Kobro's Cancer Crew #14: Limpus has no chance
Hope you've had a good past few weeks here. Just wrapped up round 10 — little more drained than earlier rounds, but still manageable!
For today's update we're getting into the Limpus vs. KCC competition. It's a little meta, and has a slightly different tone than other KCC updates, so bear with me.
In Kobros Cancer Crew #9: KCC Vs. Limpus I brought up the idea of creating a competition between Limpus (a fictional character that represents my Lymphoma) and the KCC (you all — my community of family and friends).
We're in the middle of the competition. When I'm cancer free and chemo's over, I want to get some symbol of the competition tattooed on me, like a scoreboard of sorts that shows how the KCC beat Limpus.
That said, I'm having second thoughts on:
- Should we attempt to create a "score" for the KCC and Limpus?
- If so, what should the visual representation of this tattoo be? Is a "scoreboard" the right symbol or should it be something else?
Quick refresher:
Limpus is our arch nemesis. He is the personification of my Lymphoma. Here's a picture of him (yes, I am gendering my lymphoma).
Why create a competition in the first place?
- First, It isn't ME who's beating Limpus. It's the KCC. I'm the one going to chemo every few weeks, but that's only a fraction of the required effort here. My family flying in to visit. Mikayla being my rock through all of this. Your thoughtful letters, supportive texts, fuzzy socks, and endless cancer jokes. I want to somehow show that this collective effort beat Limpus. I like the idea of every thoughtful or supportive action someone takes both literally (through the actual support) and symbolically (through the tattoo) contributing to a larger effort to beat a little ugly green character named Limpus.
- Second, I've always enjoyed quantifying abstract things. In KCC #9 I mentioned: "Putting a number to something has always given me a sense of understanding of that thing… it's very me even if it's a bit unsettling."
- Finally, Scoreboards are fun. I enjoy reframing not-so-fun scenarios into games and cancer is just another one of those not-so-fun scenarios.
Now that we have a refresher on Limpus and the competition, let's discuss the first big question here…
Should we quantify a score for the KCC and Limpus?
I asked for some feedback in KCC #9 — and it was quite polarizing!
View 1:
On one hand, some folks are already getting into the idea of a competition … here's some strongly worded texts on how we're going to take Limpus down:
Rosemary Brown: "Limpus doesn't stand a chance!"
Gary Sheng: "KCC Baby!"
I've also started to receive some ideas for how we could create a "score":
Mom: "…If knowledge is power, than I believe KCC should gets points for educating themselves about Lymphoma and reading your updates…. I can't change this but I can show up and be there. Once I verbalized that to Dad, 'all we can really do is show up,' he agreed so I think we can get points for going to appointments with you."
Before going further — unlimited points for Mom and Dad ^
Mom and Dad, you already know how grateful I am for you, but thank you.
Colin Flaherty: "What if you tallied up all the people who ever did something to help you in your treatment journey . . . and that was your tally for the size of the "KCC army"?
View 2:
On the other hand, you have folks like Grandma, Joe, and Matt that don't think it makes sense to create a score.
Grandma: "I suggest you just feel the love. The support can't be measured in things or concern. Maybe Grandpa can come up with an idea."
Joe Negen: "Honestly, I think that the best way to quantify the love you're receiving is to not quantify it. It's a highly qualitative experience, and I think that love and support … is an elusive and difficult thing to pin down, even with words, let alone numbers."
Matt Rich: "People show up in different ways. Quantification can distract from overall message, that it took a team and you want to show your gratitude. You don't need to quantify."
To summarize the views:
- View 1 (Colin and Mom): This could be a fun way to show the collective effort of the KCC and provide structure around an abstract thing.
- View 2 (Grandma, Joe, Matt): Quantifying something like support or love doesn't make sense. Love and support is a difficult thing to pin down, even with words, let alone numbers.
I agree with both views … after a few months of stirring on this, I think we've found a solid middle ground to show the KCC beating Limpus, without trying to make it toooo "numbers-y".
The KCC Army:
Rather than calculating "points" we're going to add up the number of people who've shown support in some way.
A nurse injects me with chemo, an old friend joins these updates, or my middle school teachers donated to the fundraiser. Each of these are examples of an individual who's shown up.
Think of this as the total "size" of Kobro's Cancer Crew. Shout out to Colin Flaherty for this idea!
Note, if the same nurse helps with chemo on a different day, that would not lead to more "points" or a larger "size", because we're only adding up the number of unique individuals who've shown support (not how they've shown support nor how many times they've shown support).
The reason I like this approach is people show support in different ways (shout out to Matt Rich and Joe Negen for bringing this up).
- Tallying up each person who's supported in some way lets us create a score without quantifying how people show support in different ways.
- It's almost like love languages — some who love with their time, other gifts, etc. It doesn't make sense to quantify or judge how they show up.
- I also don't want to compare one person's way of showing support with another person's way of showing support.
I'll be including everyone that has showed up in some way, big or small (even being a part of these updates, or sending fuzzy socks).
Team Limpus
If the KCC "size" = everyone who's shown up, it only makes sense to give Limpus a "size" of 1.
We have an army of people against one poor little Limpus.
He doesn't stand a chance.
The tattoo
Mom and Grandma had a few thoughts here…
Mom: "About your Tattoo, I told you years ago that it's your body and I have no judgment on this topic. It's a personal decision."
Grandma: "As for tattoos, definitely not a fan."
Sorry Grandma, but we'll have to get past this one <3
Now, the question stands: should the tattoo that represents this competition be a scoreboard? I'm not sure, but leaning towards no.
Thankfully, we have some time — I can't get a tattoo until after treatment because there's a risk of infection, so I'll be thinking on this.
We could have little dots to represent everyone, or even some more abstract visual? Not sure, will be doodling. Let me know if you have any fun ideas to represent this army of the KCC vs. Limpus, a team of 1.
Thank you for the continued love and support here.
Love,
David