RaRa's MySpace.com

Like A Handprint On My Heart

It was a tremendously difficult decision.  It wasn't on her timeline or on her terms.  So it doesn't seem fair -- at all.  How can it be that someone who is the human version of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree is not afforded the opportunity to make choices about her own life? 

After 23 years of caring for infants and toddlers in a "home away from home," as a result of the current economic climate, and because her lack of physical strength impedes her ability to care for little children, Sherryl has decided to close her beloved day care.  Our family has spent the month of January dismantling the physical representation of Sherryl's life's work.  Clark Street will soon become a memory to all who entered a special place built with love for little people, a place where thousands and thousands of hours were spent teaching and learning how to love, share, and grow.  

The first generation Sherryl cared for is now in their 20s, and we've often wondered exactly how many children have been in Sherryl's care over the years.  There's a mathematical formula to estimate that figure, and whatever the answer, that is the minimum number of lives Sherryl has touched.  In addition to those children, Sherryl has formed friendships with many, many parents as well as with those who have worked beside her over the years -- friendships for a lifetime.  And for as much as Sherryl cherishes those children, their parents, and her co-workers, they treasure her, too, for all she has brought to their lives.  

Closing "Sherryl Morris Day Care" marks the end of an era, and the tears Sherryl sheds are for the good-byes.  She is not bitter because this decision was not made on her terms; she is immensely sad to see the work she loves come to an end.  But through the tears, there are  thousands of sweet, happy memories that conjure up smiles.  Sherryl will remember the time she spent with the children, the bonds she formed with parents, and the fun she shared with those who worked with her.  And they  will remember their time at day care, too -- because of Sherryl.  Memories: her handprint is on their hearts, and theirs are on hers.  They all have been changed ... for good.    

  ~xoxo~

Good News ~ Tumor Marker is Down

Sherryl met with her oncologist today and learned that her tumor marker has dropped from 168 in February to 107 today.  This is great news!  Sherryl's oncologist also told her that she is anemic again, so a course of shots were prescribed to boost her red blood cell count.    

The timeframe for the next bone scan was also discussed today; the next one will probably be scheduled for 8 weeks or two chemotherapy cycles from now.  

Except for some fatigue, Sherryl is doing well.  Her appetite is good and she feels OK.  She experiences no nausea and, in general, is thrilled to be able to function fully under the current treatment plan. 

Sherryl needed to stop into the clinic yesterday and one of the nurses approached her to tell her she had a "message from a friend."  Nancy, who has moved on to her new job, had asked the nurse to tell Sherryl hello for her.  Sherryl was truly touched that Nancy had thought to send her that message.

Sherryl continues to work at Day Care every day and this weekend will entail attending Austin's last Little League game, a massage, and spending time with family.  

All things considered, life is pretty good right now and we're all grateful for it.       

~ xoxo ~

Laughter Is The Best Medicine

Sherryl seems to be metabolizing the new chemotherapy pretty well.  She had a good weekend.  Even before Friday, her resilience kicked in by way of humor.  We didn't know until last week that she gives names to each of her chemotherapy medications.  For example, Adriamycin was named Adrian.  And now that it has stopped working, Sherryl told us, "Adrian broke up with me.  We spent a lot of time together -- since before Halloween.  I really wanted that relationship to last."

The new chemotherapy is called CMF by both Sherryl and her team of providers.  We won't say here what Sherryl says the "MF" stands for because this is a family-oriented website.  Given that hint though, it shouldn't take very much imagination to figure out part of the name for this one.  Regardless of its name, Sherryl wants to become very, very good friends with CMF.   

From time to time, Sherryl speaks about the cancer cells that are still inside her body.  Last week she told us that she wants to "kick the cells' little butts."  Really?  Gives a whole new image to the detailed cell anatomy we learned in high school biology, doesn't it?

Sherryl just ended her first two-week cycle on CMF and now she'll go 2 weeks without any chemotherapy.  Overall, Sherryl is feeling great and went for a long walk both Saturday and Sunday mornings.  Beautiful spring California sun shone as Sherryl walked and talked about life and those she loves.

