The Hat that Heals? or Whole Lotta' Knittin' Going On

Although not completely finished, the brain hat has already become quite a conversation piece around town! It has been a labor of love that has involved quite a number of people, and I'd like to share the story of how it came to be.

It all started with a photo of a knitted brain hat that Auntie Sharon shared with Adam via Facebook. It was suggested that it would be a worthy project for us, and a rather appropriate one as well! While I entertained the thought of just seeing how close I could come by looking at the photo, I decided to go ahead and see if I could track down the pattern since we were fairly close to the next surgery and it would be fun to have a finished product to wear to his pre-surgery appointments.

Being the savvy searcher of information that I am, I was able to track down the pattern on a stitchery social media site called Ravelry. The pattern was for sale for a modest amount, and since the designer identified herself as a poor med student, I felt inclined to go ahead and pay for the pattern. I even sent a brief message letting the designer know that I was making the hat in honor of Adam's next neurosurgery, and she let me know that she wished us well and appreciated knowing how the pattern was going to be used. If anyone is interested, here is the link to her page: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/brain-hat-knitting-pattern-not-actual-hat (I'm not sure if you can get to the page without an account).

I left the next day for a week long trek to the northwest to visit family, and was able to pick up the supplies I needed at a fun little yarn store in Silverdale, WA. The yarn I found wasn't exactly the "brainy-pinkish-peachish" that Adam and I had discussed, but instead it was a variegated yarn that included a peach color and graduated to a darker red that the lady at the yarn store thought could be a good match for dried blood. I had filled her in on the project I was planning for, as well as who I was making it for and we both agreed that dried blood was an appropriate color to use.

The pattern called for using circular knitting needles which was new for me, but fortunately, Carol's friend Keri was coming over for a craft time and she was able to get me going with this new technique. As I worked away on building up the stitches on the cap, I thought it might be fun to get some other knitters involved in the project and so eventually family and friends Carol, Chad, Jacynda, Matthew, Caleb, Brian, and Susan all added some stitches. Adam also assisted by helping to place and pin the loops to make the brain decoration.

While I was still in the northwest, I talked to Jacynda one day over the phone and explained the project to her. It sounded familiar to her, and she thought that she had seen another student wearing a hat like that at her school. Her medical school. Yep...it turned out that it was the same woman who had designed the hat and posted it online! She is one year behind Jacynda in school, and so they knew each other. Talk about small world coincidences!!!

Although not completely finished (yes, Mike, Adam indeed only had half-a-brain), the hat came down to Fort Worth with us for the surgery, and was indeed proudly worn for the pre-op appointment. Adam's surgeon fully supported our choice of projects, although he did have suggestions about the color (he would have preferred as close to the natural color as possible), and adding specific modifications that would reflect the surgeries that Adam has already had. Adam and I mentioned our idea of sewing a bead on to symbolize the top of the lead that is part of the DBS system--he approved. Adam's primary movement disorder neurologist also approved of the hat, and actually kind of liked the fact that it only had half of the squiggles sewed on, giving it the look of a hemispherectomy. (Oh, those neurologists and their sense of humor!)
I kept knitting on the remaining cord throughout the time that we spent in the surgical waiting area, which is also rather fitting.

So there you have it...the story of the brain hat with all of the people that have played a role in its creation! I hope I didn't forget to mention any names...if I did, please chalk it up to my lack of sleep and not a lack of appreciation! And as to the power of healing that the hat may provide? Well, Adam is feeling much better this evening (post-surgery), so I'm thinking that it has the power of love knitted and embedded into every stitch by many people and that seems to be the best healing agent of all!