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Updates and Celebrate Life Sale

Look into my eyes
Deep in the you
of me, of us.

CKS

Due to my health I had to close my studio early for the June Toe River Arts Studio Tour where I was having the Celebrate Life Sale and was to continue the sale online after the tour.

I had a flare of the NMO. Along with Rituxan, I had 5 days of IV Steroids with an oral taper. I continue to struggle. Fatigue is an issue and my arms are still weaker than they were. I am better despite the struggles. My breathing is not the same since the flare either.

I am taking care of things one at a time. I have not been in the studio. I tried to be there a couple of short visits, mainly to print a few digital paintings to make sure my printer was still happy. I will admit it was exhausting.

Treatment changes to hopefully help keep my health more stable is moving Rituxan from 4 months to every 3 months. I must admit it is a little unsettling. I started at every 6 months and when that was not okay, I moved to every 4 months and for quite awhile was stable until i wasn’t. What happens if Rituxan completely fails? I don’t have a complete answer. I don’t have access to the new NMO approved drugs because I am not antibody positive.

What we are adding is pulse dosing with IV Steroids. This means once a month I will have 3 days of IV Steroids. Steroids do usually make me feel better. Steroids come with there own side effects I don’t like. It is a matter of weighing benefit vs. side effects.

pulmonology, we are doing testing, and depending on the outcome, we might be adding daytime oxygen in addition to my ventilator.

I am working to get back in the studio and hopeful to be there soon.

We are getting more and more pieces up on the CLFStudio Shop for the CELEBRATE LIFE SALE!!! Going on Now! Finally getting back to what we started during the studio tour.

We are working hard to get works up day in day out and they are deeply discounted. I turned 50 this year and I did not know if I would even make it to 50, so this is a great time to celebrate.

So please share far and wide. I would really appreciate it. and I hope you enjoy, and maybe find that perfect piece for yourself or someone you love.

Thank you so much for your continued encouragement and support!

paint much love, always,
Connie Karleta Sales
a.k.a. This Crooked Little Flower

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Stand where you are

for you have much richness
deep in the you; you are
;
even if it means lying down.

in rest there is life;
cool comfort,
joy in our stillness-es.

in our suffering
in our loss-es,
we reach into our each.

in our worn-ess,
in our despondency-s,
we are rich in offering
.

in our arms,
allowing the intimacy
of others into our lives;

we are rich.
you; are rich
in the all of y/ou/r illness-es,

we reach into the each;
and have much to offer;
humanity’s necessity;

stand where you are
even in lying down.

CKS

(originally published 2020)

Definitely winding down; I am less than two weeks away from my next Rituxan Infusion. This time, I am looking forward to it. I wish it were yesterday.

This past six months has been the best six months in two years. Overall, I might be fatigued and worn down, but I am still able to get up in my chair, still able to do things that I otherwise would not be able to do for myself before.

I also am present. I am not trying to do more, not trying to push through, not trying to be better than I am. I am right where I am and that is where I shall remain for today.

I am using a new eye gaze set up, and that makes all the difference in my life. You have no idea how much energy conservation it provides me.

Drawing more by holding the pen in my mouth. lol, that is somethin’; try it sometime. It is fun, and a lot harder than it looks. Actually, I am not very good at it. My face muscles have a hard time keeping it in my mouth. But, it gives my arms a bit of rest. And, its fun, and makes me giggle.

My pen held in place by Velcro, it can’t fall out of my hand, so, a floppier wrist is not much of a bother, its my triceps, my major movement that gets slowed, heavy, and hard.

And, so I stand where I am, lying down, binge watching much tvany suggestions? – resting in the melody of this life, and enjoying it. At this point I would normally be frustrated and developing more depression and sadness.

And I am not. I am not depressed. I am not sad.

I am joyful. I am happy. I am excited about things to come. Things that are happening; new and continuing. I am happy in feeling more present in the lives of my loved ones.

Where are you standing today? What does your present look like? Mine looks like this, and I imagine it is wrapped in a lovely pink bow!

You are enough, and have so much to give to a world that needs the you, you are. My hope is to be a part of changing the conversation around being sick, and how we treat people who are ill, suffering, and dying. How we treat people.

Each time we act with pity, we take away a person’s power. Each time we dismiss someone because of their suffering-s, we take away their power.

Each time we act in amazement at an accomplishment; despite of; we take power. Each time we discount illness and suffering because of amazement in accomplishment; We set apart rather than bring together.

Too often we treat, and act as though a person must overcome, defy, get well, in order to have worth. We take power away.

All these are wonderful things. overcoming, defying, all this is not in and of itself a problem. But why isn’t living with and alongside of provided for, cared for and caressed?

In the heart of it, that is what happens in order to get to remission of an illness, the easement of a grief. and then there is living when remission and easement is not possible.

I am not not trying to live, I am not trying to be well. I am Connie, living with a rare disease, a future unknown, but its unknown for everyone, because we are not there yet.

I love this life, standing where I am.

please share today, and invite others.

I wrote this in 2020 but I still identify today.

paint much love, always,
Connie Karleta Sales
a.k.a. This Crooked Little Flower

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