Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.02.2019, Page 12

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12 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • February 1 2019
Chemo would teach me all kinds
of things about life. Treating
this disease sent me into a whole
new world that I knew very little about.
This would be the first time I started to
remember and see patterns in my body.
This would be the start of me paying
attention.
I hadn’t really spent too much time
in hospitals up to this point. Besides
visiting loved ones, a broken toe, a
day surgery and the birth of my three
beautiful children, I hadn’t had much
interaction with the medical profession.
So as treatment plans became
established, hospitals and I would have
to become friends. Well, maybe not
friends but at least acquaintances.
I attended chemo in Gimli, a much
smaller hospital with less people in
the room. The nurses there were great.
I would think it would be a tough job
having to deal with “us.” But they were
always willing to go above and beyond.
My first treatment out of four went
well, but three weeks later during the
second one, things got scary. What
took four hours the first time ended up
taking well over nine hours. Shortly
after getting everything going, I
experienced an allergic reaction. My
arm started burning, and my chest
began to tighten. I felt my body heat up
as my vision seemed to be closing in on
me. My body was allergic to the chemo.
After many calls to doctors on how to
proceed, they decided to administer
Benadryl through an IV and start the
chemo again. Slowly. Drip. Drip. Drip.
It seemed to take forever. When things
seemed normal the chemo meds were
increased again but the symptoms
returned. This is what became of the
next two treatments. Every time they
started treatment, my mind would start
to question. “What did this reaction
mean? Maybe my body was trying to
tell me something. Maybe it did not
want the chemo. Why did they give me
something I was allergic to?” Just my
luck.
I never vomited or experienced
much nausea. They had pills to combat
the nausea but they allowed depression
a free pass to walk right in. Thankfully
the dark cloud wouldn’t last long. It was
best that everyone left me alone during
that time. I tried to find happiness and
joy but the darkness prevailed. Even my
favorite people and their efforts couldn’t
break out my smile. This gave me a
glimpse of what people with depression
must feel like. But I was the lucky one,
for when my medication wore off so did
the depression.
Exactly 14 days after the first
treatment my hair began to fall out.
As I ran my hands through my hair,
a few strands were left amongst my
fingers as they slowly lowered before
me in the mirror. For some reason this
didn’t bother me all that much. I was
actually fascinated by this. Every time
I showered more hair would break off
at the scalp. I would curiously look
into the mirror to see how things were
progressing.
During this phase I think I only
cried twice. Not because I didn’t have
any hair but because of the disbelief
that this had become my reality. Weeks
later there would only be a few fuzzy
strands remaining on my head and no
eyelashes or eyebrows. But that never
got me down. I had a great wig and could
pencil in my eyebrows. I proceeded
with life as normal. At home, most of
the time I never covered my head. Out
in public I did. Partially for me to feel
good but a huge part was for the other
people around me. I did not want them
to feel awkwardness towards me. I felt
as though a “pity party” would break
out and I didn’t want to be invited.
I also learned about the toxicity
that we face every day. Being so full of
toxins and then exposing myself to more
only made me more sick. I had also
become aware that this was my career
– my livelihood as a hairdresser. As I
tried to return to my regular work, my
body suffered. “Iron head” and nausea
crept in and that was scary. I learned
to stay home the week after chemo
and then return for two weeks until my
next session. I also made a choice to
quit colouring hair. I would lose many
clients and friends, but my health had to
come first. I had to call every single one
of them to cancel their appointments
and tell them I had breast cancer. My
heart broke so many times. You never
know how tough you can be until being
tough is the only option you have.
CHEMOMEL’S MOMENTS
Melanie Johannesson
Riverton, MB
Human rights for
Indigenous people is
a vigorously debated
issue in Canada and the United
States. There is also a debate on
this issue in Norway, Sweden,
and Finland.
On January 9, the McGill
University Law School
welcomed Professor Martin
Scheinin of the European
University Institute, in
Florence, Italy, for a talk on the
Sámi People’s quest for self-
determination. The talk was
called, “Indigenous Peoples as
Peoples: The Quest for Self-
Determination by the Nordic
Sámi People.”
International law promises
to all peoples the right of self-
determination. A breakthrough
that allowed the adoption
of the 2007 United Nations
Declaration of the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples was made
when a drafting compromise
affirmed this right for Indigenous
peoples while, at the same time,
recognizing that it may be
understood differently than the
right to self-determination found
in general international law. The
Sámi are an Indigenous people
in Norway, Sweden, Finland
and the Kola Peninsula in north-
western Russia. Prof. Scheinen
addressed the Sámi People’s
quest for self-determination and
related it to the UN Declaration
and to the practice of the Human
Rights Committee acting under
the International Covenant of
Civil and Political Rights.
The right of peoples to self
determination has evolved from
a principle of international law
to a right, to a human right, to
a collective human right. There
is a recognition that multiple
peoples co-exist in a state.
Prof. Scheinin concluded that
the right of the indigenous Sámi
people to self-determination is
at the heart of all controversies.
Progress in cultural, educational
and linguistic issues has been
possible, as long as it is granted
and legislated by the state.
There has been some success
with land claims in Norway and
Sweden, with high evidentiary
requirements.
The Sámi way of life and
traditional livelihoods (reindeer
herding and fishing) are under
real threat, while he Arctic
railroad project (in Finland)
shows the level and persistence
of a colonial mentality.
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Self-determination and the Sámi People
Malcolm Olafson
Montreal, QC
PHOTO: MALCOLM OLAFSON
Professor Martin Scheinin drawing attention to the
homeland of the Sámi People
(PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY OF NORWAY CC BY 2.0
A Sámi man and child in Finnmark, Norway, around 1900