We'd insert here the "Walking On Sunshine" video by Katrina and The Waves, but, because there have been so many other videos posted here from the same era, some of you might begin to think we "live" in the 1980s.  Nope, not us.  Much.  If you don't live in the 80s either, click on this link:  Walking On Sunshine.

This week, RaRa reminded us that laughter truly is the best medicine.

~ xoxo ~

Chemo Sleepy

Sherryl is adjusting to the new chemotherapy and is noticing it is making her very tired.  She's tired when she gets home from work, so she goes to bed and has had what she calls "one of those weird chemo sleeps," which she describes as just keeping her eyes closed even if she's awake.  An appointment with Nancy last week revealed some reasons for this sleepiness. 

Sherryl's white blood cell count is down from the chemo medication, plus anemia has surfaced again.  There is a non-cancerous spot on the upper lobe of the right lung that, for some unknown reason, becomes inflamed from time to time resulting in a cough.  Sherryl was prescribed a cough medicine to take at night as well as a very strong antibiotic.  Unfortunately, antibiotics have always resulted in fatigue.

Sherryl also learned that her iron is low, so, rather than taking iron tablets, she'll look to iron-rich foods to increase the count.      

Sherryl didn't expect to experience this fatigue, but was assured by Nancy that this is a common symptom for this course of treatment.  As a result, the frequency for this chemotherapy has been changed to 3 weeks on and 1 week off.  Sherryl is feeling a bit better as of this morning and is optimistic her energy will return in the next couple of days. 

In an email from day care mom and friend, Michelle, Sherryl received the following photograph and thought how great it would be if little girls wore T-shirts like this one.  Thank you, Michelle!

RaRa's Angels

Sherryl had a brief conversation with Nancy on Friday during her routine round of Zometa.  Her next appointment is scheduled for this Friday; she anticipates learning the latest tumor marker at that time.  Today, she went to her standing physical therapy appointment, which she always appreciates. 

Sherryl is still working on a scrapbook she'll present to Nadine in honor of her 10 years at Day Care.  As she leafs through photographs of children they have cared for over the past 10 years, she is enjoying many, many memories of the children, their siblings, and their parents.  She knows how very much "Dinie" will appreciate the scrapbook, too, once it is completed.  

On Sunday, Sherryl joined Janice on a trip to San Francisco to greet a team of friends as they crossed the finish line at the Susan G Komen for the Cure 60-mile walk.  The event reminded Sherryl of Pink in the Park as well as the closing ceremony at the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, two special events that took place last year. 

Sunday's event also reminded RaRa of her angels.  She has many of them.          

Gravenstein Apples & A Tooth Fairy

For over a dozen years, Sherryl spent every other weekend caring for an autistic boy.  And on those same weekends, Sherryl's good friend Bronwyn (AKA Mighty "B") cared for a developmentally disabled girl.  The four stayed at Day Care all weekend during those years where a family, who lived in a place called Hodge Podge House, was formed.  

As seasons cycled through the years, Sherryl and "B" would plan special outings for the children.  Going to the Gravenstein Apple Festival in Sebastopol became an annual tradition each August.  All had a great time.  The children are now grown, and the autistic boy Sherryl cared for is 18 years old and living in a group home with boys his own age.  Sherryl has visited him a few times over the past year.  (The image at left is not in focus; it's not your eyes!)

Although the era called "Hodge Podge House" has ended, Sherryl and "B" remain the closest of friends and the tradition of going to the Gravenstein Apple Festival continues.  So it was to Sebastopol Sherryl and "B" went this past Saturday, sans charges, to enjoy this year's festivities once again. 

They enjoyed all that was familiar: arts, crafts, food, wines and brews, games, entertainment and farm life activities.  And they enjoyed some brand new delights, too.  Of particular note was a new artist they met, Lisa Victoria, who specializes in creating illustrations of fairies.  In addition to her website, Lisa Victoria has an Etsy shop where some of her illustrations are available for purchase.  

