rivers2cross

February sees the first signs of nature giving its first nod towards the oncoming Spring. Snowdrops were one of Mum’s favourite flowers and before her house was sold I took a few bulbs to plant at the grave, so they hold special significance each year when they flower.

I will never forget February 2022 for the Life of Mique teddy bears. The idea had begun in January after Monique Buckingham @thelifeifmique had posted a devastating video saying that there were no more treatment options available for her on the NHS. A Go Fund Me page was set up to raise funds to try and get Monique alternative treatments not available on the NHS. To support this fund I wondered if a teddy bear might be a fundraising option. As soon as Monique posted about the teddies things went crazy and I had trouble keeping up with all the orders. We sold getting on for 150 bears in the end and raised over £1300 in the end. The kindness and generosity of people was staggering.

The best thing was then that I actually was able to travel to meet Monique in person at Colchester Hospital. With the help of her parents we kept it a surprise and the couple of hours I spent with Monique was a memory that I will never forget. Such a warm, kind and beautiful young lady with a smile to light up any room. Whenever I have any self doubts when it comes to the fundraising, I only have to think of Monique and my sense of purpose is quickly restored. As I drove back to Reading after the meeting my phone went crazy again. Monique had put up a lovely post about the afternoon and the teddies, so the orders came flying in once again. I have said on more than one occasion this year that meeting Monique was a life-changing experience for me, and the welcome that Monique and her parents Anne and Paul gave me was so humbling. Such experiences over the last 10 years really have changed me as a person x

Devastatingly Monique died on November 3rd aged just 26. Another amazing person taken by this cruel illness far too young. Bowel cancer is not just a cancer that affects older people, and young people who present themselves with symptoms should not be discounted, which sadly seems to be all too common. Too many young bowel cancer patients are diagnosed at the late stage 4 when survival rates drop dramatically, which is why early detection of bowel cancer is key when it is very treatable.

February saw the publication of Little Wing by Freya North. Freya is an Ambassador for Bowel Cancer UK. I put together a small package with Freya to support Joanna Jonathan, who has stage 4 lung cancer and the ALK UK lung cancer charity.

I had been out very little during the the pandemic. Working on my own meant I had to be extra careful and keep working and avoid having to self isolate. As a result, each time restrictions were relaxed a little during those two years it didn’t make much difference to me as the cons seemed to outweigh the pros. Finally, as the country began to move to a place of living with Covid, I went to watch Arsenal v Wolves at The Emirates Stadium. It was so good to do something so normal once again and shake off the frustrations of the last two years.