mybedlam

bed·lam - noun 1. a scene or state of wild uproar and confusion. 2. Archaic . an insane asylum or madhouse. My Bedlam was started because I like creating things. Random things with no rhyme or reason. An outlet for the asylum of creativity in my head. I enjoy making random stuff all the time and once my niece was born in April 2011 I became "that aunt" and started making her little hair flowers/bow and then I learned to knit so I've been making her little hats etc. Unfortunately along with the birth of my niece my sister also got extremely ill. For months the doctors didn't know what was wrong with her. They did numerous tests and scans and blood work etc. And still couldn't come up with a diagnosis. After almost a year of being misdiagnosed numerous times by doctors, and also trying to care for her new baby, my little sister (age 27) was diagnosed with stage 2 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in January 2012. As of June 2012 she will officially be in remission but the fight isn't over yet. As a cancer survivor myself (Cervical Cancer) this hit me a bit harder than others I think. I was lucky, my cancer was caught early and within a month of diagnosis I had surgery and was cancer free, and have been so for over 8 years now. I didn't have to have chemo or radiation. That's not so say I had it easy but after seeing what my little sister has gone through, I am even more grateful that I had a team of amazing doctors and was lucky that my cancer was caught early and was able to be removed. Watching my sister go through so many months of illness and uncertainty about what it was that she really had, and then hearing that she too was now a victim of cancer, inspired me, with the help of my husband, to create Cancer Awareness items. We hear about Breast Cancer all the time but how often do you hear anything about Cervical Cancer or Lymphoma? Cancer is a horrible disease that does not discriminate and I think that more awareness needs to be brought to all the various types of cancer out there so that people can be proactive and aware and know the signs to look for (if there are any). I created this ribbon design to honor my sister. Prior to her illness she was a hair dresser, hence the scissors. I wanted to create something not only to help bring awareness to this type of cancer but also make it personal.