Well, tomorrow I am off to walk around the Isle of
Wight! I am joining a group of 9 others
and we are walking the 69ish miles in three days to raise money for 5
charities, one of which is my choice…Shine.
Why would I do such a thing when I am only just starting to get my body and
health back to some kind of ‘normal’?
Well, hopefully this blog will explain why I want to do this.
Firstly, I am doing it because I CAN. I feel enormously lucky to be able to do
this. Back in January, three days after
my penultimate chemo I hit a massive low point when I struggled to walk up a
small hill from the car to the hospital for an appointment. I felt nauseous, dizzy, just about every part
of my body ached and my legs just felt like lead. It took every ounce of concentration and
determination I had just to place one foot in front of the other. Being poisoned for three months had really
taken its toll. I really can’t even
begin to describe how awful I felt, I struggle to think about it now and wonder
just how I got through. At the time it
was just my reality and I went on with daily life with a stoic approach.
It will be a long time before I am clear of the effects of
chemo (if ever) but the contrast between how I am now and January is just
incredible. During chemo I was often
amazed at how the body is battered down and then bounces back. In fact just a week after the day I’ve mentioned
I was back teaching Tiny Talk classes and doing the school run. But my poor body had little time to recover
from chemo before it was put through two surgeries a week apart and then
radiotherapy daily for a month. The
final effects of all treatment are long lasting. I have nerve damage from chemo, swelling and
pain from damage to tissue from radiotherapy and surgery, various aches and
pains that could be put down to any of the above or the medication I am on to
prevent cancer coming back or the fact I have been put into early menopause by
chemo. But despite all this I feel
strong and healthy for the first time in almost a year. The hardest part of the last year to come to
terms with has been the fact I was in perfect health and probably the fittest I
had been for years before my diagnosis.
Cancer did not make me ill, it’s the treatment that took me to the brink
and back. The treatment saved my life
ultimately but it’s hard to appreciate that sometimes when all you can see is
what it has taken away. For me I will
feel I have truly beaten cancer when I am fit and healthy again. This walk is a step towards that day.
My second motivation for walking is to raise money for a
charity that has given me so much support, comfort, advice and friendship. Shine is a tiny charity in comparison to
most, it was set up locally in Dorset but over the last year has grown and now
has many networks across the country.
Shine brings younger adults with any cancer diagnosis together to
provide a community that is just so important to all of us in it. I went on the first Shine ‘Great Escape’ at
the end of January and met some lovely people.
What I leaned from other peoples experiences over that weekend has
really been invaluable to me, particularly moving on after treatment
finished. Shine also provides training
workshops on topics relevant to younger Cancer patients such as returning to
work. With more funding Shine can grow
and provide so much more targeted support to this under represented group
within the ‘cancer world’.
So there are my reasons.
I also love walking and since having the girls we don’t get to do big
long walks anymore. So having three days
kid free to walk is a bit of a luxury, though I may not feel like that by the
end!! When I committed to the walk I had
optimistically hoped I would be a bit more back to full fitness by now. On the insistence of my family and friends
and because the last thing I want to do is injure my body which has been through so much I will not be
attempting to walk the full 23 ish miles every day. My plan is to walk at least the mornings and
try for 12 miles each day. If I can
complete a total of 36 miles I will be delighted and be one more step on my way
back to my life.
We, as a team, would love to raise as much money as possible
for these charities which are of personal importance in one way or another to each of us. I have a separate page for Shine
donations, just because they were not registered with the other page.
This is the link for Shine
This is the link for the other charities which are Cancer
Research UK, The Meningitis research Trust, The Childhood Eye Cancer Trust and
Great Ormond Street Hospital.
If you would like to follow our progress around the Island
you can on our team Facebook page here:
I'll see you on the other side......so lovely to say that for something nice this time and not for treatment :-)
I'm assuming you've done the walk now, hope it went well and you managed your goal.
ReplyDeleteAre you sailing on Saturday? Hope so
Keep up all your good work, keep striving, you are getting there