Adina Finds & Designs

09/24/2025

Here's a poem I wrote about a place I love and realized, of course, is also deeply personal; about my reach for meaning in nature--the natural world outside, and the nature of myself.

Since my surgery in Barcelona, I learned that untying my spine (we call it de-tethering) was only the first step in a journey to recovering myself. I suppose people call it the Id. The surgery reset my circulatory system, bringing more blood to my brain & body. Now most days I feel like I've lived the last 13 years in some sort of amnesiac fog; that is, when I'm not back in that fog. I'm also returning to myself in a way that's difficult to quantify. To explain.

The surgery is also in the process of resetting my central nervous system--and it is wreaking havoc! I now know that I have strong co-morbid conditions, including several rare diseases. These have taken my health away again and started me on a whole new path.

More awake. More aware. And still fighting like hell!

island song

Born from rocks and churning sea
Pebbled shores, cliffs rising free
Stone and craggy beauty lies
On turtle's back between wind's sigh

Of constitution, water bears
The triumph of my lakes, my lairs
The trees, my hair, give brittle shade
To deer and rabbits, mushroom glade

My meadows sweet with wild grass
For farms to make upon my back
Do you see my mountains, then?
My swaying back, my sweet glens?
In quiet darkness lies my force
And people, songs, up on my shores

-AL Cunningham 2024

08/29/2025

For Pride! With all of the hatred in the world, our love must act as a balance and a guide. Let your inner compass choose compassion and acceptance every time.
🌈

12/30/2024

"One Direction."
Do you see the bird? 🐦‍⬛ That's my moment.

I took this pic from the car as we were driving home. I click click click as the scenery rolls by. We don't stop. I never know what I'll get. I love it when I get a little moment.

Lately I've been missing a lot of them. 2024 was filled to the brim! (Overflowing, really.) My older daughter's graduation from Wellesley, which she'd put herself through with intelligence, grit, and determination. And where she found success and so many moments for herself, while I lay in bed in pain, or recovering from spine surgery, watching one of her greatest feats from my phone.

The graduation from Punahou School by my younger son and daughter (twins), watching a live stream from my bed (of course). A school that cradled and nurtured them for years. Then, a few months later, their entries to college in New York and California. Wow.

The birth of my stepdaughter's son! Now that's a big moment. My older daughter's move to the Big Apple and employment at one of the most competitive and prestigious organizations on the planet! Christmas with family🎄.

Then there are the moments for myself that I didn't miss. Starting 2024 in constant, mind-altering pain, paralyzed from the knees down, wholly dependent on my husband. Flying to Barcelona (how did we do that?). Getting a life-changing surgery. Getting hope. Loving my husband. Seeing Spain! Those moments (and food?) changed me, too. Literally made me bigger. 😉

Then...bringing home hope and facing the reality of recovery: no miracles. Just more pain and work. Dealing with my co-morbidities, periodic paralysis, mast cell activation syndrome, and autoimmune issues. More hospitalizations. Pneumonia. Losing hope, only to gain it again. Financial stress. My husband hanging on by his teeth.

There were so many moments in my 2024! And there were so many more that happened with my sisters, brother, mom, husband, and missed friends. 💖

So I haven't had much room for creativity; I'm hoarding it for the re-making of myself. My mind, my bones, and L I F E . I honestly hope '25 is less momentous! But still filled with moments, and definitely with L I F E . ✨️🐦‍⬛✨️🐦‍⬛✨️

06/07/2024

05/10/2024

05/10/2024

05/10/2024

04/25/2024

MECFS . . . RECOVERY??

I'm in a state of suspended disbelief, maybe shock. In desperation, as I was dropping into more severe ME, I decided on spine surgery.

As you know, for 11 years I've lived with a debilitating chronic disease that had a sudden and sharp post-viral onset. I saw some of the best doctors in the world at Stanford, and met every single criteria for ME/CFS. Like Jen Brea of "Unrest" fame, there's no doubt that if anyone had ME/CFS, I did. Do?

Six months ago, my spinal pain skyrocketed. I could no longer walk. My legs were going numb from the knees down, and I was afraid of paralysis. Not only that, but my mast cell disease was making it difficult to eat all but the most bland of foods, or go outside without having an asthma attack. I was again totally bedbound.

In desperation, really, I remembered that Jen Brea had consulted with a specialized institute in Barcelona.

So I did my research. Then I/we took a leap (my husband, family, and supporters were critical to my decision) with the Institut Chiari & Syringomyelia in Barcelona. Dr. Fiallos Rivera, the neurosurgeon I worked with, was kind, knowledgeable, compassionate, and sharp. The facilities were beautiful, his personalized care beyond anything I had ever experienced.

His pre-operative neurological exams looked pretty bad for me. My legs were numb from the knees down, as were parts of my shoulders and upper extremities. It was very hard for me to move, even to turn over. I could barely stand, and when I did, I had seizures.

Dr. Fiallos saw these symptoms as a sign that my filum--a cord that runs along and down past the spinal cord and contains vital nerves--was diseased (along with other spinal and brain issues I had).

No other place in the world recognizes this condition, this "filum disease."

SURGERY

The big day came. I went under. I woke up...able to walk. Relatively pain free, no migraines, no explosive pressure headaches, and I could feel every part of my legs. What???

Cont. in comments...

01/30/2024

Blooming Thoughts of Self.
Boy, I haven't done any art for months. I've had a lot of thoughts though. Lying in bed with pain wracking your body does that to a person. Is this a sign that I'm slowly recovering? Or will that bloom fade tomorrow, and I'll head for some post-exertional malaise (which I can get from simply THINKING, ugh!). Anyway, I'm glad to be back doing a real post. Good Monday to you!

PS If you haven't noticed, I'm putting a lot in my Stories, when I can. Take a look.

01/30/2024

This 12 or is it 18" very large board was a joy to make, and is still available. Currently on display at a local store. 😊