"When an affliction happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it.." - Rosalind Russell

April 26, 2009

Now about me

Oh so I forgot! While I was home my sister and I got matching tattoos! We researched forever what we wanted- we knew we wanted something that meant 'strength'. We eventually came across the Adinkra symbols of West Africa. These symbols originated from Ghana and were hand-painted onto hand-embroidered cloths that were used by royalty and spiritual leaders in ceremonies and rituals. We found one for strength and then at the last minute decided to get another one that symbolized love.


Strength: (looks like a turtle to me)
WAWA ABA "seed of the wawa tree"

symbol of hardiness, toughness and perseverance

The seed of the wawa tree is extremely hard. In Akan culture, it is a symbol of someone who is strong and tough. It inspires the individual to persevere through hardship. :


Love: (obviously the one that looks like the heart)
ODO NNYEW FIE KWAN
"Love never loses its way home"

symbol of the power of love

Anyways this was both of our first tattoos. It definitely hurt like getting an injection for 25 straight minutes. Not fun. (Of course, I will get another one anyways). I love the way it looks though and now it doesn't hurt at all. I did ask about getting my scar tattooed- one guy told me that I should wait 2 yrs! He said he did one after 6 months and it started to open again.

I think these tattoos have so much meaning after all the events this year. You definitely have to be strong to get through this. This has definitely been trying for all us, especially my sis and dad. And as for me, I have chemo tomorrow and I am just annoyed. Earlier today I was starting to plan my week and getting in sometime to study and work in the garden when I remembered the chemo. Dammit. Now I'm gonna feel crappy and waste a week of my life. Ugh. It's just annoying. As soon as I feel fully recovered I have to get infused again. Tomorrow morning I am also talk to my doctor- the first time in 3 months. We are going to talk about the plan. I have no idea what that plan may be, but I guess it all depends on whether the chemo is still working. I want her to order a full-body CT scan. I would just like to know that it hasn't spread anywhere else. For some peace of mind. . .

6 comments:

  1. backpack.April 27, 2009 at 10:30 AM

    try sitting for 4 hours....its fun. and you know the pain is an important part of the tattoo experience.

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  2. amby670April 27, 2009 at 10:59 AM

    yeah i was thinking about that- how do you do it? i was thinking that the endorphins would kick in a little more than they did

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  3. UnknownApril 28, 2009 at 7:29 AM

    Hi Amber. I like them. Nice idea. Good luck when you get the scan. Later...

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  4. backpack.April 28, 2009 at 7:50 PM

    eat a big meal b4 hand, water. no coffee. i like to just look at them working if you look away i think it hurts more.
    and being a badass helps. i think youd be fine.

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  5. JenApril 29, 2009 at 8:11 PM

    Amber, the tats are beautiful. I think it's worse if you look. I'm a big fan of pretending it isn't happening.

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  6. amby670May 2, 2009 at 5:28 PM

    Thanks Jen! The damn thing itches so much now- I'm trying really really hard not to scratch and scab it up

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