I loved this fun shoot! It was quite personal to us… this is actually my father’s new biz!
You see… gosh where to start… last fall my father almost died… like really close… a month or so in the hospital, a total gastro removal (he had a large tumor in his stomach so big that the amazing surgeon said the only way to survive this is to take out his stomach!) yes, he eats & goes potty normally now… always the first thought… you would be so surprised at what modern medicine can do… it’s absolutely fascinating! In my father’s “plumbing” his surgeon made a stomach… a sort of hammock… Then MONTHS of chemo and radiation and he is doing amazing! has put on a healthy weight… and has been scanned twice in the last 6 months and both times free of f#@&ing cancer!
I have learned so much about cancer… stomachs… cells… anatomy… blood types… genetics… tumors… malignant… chemo… radiation… white blood cell count… anemia… b12 shots… protein… stages of cancer… lymph nodes… oncologists… radiologists… stress… teeth… nerves… acupuncture… wheat grass… natural healing… natural preventatives… gmo’s… chemicals…
one thing I think I learned the most is this…
WE ALL DIE ONE DAY…
we never know when… we never know why…
but we all must do one thing…
LIVE!!!
live like you mean it! live like today is your last! don’t think it is… just live for crying out loud!
My dad reminds me often to NEVER STRESS!!! His stress brought on a lot of his health issues… and now he says why… why is it worth it!
I sometimes forget not to stress… and then I am reminded by him… not to!
It’s so not worth it… coming so close to losing someone so close is hard… you start to panic late at night… around 3am usually… what if this all will happen to you… what can you do right now to make your life count… make it amazing! usually walking around my garden late at night looking at the moon helped… and helps… and screaming under water in the gulf of Mexico was perfect!
The thing with cancer is so many of us have been hurt by it! We all know someone… and still it’s there!
Cancer not only hurts the one with it boiling inside of them… but it hurts the wives & partners… my mother has been so strong through all of this bullshit! When my father was so cranky because he was weak.. because the chemo made him nuts… she still put up with him… and still does. 🙂
calling healthcare providers… the cost of cancer is mind blowing… so is major surgeries… like
TWO MILLION DOLLARS… like seriously!
She smiled even though she was scared and dragged him from radiation appointments to chemo appointments… she sat with him as he got jabbed and jabbed by needles… she sat with other wives as they welled with tears and talked about stages of cancer and lungs and spleens…
They together watched people die each month… getting to know others being hurt by cancer and then not seeing them the next month… watching people actually literally die as they were getting injected by chemo… right infront of them…
my mother was there for my dad through it all… what a road it has been…
Healing…
so now that the pages have turned and they are on their next chapter of life…
my father cannot work now… well for a hard working man that has worked hard labor since he was in his teens… that’s nearly impossible and can drive one crazy…
He has always been great making things with his hands, with wood… one day I was like, “Daddy, I love these teardrop campers… they’re so retro… wish I could have one…” he was like, “Kollene, I can do that!” … so the idea was born!
Retro Glamper is how my father keeps busy… tinkering around the garage sanding these beauties until they are perfect… sketching out the design… it’s all healing…
To have a purpose again feels great to him…
His first model is complete and I photographed it with my first car actually towing it… ha!
They are hoping to take this teardrop on the road!
This one here even has air conditioning!
be sure to like Retro Glamper on facebook… click here!
and check out Retro Glamper’s website… click here!
and instagram! #retroglamper #teardropsforcancer
