So there's this tattoo on my right shoulder blade now. It is not very small, and it is exactly what I wanted to have there - but some friends and family have been surprised by the size of "my ink" (that's what the hip kids call it) and many also have wondered if it has significance. There is significance, and the decision to add this piece of artwork to my body was not made lightly. I think it was a well thought-out idea, personally - but of course it was my idea! I have not spent a large portion of my life, or even many years thinking about tattoos or wanting a tattoo.
Let's start with the Pink Falcon. Some people will know by now that the Pink Falcon has been my alter-ego for several years now. I have always "had a thing" about raptors and the like - hawks, falcons, owls, eagles, etc. The appeal of these creatures to me is at once simple and complex. Simply put? They are stunning animals with great beauty, mysterious lives, and awesome power. More to my liking is the incredible combination of their gifts of flight and incredible eyesight. I would give nearly anything to be able to fly - and specifically to be able to have the perspective of the biggest possible picture as my field of vision, combined with the ability to see and track miniscule detail from so far away. The precision to sweep in and catch whatever catches my eye (or to solve whatever problem I can pick out from within the big picture) would be pure magic and bliss, I do believe.
I wish I were a super hero. You know... clever name, secret powers that come in handy when someone is in distress and needs help, and a great costume too. Some years ago now (I love that my relationship and marriage to John can now be referenced in terms of "some years ago now.") when starting a Scrabble game, I asked John "who do you want to be?" This has been a norm of ours since we started playing Scrabble on our second date. I'm generally the score keeper, and I start almost every game by asking John who he would like to be. Usually the answer is something like "just John," or "Mr. Reed" after we were married. On this particular occasion, John responded with something witty and I felt the need to have a fabulous name. "The Pink Falcon!" I shouted. And thus, I was born. I now have a logo, thanks to the best mother-in-law in the world - appropriately emblazened on a couple of shirts and a mug. I also have a pink satin cape, thanks to a Kickstarter fund raising campaign for Amazing Capes.
And then the year 2011 came along. I turned 40 that year. And then I started having this weird sensation problem - almost like weakness, but not quite. Not falling down, but kind of almost. Well, and falling down twice (which might have just been me being clumsy, but who knows)... And then? The verdict came in - I have Multiple Sclerosis. It's been almost precisely 2 years (September 29) from my diagnosis day. One of the reasons my diagnosis was fairly quick in the world of neurological diseases was that I had a vision problem (often the first symptom or "exacerbation" of MS for many people) 5 years before the peculiar weakness/sensation problem that crept up 2 years ago. I was appropriately observed and treated at the time, and MS was expressed as a possible concern, but the diagnostic tools used then didn't show that it was a possibility. That adventure 5 years prior was a key part of being able to offer a correct diagnosis quickly 2 years ago. I am now medicated and seem to be "holding my own" against my own nervous system.
So it seems only logical that MS is one of my super powers, don't you think? And also perhaps a bit ironic that my attraction to birds of prey has a lot to do with their incredible vision capabilities, while a loss of vision (partial, in one eye, for a few months) was likely my first symptom on the road to Multiple Sclerosis?
My relatively brief journey towards adding a beautiful piece of artwork to my own skin was definitely related to having MS. There is no cure for MS. I am going to have MS for the rest of my life. But also? I am fighting MS as I am able, and I'm determined to make it my super power. I am also now going to have a beautiful piece of artwork on my skin for the rest of my life.
My pink falcon rests on my right shoulder blade and sports (obviously - see the picture of "me" at the top of this blog) a Viking helmet. The Pink Falcon was the first, and only logical choice for a possible piece of art on me. And my Pink Falcon is a Nordic falcon in large part because of my Norwegian heritage - of which I am very proud. My Grandpa Melby was Norwegian and was the most recent generation of immigrant to this country in our family. Ultimately, I made two decisions about the artwork that are directly related to my MS. I chose the placement on my right side in part to "counterbalance" my birthmark which is on the left side of my middle back. I considered having the profile of my falcon flipped so it would be looking over my shoulder but decided instead that he should be looking towards my spine. MS is a disease of the central nervous system, with which the immune system works to attack the protective coating (myelin) of the nervous system causing a breakdown in the messaging system. My Pink Falcon is keeping an eye on my nervous system for me. He is also a Nordic Falcon because of one of the many peculiar "things" about the prevalence of MS. I have grown up in the Great Lakes/Upper Midwest areas of our country, which means I have lived primarily in the same range of latitudes in which MS is more common than some locales. Norway (and northern Europe)
has a rather high rate of MS in comparison to other parts of the world. The upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the US also have higher rates of MS than other parts of the country. Michigan has one of the highest occurrence rates of MS in the United States. So my falcon's Viking helmet is a nod to my fantastic Norwegian heritage and also to my disease.
My "tat" (that's also what the kids call it) was designed and inked (I don't know if that's what the kids call it, but it sounds good to me) by Sailor Woody at the Infinite Art Tattoo studio in Toledo, OH. I shared a couple of photographs (grabbed off the interwebs with simple google searches) with Woody to give him some starting points, and he ran with the idea. I love his artwork and didn't ask to change a thing. Voila - my Pink Falcon tattoo! The falcon I visioned this whole idea off of is a Gyrfalcon - a nordic falcon with a particular gaze that I love in the photo here. The Viking helmet was a simple and almost silly thing to search for, but who knew how many different kinds of Viking helmets there were in the world? I loved the contrast of the photo here. Both are the photos Woody started with.
So there you have it - all you ever (never?) wanted to know about my tattoo! It's not going anywhere. Ask me and I'll show you!