TRANSPLANT
I was whisked away by helicopter the night after I did my first doodle in the hospital. Baylor Scott & White All Saints (BSWAS) had accepted me to be evaluated for a liver transplant. Due to COVID, beds in the ICU there were scarce and one finally became available. No ambulances would have been available to drive me to Fort Worth that night from Abilene. And certainly not as quickly. So a helicopter was my ONLY chance for a transplant evaluation.
After the very uncomfortable one-hour helicopter ride on a stretcher and then a whole bunch of people tending to me immediately when I got to my new hospital, I just forgot about doing doodles. Not entirely, but with all the tests being run and procedures being performed on me doodling was the last thing on my mind.
Between thoracentesis procedures, dialysis, endoscopies, a colonoscopy, lots of blood draws and medications every few hours…I was basically distracted and seriously wondering about my life the whole time. It turns out that in addition to a liver transplant I needed a kidney transplant. Thankfully everything checked out for me to be put on the donor list and very quickly a donor I am very grateful for was a fit for me.
After about a month in the hospital, a nine-hour surgery and nine days of resting, I was released on September 21st (do you remember?). I moved in with my mother to a one-bedroom apartment mere steps to the hospital for six weeks. I needed to begin recovery and learn how to walk again without a walker. I was alive and felt very enthusiastic, but limited in the things I could do.
It was then that I got back into doodling. I went back-and-forth between doodle art collaborations with my friends (exchanged through the mail) and doodling on sticky notes. I had music and plenty of time and my super supportive mother/nurse as a caretaker. I was comfortable and doodling consumed me.
Then I went back to the hospital for a VATS (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery) procedure to help reduce a 10% collapse of my right lung. It is a short procedure that normally has a one or two day recovery. However, because there was a tiny hole or holes found in my lung after the procedure, my recovery time lasted over two weeks. It was a day-by-day process until my lung healed enough. I was so ready to finally go home after having been gone for over two months
So, what did I do during that time? For one thing I hung out with my mom for a few hours every day. She would bring me an iced mocha and we would sit and chat and I would doodle. I also took a lot of fun pictures of various things to try create as much fun as possible. I felt very alive and vibrant, but my lung was still healing.
My attention to detail in my sticky note doodles grew and I became more artistic with my doodles. Some of them were meticulously done and often took a couple of hours to finish. I also doodled on random things like packets of sugar, pepper, towelettes, and surgical masks among other things.
The transplant brought me a new life and a lot of enthusiasm to take doodling to a whole new level. DAP was created because I wanted to spend as much time as possible influencing other people to see the value in Doodling. We are working on an education program and hope to be able to provide our services to hospitals and to the homeless. That is going to take a lot of work, but I am ready to commit my life to it if it is doable. I want to give back.
After the very uncomfortable one-hour helicopter ride on a stretcher and then a whole bunch of people tending to me immediately when I got to my new hospital, I just forgot about doing doodles. Not entirely, but with all the tests being run and procedures being performed on me doodling was the last thing on my mind.
Between thoracentesis procedures, dialysis, endoscopies, a colonoscopy, lots of blood draws and medications every few hours…I was basically distracted and seriously wondering about my life the whole time. It turns out that in addition to a liver transplant I needed a kidney transplant. Thankfully everything checked out for me to be put on the donor list and very quickly a donor I am very grateful for was a fit for me.
After about a month in the hospital, a nine-hour surgery and nine days of resting, I was released on September 21st (do you remember?). I moved in with my mother to a one-bedroom apartment mere steps to the hospital for six weeks. I needed to begin recovery and learn how to walk again without a walker. I was alive and felt very enthusiastic, but limited in the things I could do.
It was then that I got back into doodling. I went back-and-forth between doodle art collaborations with my friends (exchanged through the mail) and doodling on sticky notes. I had music and plenty of time and my super supportive mother/nurse as a caretaker. I was comfortable and doodling consumed me.
Then I went back to the hospital for a VATS (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery) procedure to help reduce a 10% collapse of my right lung. It is a short procedure that normally has a one or two day recovery. However, because there was a tiny hole or holes found in my lung after the procedure, my recovery time lasted over two weeks. It was a day-by-day process until my lung healed enough. I was so ready to finally go home after having been gone for over two months
So, what did I do during that time? For one thing I hung out with my mom for a few hours every day. She would bring me an iced mocha and we would sit and chat and I would doodle. I also took a lot of fun pictures of various things to try create as much fun as possible. I felt very alive and vibrant, but my lung was still healing.
My attention to detail in my sticky note doodles grew and I became more artistic with my doodles. Some of them were meticulously done and often took a couple of hours to finish. I also doodled on random things like packets of sugar, pepper, towelettes, and surgical masks among other things.
The transplant brought me a new life and a lot of enthusiasm to take doodling to a whole new level. DAP was created because I wanted to spend as much time as possible influencing other people to see the value in Doodling. We are working on an education program and hope to be able to provide our services to hospitals and to the homeless. That is going to take a lot of work, but I am ready to commit my life to it if it is doable. I want to give back.
I need to give very special and heartfelt thanks to both Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene and Baylor Scott and White All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The doctors, nurses, ancillary staff, and support staff were all very caring and supportive of me. I couldn’t have made it during those very trying months without the professionalism and care from everybody at both hospitals. The biggest thanks I need to give is to the donor whose organs are keeping me alive. You are anonymous to me, but I love you & I thank you.
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