How Art Heals-WEB

73 31. Kathryn Rousso WWW.KATHY_ROUSSO@HOTMAIL .COM ALASKA, USA “I began weaving The Transplant when my husband was in the University of Washington Medical Center, waiting for and ultimately receiving a new liver (December 19, 2016). The top band represents the waiting period, followed by the bad/old liver, the good/new liver, and recovery. “I was overcome with feelings of despair, frustration, and sadness, but hope crossed my mind at one time or another. I didn’t feel relief until we finally returned home—on September 1, 2017—ten months later.” Life was very diff icult during this time period, and I was just glad I could weave while in the hospital or I would have become a “basket case”! These two baskets [the second shown later] are part of a ten-basket series. “When I wove The Transplant , I expected to return home after the ‘typical’ three-month recovery period, but as time dragged on and my husband was still in the hospital two months later, I wove Winter Blues with a Hint of Hope . My life during that time was consumed by his condition and the hospital environment. “My entire life was spent living in that hospital room and observing ev- erything: doctor’s rounds, bloodwork, dialysis, and eventually physical and occupational therapy, and eating. The antirejection drugs made my husband delirious for about three months, and he doesn’t remember any- thing from that time. I was pretty much on my own, so I wove. Luckily, I can weave my baskets anywhere, so, besides occupying the time, I felt like I had a purpose.” The weaving process was mainly for my own satisfaction. It allowed me to channel my energy into art that I now hope conveys the diff iculties of hospital life and medical situations, especially for Alaskans, where travel and extended stays away from home are often necessary.