I need some positivity please

The first half of 2022 was actually very good for my family . Now because we made the most of time we have some very special memories and some great photos . A garden party , three special family holidays , birthday celebrations . We did it all. The second half was the saddest of my life but we are still going to keep Trying to do our very best . 

Living a good life despite a difficult diagnosis has always been our families collective way of pressing on .

So with that in mind we are off out to do mum’s food shopping . Cancer , fractured pelvis , broken noses the lot ! Because the sun is shining and it will build her strength up . Each day we try our very best . We also allow ourselves to be real and say when we are sad but we pick up and try again .

Court 

Hi Ann

Overall I like to think my 2022 was a pretty good year all things considered. I had my dream holiday to the Maldives, where with some help I was able to get in the sea and snorkel with loads of fish. I tend to smile and laugh under water which can cause havoc with my snorkel! I must have been some sight emerging from the sea, but there was no-one there to see me and I try not to care what anyone thinks of me. 

Then there was my first ever experience on an electric bike in Greece, when I was the most scared I have ever been in my life-it is not as easy as it looks! I had to retreat back to my hotel and pour a large vodka for my shaking hands. But I got to visit a lovely cafe bar by the beach and got to sit with a cold (soft) drink and watch the sea for a couple of hours which relaxed me greatly.

I was also able to feel the warmth of the sun in Majorca and get to Lanzarote where I hired a mobility scooter which was safer than any bike. One day I was a little too adventurous and misjudged a kerb, resulting in my sunglasses flying off and smashing on the ground, and my walking stick flying out of the little basket on the front. Some lovely kind people came to my aid, but luckily I didn’t fall off! 

I hold onto those happy memories in the cold dark days and am thankful for the experiences I had. Our family are facing the new year with lots of sad and potentially sad news to come, but as a couple we continue to look forward and deal with things as they happen. Still take one day at a time, still look for those silver linings in the dark clouds. 

Sarah xx

Court. 
Thank you , it sounds as if you’ve been busy making the most of what’s out there and family. 
You have helped us so much here

I want to thank you 

xxx

Sarah 

Shame you didn’t have a video of the walking stick, sunglasses flying off and you holding on for dear life. That could of been worth £250 on you’ve been framed 

What’s an electric bike? Is it like a scooter or motorbike. I have images of you on a Harley Davidson 

Hope your booking some holidays this year, I’m hoping to get away I miss travelling and seeing beautiful skies. The weather is depressing this time of year 

xx

Good on you on staying positive!!  I admire that in a person !

it’s ok to have the off days , .. as it’s productive bringing your positivity back to a level.

hmmm I’m thinking on fun things in 2022 … 

afamily caravan  break .. full family , grandkids , dogs the lot!!

brought so many smiles& laughs!! 

Ha! It is a pedal bike with an electric motor thing to make cycling easier, but weighs a ton! I discovered it is not suitable for someone who cannot lift their leg up to even get on it-that was another sight to behold!

It’s a good job I can laugh at myself-otherwise I might have cried. The episode on the scooter happened in the dark on the way back from the pub, which may have been the reason for me going too fast and my judgement being flawed through alcohol! 

Going to Scotland this year, but nothing else in the pipeline. My daughter is getting married in the summer in an extremely posh castle, so I’m already fretting about what to wear and especially what to put on my feet! And what on earth the mother of the bride is going to look like on a mobility scooter-maybe I’ll need to attach some ribbons! We went overboard with 4 holidays last year, so funds will not likely stretch to going abroad. However we are excited for our caravan holiday in Scotland after the wedding. 

I hope you can something organised once you know your treatment plan-we all need something lovely to look forward to to get us through these cold days! 

Sarah xx

Sarah

Ive just belly laughed. It was a moped as they used to be called. I had one and fell off putting myself in hospital when I was twenty. So that probably wasn’t the best choice after leaving the pub. I’m still chuckling 

Now the wedding that’s so exciting.
Think it’s very important for you to have comfort and glamour. Full length two piece would be apt then feet won’t show you’ll be comfy and look very glam 

A caravan holiday sounds perfect in fact you’ve given me the inspiration to have a look what’s available soon. Need a break xx

Ann, It’s actually different to a moped in that you pedal it, but it’s going to be my first and last encounter with one, I can assure you! 

I was thinking of a dress and jacket combo for the wedding-I have a vision of something floral and floaty but not sure how realistic that would be with 2 stomas! If Boris and Donald decide to misbehave it could be a problem to put it mildly!

But then I remember you got a lovely outfit and managed fine, so that will inspire me. My friend has suggested sparkly pumps for my feet so that might be an option. 

We are as excited about our caravan holiday as we are about a foreign holiday-it’s going back to my roots, to where I was brought up and I haven’t been round that way for 6 years. I do love a caravan, and it’s situated right at the beach so I’ll be hoping to get my toes in the sand and maybe even manage a paddle! 

Sarah xx

Yes sparkly pumps thats what I took to my last wedding luckily 

My designer mules. The heal snapped on the threshold of the enormous door of the mansion and the pumps were in my car. So Cinderella did go to the ball 

Floaty is in and loose shift is comfy. I wore one of those supports just to tuck it all in. Took it off when I ate. Had to have room to expand. 
Have fun shopping you may get something in the sales xx

Ann, thank you for prompting us to think back rather than worrying about what might happen next. 

For us, it was just nice to be able to meet up and see family in a much freer way.  Living in Scotland, with family a couple of hours away, we had barely seen them in person for the previous 2 years and it felt very lonely when covid and cancer both struck at the same time.  So, some fun family times on days out, eating out and at the theatre. Our 6 year old granddaughter painted grandads nails and stuck glitter on them (kept finding that weeks later), a great meal at an Italian restaurant where the waiter, also Italian, sat beside her and helped her to read everything on the menu out loud, a first visit to Loch Lomond (beautiful), a walk along the beach between Bamburgh and Seahouses and having to scramble up the sand dunes a wee bit as the tide was coming in a bit faster than we thought it would!  We also managed a wee trip to Spain and walked for miles each day when we were there.  This really helped to build up a bit more confidence in travelling with the stoma so a big tick in that box.  So, some happy memories and lots to feel thankful for.

Sending hugs and hoping that you get some positive news soon and a good plan in place.

x