!

The girls paid for all of the prints (there are regular prints and canvas prints). Megs said that the prices are a bit dear, but that's okay. If they don't sell, maybe they can put them on sale :)

Girls Weekend 2011
Top: Libbey, Lauren, Kristin, Jenny, Michelle, Laura
Bottom: Jessaca, Meghan, Julia, Me
Not Shown: Jessica (Abu Dhabi) & Courtney

I am still, so blown away. This is exactly why I should be doing this protocol, and whatever protocol may come my way in the future until we figure this out. It is imperative that someone like me work as a guinea pig so that others that don't have the energy or time, or resources, can get well. I constantly feel love and support, and I am just so grateful for all of the friendship and generosity. I feel like we're all working together as some sort of badass team, working for the greater good. Maybe that's a lofty attitude, but it's just how I feel.

On a final note, I am happy to share that three years ago to the day, Danny and I had our first date. It was the most magical night of my life. At one point, he insisted that he carry me like we were going over a threshold, all because it was snowing and I was wearing heels. It was perfect in every way, and it makes me cry with big fat tears of joy that we came together. He makes me happy from morning to night. Even when we're cranky there's always laughter. If you've never met him, I'm sure you can tell how amazing he is from the stories on the blog. He has never wavered in his support or love. He found me sexy even while bald with 52 bloody staples across my head. He shuttled me on two hour drives in each direction to doctor appointments, to rehabilitation appointments, his dedication never wavered. When we didn't know if I'd read again, or get back to running and living my life, when I could only use one syllable words, and we didn't know if I would ever have enough energy to truly LIVE, he was happy just cuddling on the couch, or resting silently. I know that he is my soulmate, that I am the best person I can be because he supports all that is good. A partner like Danny is a miracle to come by, and I think about that every day. When I'm stressed, I just picture his face and it soothes me. He is a main reason why I have the will and desire to strive for perfect health. I know it will be an ongoing journey for the rest of my life, but with Danny by my side I know I can do it! Cheers to Danny, my love.

Thriving

The other day my mom surprised me with a puppy spa day for Emma. Emma loves getting pretty and clean, and the dog was starting to get stinky. It's our fault since we take her out for jogs, and walks, regardless of the weather. Her nickname should be puddle. Anyway, while the sweet dog was getting beautified, I sat at a cafe next door downloading artemisinin research articles onto the blog.

It was so much fun sitting at the cafe, just a half a mile from our home. I enjoyed the walk, crunching leaves beneath my feet. Even though we've been living in Green Lake for a full month, I still hadn't been to a coffee shop, I had done all of my blogging and computer work from home. It was nice to have music, and delicious smells. The people coming and going, studying, visiting, laughing and reading, it was invigorating. It made me feel alive and important. That probably sounds weird, but there's something about being out in society, amongst people, that makes me feel like I'm doing something, something more than just being, just existing. Anyway, I loved it. Because of my dietary restrictions there wasn't anything I could eat, but I had a hot tea and that was good enough for me. If the cafe was busy I would have left, no need to take up the table, but I got lucky and there was plenty of room. It was a really fun treat, and a great morning (both for Emma and for me).

The downloaded articles on Artemisinin can be found on the right side of the blog, under Pages, and Artemisinin Research. It's just under the image of my big old tumor....oh my gosh, I just checked the link and the research isn't displaying. Damn. There went three hours of time. I'm not that handy with technology, especially when it comes to this blogger stuff. Let me try again and see if I can upload successfully this time. There's no easy way to upload documents. Please bare with me.

On another note, tonight is the WPIG Pigture Perfect Silent Auction! Yay! Hopefully my piece of art will raise a few bucks for Ryther. Even my parents are coming, and that's very exciting!

As for the diet, I've had a few friends asking what I'm able to eat, or what my current restrictions include. Here's my deal:

No meat
No diary (except for a glass of milk to take the artemisinin, dairy fat has the best absorption rate with the pills)
No processed sugar
No four
No alcohol

But, I CAN eat:

Vegetables
Fruits
Nuts
Seeds
Legumes
Whole grains (brown rice, bulgar, quinoa, etc)

Here's a typical day:

Breakfast:

• Green Drink (a blender stuffed with spinach, one cup of water, a teaspoon of fish oil, a teaspoon of flaxseed oil, half a cup of blueberries)
• Vitamin E (400 I.U.), Vitamin D3 (400 I.U.), Vitamin C (500 mg)

Snack:

• Apple or a handful of mixed nuts 

Lunch:

• Mixed greens salad (chopped purple onion, raw apple, ground flaxseed, squeezed lemon, shredded kale, fresh basil, fresh cilantro, chopped raw garlic, cracked pepper - on days when I have it, avocado)
• Black beans or brown rice if I have it left over from the previous night (I cook the beans from dry beans to avoid the chemical in canned goods)

Snack:

• Green Drink (a blender full of mixed greens, and a stalk or two of kale) or an apple (we have a whole box of organic ambrosia's. They're delicious! After that I imagine I'll change up my fruit.

Dinner:

• Mixed greens salad (same as above)
• Steamed broccoli
• Brown rice or some type of legume

Surprisingly, I don't live my life starving. I feel superb. I have more energy, less headaches, and I feel great all around. I'm still have my bad days of exhaustion if I do too much, but I feel so much better. I know that I can live on this diet forever if I choose to. Basically, I eat any and all vegetables, I eat some fruit but I try to keep it limited. Same with the legumes and whole grains, if I eat to much of those I get bloated and I get a stomach ache. I also prefer to eat raw veggies (except for broccoli, raw broccoli grosses me out).

So there it is. That's my basic diet. If you live in Seattle, or head there from time to time, my new favorite place for fresh juices and raw vegan food is Thrive Cafe. It is truly unbelievably delicious. It's heaven. Try it out! My favorite fresh, organic juice is Refresh, and I finish it off with an Elixer Shot, the Cobra. Both are delicious and make you feel like you're ready to run a marathon, and conquer the debt crisis, both at the same time.