Fairies are a new interest to RaRa ever since she took Austin and Haley for a walk a few weeks ago.  As they hiked around blackberry bushes and over a small stream, they came upon a single blue feather.  They were all quite intrigued by this discovery and, apropos to RaRa's creativity, Haley is certain they found a fairy's wing.  Haley has loved fairies most of her life, and this incident gives RaRa much license to inspire imagination in both Haley and Austin. 

So Sherryl departed from the apple festival with a new friend and with a new print she'll give to Haley at just the right moment.  The illustration she chose for Haley is called "The Tooth Fairy" and is pictured below.  On the back of the illustration reads the following:  "After a long night of hiding coins under children's pillows, the tooth fairy takes a well deserved nap on her tooth shaped bed."

While it will be a few years before Haley begins to lose her baby teeth, Austin has already lost several.  We're certain Sherryl will continue to keep in touch with her new friend, Lisa Victoria, and we're certain RaRa will foster sweet fairy dreams in Austin and Haley.

TypePad Loves RaRa, Too!

"RaRa's MySpace.com" has been selected by TypePad owners and editors (of the blogging service that hosts thousands of blogs, including this one) as a featured blog! 

TypePad often selects to showcase on their homepage blogs that offer a variety of topics to a diverse readership.  Their editors told us they chose Sherryl's blog "because of its unique subject matter, thoughtful posts, and engaging design – everything we look for in a Featured TypePad blog."

A few words in response to meeting these criteria:

Subject matter and thoughtful posts:  Sherryl is the sole inspiration for this blog.  It is her unconditional love, optimism, and "do everything humanly possible to help anyone who needs help" attitude that inspires every word written on this site.  For those of us who know her, if we watch and listen carefully, there are lessons to be learned every day from RaRa, regardless of our age.  In addition to this blog providing the ability to keep our family and friends informed of Sherryl's health, since blogging is a very public medium, we hope other individuals and families who are living with cancer will be inspired and helped by Sherryl, too.   

Engaging design:  Credit is due to Jo-Lynne at DCR Design who carefully listened to our description of Sherryl's personality and then put together the elements in the banner and background that appear on these pages.  Jo-Lynne is a creative, speedy, and fun talent to have available to us out in this blogosphere!  We highly recommend her to anyone wanting a fresh look to their blog.  In addition to her online design studio, she has a charming mommy blog called "Musings of a Housewife."  Be sure to check it out.   And, thank you, Jo-Lynne!   

Thank you, TypePad, for the heart-warming and very touching way in which you have featured our sister's blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TypePad Featured Blog - August 2, 2008

RaRa's MySpace

Here’s a blog from the heart. RaRa's MySpace covers the daily concerns faced by Sherryl, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2007. The blog is written by her two sisters, who use the site to “keep friends and family informed of her progress… (and) in some way help other cancer patients and their family and friends cope with all aspects of this disease.” Their posts cover treatment news, anecdotal stories, test results, and day-to-day events “as we journey through this experience together” – and as anyone with any experience with this disease can tell you, breast cancer is tenacious and requires a battery of tests and procedures to battle it. There are victories, setbacks, radiation treatments, PET Scans, and appointments, all of which can take their toll. But apart from the medical, there’s something just as important. (And in case you’re curious, Sherryl’s a day care provider who gradually acquired the nickname “RaRa” from her tiny charges.) In addition to the posts, the site also provides a close up of Sherryl’s favorite things; there are links to related cancer sites, photo albums, and a live traffic feed to see where Sherryl’s well-wishers are calling from. A wonderful example of a blog’s capacity to inform and inspire, this is a site that will touch you in many ways.

Here’s a blog from the heart. RaRa's MySpace covers the daily concerns faced by Sherryl, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2007. The blog is written by her two sisters, who use the site to “keep friends and family informed of her progress… (and) in some way help other cancer patients and their family and friends cope with all aspects of this disease.” Their posts cover treatment news, anecdotal stories, test results, and day-to-day events “as we journey through this experience together” – and as anyone with any experience with this disease can tell you, breast cancer is tenacious and requires a battery of tests and procedures to battle it. There are victories, setbacks, radiation treatments, PET Scans, and appointments, all of which can take their toll. But apart from the medical, there’s something just as important. (And in case you’re curious, Sherryl’s a day care provider who gradually acquired the nickname “RaRa” from her tiny charges.) In addition to the posts, the site also provides a close up of Sherryl’s favorite things; there are links to related cancer sites, photo albums, and a live traffic feed to see where Sherryl’s well-wishers are calling from. A wonderful example of a blog’s capacity to inform and inspire, this is a site that will touch you in many ways.

