Helpless?
Since I've returned to California, I've started to feel less useful when it comes to helping my sister/family through this challenging time in our lives. Instead of wallowing in my own sorrows, I think I'm going to make a list of things my family would and would not find helpful:
Helpful **NEW REQUEST**
***Donate airline miles to the Allan/Spencer clan*** (contact Crystan if possible) 1. Cleaning Traci's house or Mom & Dad's house 2. Babysitting the kids. (Kudos to Aunts Jeannie and Mickey for taking the lead on this one!) 3. Making book reccomendations and then providing books from the library 4. Gardening help (especially at Traci's house--lots of weeding needs to be done) 5. Making sure Traci is following all of her doctor's instructions 6. Doing the laundry 7. Assisting mom in organizing the back room of the basement 8. Visiting me in San Francisco 9. Encouraging Traci (and the rest of us) to laugh at every opportunity 10. Calling/texting/emailing family members to let them know you're thinking of them 11. Write a short story and then illustrate it with your non-dominant hand. I encourage you to come up with stories about dragons, time travel, outer space, earthworms, or bacon. 12. Playing board games with the family after the post-chemo germ bubble has been cleared (Cranium is awesome) 13. Thinking of, praying for, meditation on behalf of and/or sending good karma to Traci and (if you're ambitious) her family & friends |
Not Helpful1. Bringing any food to the family
2. Letting Traci disobey doctor's orders 3. Crying extremely loudly in public 4. Bringing/wearing anything fragrant around Traci or the house. Chemo makes your belly sad and smells can make the contents of your tummy show themselves. 5. Expecting family members to return your phone calls/emails/texts or getting frustrated when they don't answer the phone 6. Allowing germs to infiltrate Traci's post-chemo bubble 7. Bringing food of any kind 8. Bringing food to the family 9. Food. Food is not helpful. (You may wonder why this is listed so many times. Especially since everyone that knows Traci is aware of her love of good food. Sadly, under the current circumstances, even thought thought of food can make her feel sick. She's also sticking to a very strict diet that focuses on organic vegan items almost exclusively. |
***Thanks to Genevieve that suggest I make this section a little easier to find. It's still in the Blog section (although I've updated the list here) because I'm too lazy ot remove it. If you have suggestions for this or anything else, please let me know below!***
~~If you are looking for more stories/information on being a co-survivor with Traci, please refer to the link 'Co-Survivors Unite!' under the 'Stories' tab.~~
~~If you are looking for more stories/information on being a co-survivor with Traci, please refer to the link 'Co-Survivors Unite!' under the 'Stories' tab.~~
Or you can always just send me an email at [email protected]. :)