Stitches of Hope

Name
Rebecca Chase

Brain Tumor Type
Craniopharyngioma

Date of Diagnosis
04/09/2015

Participant Group
Brain Tumor Survivor / 21 and over

Category
Jewelry & Textiles

Artist Statement (include type of art, techniques & materials used, what it means to you)
This is a cross stitch piece that was one of my very first ones. It helps me relax and lets me put my stress and anxiety into something meaningful that people enjoy looking at. When people see it, they will see that it took time and care, just like dealing with life after diagnosis.

Artist Bio: Tell Us Your Story
I was a 7th grader who was having brutal headaches and not eating due to vomiting(unbeknownst to me from the hydrocephalus) and sleeping all day long. After what seemed like forever, but was only around 3 months of deterioration, I was finally diagnosed and had brain surgery the next day. After about a year and a half, my tumor grew back and so I underwent 6 weeks, 5 days a week of radiation treatments an hour away from home. As you can imagine, this would be rough-especially since it was ongoing during the first 4 weeks of my freshman year of high school, 2 weeks were in the summer break before. Currently, my tumor is stable and I am on yearly MRI’s.