Spreading the word to Denmark

9/1/2013

One of our founding members, Tove Cravens, has roots in Denmark. She has been instrumental in spreading the word about the knitted breast prostheses that our group produces. She translated the knitting instructions into Danish and has been participating in the Danish Facebook page for our Danish counterparts.

Here is a link to the article (in Danish) praising our wonderful member. (You can use Google Translated to get a loose translation of the article into English).

http://brystkraeft.dk/2013/08/strikkede-proteser/

2 Comments

Tove Cravens

10/3/2013 23:31:17

While the link is indeed in Danish, a Google translation leaves a lot to be desired, calling the prostheses, dentures ;-)
Here is the correct translation for anyone interested.

Protheses can also be knitted
by Britt Nørbak, journalist. Fotos: Private

In several places in the United States women are offered knitted prostheses after breast surgery . The prostheses are made by dedicated volunteers, who are moved to tears, when they see, what a difference their knitted prostheses make.

Every Wednesday afternoon a group of knitting savvy women meet in the cafeteria at a local hospital in the state of Illinois in the United States . The group knits prostheses, which they give away free of charge to women after breast surgery .

One of the women in the group is the Danish-born Tove Stoltenberg Cravens , who grew up in Kalundborg and moved to the U.S. in 1957, when she married an American.

- Our group is called Bosom Buddies and was started in November 2011. I read in the local newspaper, that Judy Brumbaugh was knitting prostheses, after her sister-in-law had received one, so I called her to learn more about the project. Judy and I quickly agreed, that the two of us could not knit fast enough to meet the demand , so we put up posters in different places in the city to get more people to knit. Today we are about 20 in the group and we have so far, given approx. 700 away free, says Tove , 77

Knits all sizes
Bosom Buddies knit prostheses with soft acrylic yarn, that dries faster than cotton yarn. The group buys both yarn and stuffing on sale, and everyone feels, that their time and money are well spent , because the prostheses are so appreciated . The local TV station has brought a feature on the project, where beneficiaries praise the knitted prostheses. The broadcast was later picked up and broadcast nationally by CNN.

The prostheses are provided by the group to the breast-operated women, who want them. The person brings a bra to the group, where the size is customized . In this way, no undressing or touching is necessary .

We knit prostheses of all sizes , and it takes me only approx. two hours to knit a large prosthesis . It can be placed into the pocket of a prosthetic bra , but it can also be attached to an ordinary bra or swimsuit with a small safety pin , if you want to swim with it , says Tove .

Knitting Pattern translated to Danish
It is not only American women without health insurance, who use the knitted prostheses. Many women prefer the knitted ones rather than the commercial ones, because they feel, that the prosthesis is gentler on the skin , feels like a real breast and weighs almost nothing.

- I tried to start a similar knitting group on Facebook in Denmark. But when a female Danish doctor on Facebook wrote, that her patients would not stoop so low as to wear “cotton rags”, it seemed to put a damper on the original enthusiasm. It was an unfortunate statement , because if your skin has problems with the commercial prostheses, or you need more or lighter weight prostheses , a knitted prosthesis can be the solution. I've translated our knitting pattern into Danish , so if anyone wants to try knitting prostheses, they can get started right away, says Tove

I've got many new friends whom I would otherwise never have met . We can hardly keep up with the demand , but no one in the group is obligated to come . It's 100 % voluntary, and you knit as much or as little as you have time and energy to do. We get a lot out of our meetings , but we also knit at home, because we know, it makes a difference. My knitting is stored permanently in the car, so when my husband drives , I knit , says Tove

Read more on www.bosombuddiesoftheqc.com and on Facebook.com/BosomBuddiesoftheQCA .
Knitting pattern in Danish are available at brystkraeft.dk/2013/07knitted prosthesis , or by contacting the DBO Secretariat at 26 82 39 29 or email dbo@brystkraeft.dk

Tove Cravens

6/26/2014 21:11:49

6/26/2014 - Update about the Danish group: One person took up the project in December 2013 and it has since spread all over Danmark with all hospitals posting in formation about how and where to obtain knitted prostheses and also the knitting pattern for those, who want to either help others or knit for themselves. A Facebook page has been established which currently has 267 members and over 50 knitters. Some of these members have contacts in other countries and have shared the information with the result, that they will soon have knitters in Sweden, Germany, Australia, Israel, and Greenland.You can find them at Knittedknockers.org - Provider Directory - International - Scandinavia - Bløde strikproteser for brystopererede kvinder. Please, spread the word.

Spreading the word to Denmark

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