Four years ago I attended a charity ball organised by one of my mates who was recovering from testicular cancer. Little did I know then that I would be joining him in the cancer club, as in Aug 2010 I was diagnosed with rectal cancer. I've written on this site on and off since that time, more so after my operation and have made many friends. So when my mate said he was going to organise another ball and would I like to be involved and support a charity I had no hesitation in saying yes, Macmillan.
In return for my charity being supported (as well as his choice of Orchid) I had to make the appeal speech. "You've got to make them laugh and cry to get them digging deep to splash the cash" says my mate. So I spent days fretting over it, putting it off, until I ended up writing it the day before the ball.
On the night itself I had a few drinks before the speech to pluck up courage, but was still a bit nervous, not so much about standing up talking, more about the content getting to me! Well it seemed to go pretty well and I got a nice round of applause, and quite a few people came up to me during the night to say well done, or that they had people in the same situation as me. However, the most important thing was that the objective of raising as much money as we could was acheived, we haven't got the final amount yet, but we know it will be over £2500.
It's great that the money was raised by everyone having a fantastic night, though some will have sore heads and trouble remembering it I dare say.
Thanks to the many people on here that wished me luck and gave me support. Oh and on the morning of the day of the ball I had a letter from the hospital saying I have an appointment for my ileostomy reversal on 22nd March. All in all a very good day.