Happy Fourth of July!

Just as we have done for the past couple of dozen years, our family will gather at Sherryl's house to celebrate the Fourth of July.  Tradition entails a barbecue, lots of talking and laughing, and, after sunset from the front deck of Sherryl's home, we'll watch fireworks.  

The panoramic view from her house spans across the Bay Area, and we love watching fireworks diplays simultaneously happening in locations like American Canyon, Vallejo, the Marin Civic Center, Oakland, San Francisco, and beyond.

In the 1983 movie The Big Chill, Sherryl loved how many friends gathered at one home to spend a long weekend together.  She has always wanted her home to be the same kind of central gathering place for family and friends, and that is exactly what it has become. 

This weekend, Jonathan, Rachael, Austin, and Haley are spending three days and two nights at "Sherryl's House on the Hill."  Nadine and Annie are already there, of course, and Auntie Joanie, Arleen, and Justin will arrive later today. 

Good friends Mark and Janet Allsman, the very same Janet who leaves so many nice comments here for Sherryl, used to join us, too.  Mark and Janet are living in Oregon now, so we'll be thinking of them today.  Richard will barbecue the meal, and we'll all celebrate this evening Auntie Joanie's birthday.    

We cherish these traditions.  Happy 4th of July everyone!   

Taylor Lynn Cohen

Taylor Lynn Cohen was 18 months old when she began attending Sherryl Morris Day Care; the year was 1995.  Taylor went on to attend Marin County schools, and, this year entered Terra Linda High School's Class of 2011.  Her initials, TLC -- also the abbreviation for "tender loving care" -- became Taylor's nickname. 

Taylor died unexpectedly on Saturday, March 22, 2008.  Hundreds of family and friends attended the service held in Taylor's honor last Wednesday.  Dozens and dozens of people have signed the Marin Independent Journal's online guest book and several hundred classmates, past and present, have become part of a Facebook group entitled "R.I.P. Taylor Cohen."      

Sherryl attended last week's service and is so deeply saddened by this inexplicable event.  Her heart and thoughts are with Taylor's parents, Gail and Michael, and with her 8-year-old brother, Mason, who is also a day care alumnus.  Taylor, born August 17, 1993, was just 14 years old.   

Sherryl describes Taylor when she was a toddler as having an infectious enthusiasm for life.  Taylor's favorite quotes were shared at the memorial service and are posted below.  Rest in peace, Sweet TLC . . .

PEACE

It does not mean to be in a place

where there is no noise, trouble,

or hard work. It means to be in

the midst of those things and still

be calm in your heart.

~

To the world

you may be one person,

but to one person

you may be the world.

~

Authors unknown
   

 

Chemo Countdown

In keeping with the cumulative reaction to chemotherapy, Sherryl now experiences a rash following her daily Neupogen shot.  She has also had a stomach ache the past few days, and she did not sleep well last night.  Some mornings are a bit challenging, but Sherryl does feel better as the day goes on.  She continues to push herself as much as possible, and her attitude remains resilient. 

Sherryl felt well enough to get out today to do a couple of errands and to visit with a dear friend.  She is very much looking forward to spending time with the children at Day Care on Monday.  Wednesday will bring the second-to-last round of chemotherapy with the last session scheduled for Wednesday, November 14.  Sherryl is optimistic that she will feel good during the holiday season. 

Resilient and optimistic are the apparent themes for Sherryl's journey with breast cancer.  Those adjectives have been the themes of her life, too.  Each year, RaRa hangs on the wall above the desk at Day Care a calendar designed by one of her favorite artists.  Here's a quote from that artist which accurately illustrates with words RaRa's outlook on life.

"If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it." ~ Mary Engelbreit