Calvin News

EDITOR'S UPDATE: On May 27, 2000, Elaine Tolsma Harlow had her bone marrow transplant. Her husband wrote the following e-mail update --
"The Marrow is in!!! The marrow arrived just after midnight on Friday. Four beautiful bags of deep-red marrow were placed on the end of Elaine's hospital bed for her and I to marvel at. Accompanying the marrow was a card from the donor in which the donor explained that she felt 'honored by God to have the opportunity to provide her marrow.'
The marrow began pumping through Elaine's Hickman catheter around 1 am on Friday and took nearly 10 hours to complete. Elaine was kept up most of the night with nurse checks and was very tired on Friday afternoon. Today, Saturday, she is feeling rested. However, she continues to take medication to fight the nausea. We praise God for the completion of this step. 
She has been walking more than a mile a day in the halls since our last update. And how do we know now far a mile is... Last night, Elaine and I made our own entertainment. Because we are in a new facility here at the University of Washington, no one knew how many laps around the ward equaled a mile...until now. Elaine and I used a 30' tape measure I brought from home to measure the distance of the hallways. The doctors and nurses were perplexed at our strange behavior, but now everyone, patients included, want to know how long the halls are (in case you're wondering, 10.5 laps = 1 mile). 
We're told that days 7 through 12 can be the most difficult as the new marrow begins to engraft. We hope and pray that Elaine gets through this time with minimal difficulty. That's all for now. Rick, Elaine and Olivia Harlow."
Below is the news release posted to the Calvin website prior to the transplant:
On or about Memorial Day, Elaine Tolsma Harlow of Allegan is scheduled to receive a bone marrow transplant in Seattle, Washington, where she's presently receiving radiation treatment to ready her body for that procedure.
Across the country, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Betty Sanderson of the Calvin College art department is receiving art from Harlow's friends and former Calvin professors, readying that body of work for installation in the Calvin Art Gallery and one of the most meaningful shows the Gallery will ever have witnessed, a show that will benefit Harlow. 
The show is titled "To Good Health: Artists Care" and it will feature some 70 to 80 works, including 20 or so of Harlow's own paintings. Each piece will be for sale. The proceeds will go to Harlow's substantial medical bills. About 20 artists are taking part, including nine Calvin professors. 
Harlow graduated from Calvin in 1992 with a bachelor of fine arts degree. When she was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in October 1999 (one of about 4,500 new cases of CML diagnosed each year) her friends and former professors rallied to her aid. The resulting show is a first for Calvin's Center Art Gallery. 
"In life-threatening situations like this," said Calvin's Betty Sanderson, "people often step forward to help. They might bring food or babysit. This Gallery Show is our way of stepping forward to help." 
The stepping forward already has been a boon to Harlow's health. 
"When the concept for a benefit art show was first mentioned," she said in an e-mail message earlier this month, "I was interested in using my artwork to raise support and awareness of leukemia but was skeptical how it would work. But the outpouring of support by each contributing artist and enthusiastic backing and many hours of work by Carol VerMeulen, Betty Sanderson and Pam Eicher shaped the show from beginning to end. I wish I could see the show in person; please enjoy it for me. My favorite artists are participating with what I know to be interesting creations. To me it does not matter if one dime is raised because each artist has blessed me already." 
Harlow has been in Seattle since the beginning of May, preparing for surgery at the Fred Hutchinson Center, one of the top bone marrow transplant hospitals in the world. The family, Elaine, husband Rick and 22-month old daughter Olivia, will live in Seattle for the next four to five months. Insurance will help the family pay for the transplant, but other costs, including travel, housing in Seattle and more, will be substantial for the Harlows. The Calvin benefit, it is hoped, will alleviate some of that financial burden. 
Members of Covenant Presybterian Church in Holland also are helping the Harlow family. And Johnson Controls, where Elaine's husband Rick works, has given Rick, a 1993 Calvin graduate, a leave of absence and plans to participate in the Gallery Show by purchasing several of Elaine's paintings. 
NOTE: The "To Good Health: Artists Care" show at Calvin College will open June 2 with a reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Media are invited. The show will run in the Center Art Gallery at Calvin College from June 2-June 30. For more information contact Betty Sanderson at 616-957-6326.