AND THE WINNERS ARE….
Thank you so much to everyone who took part in the Christmas caption challenge.
Jaime and I had a good old laugh reading through them all and you definitely put smiles on our faces. I’m sure Princess Anne would love them too!
Congratulations to Myra and Sabrina for their winning captions and also to my old school pal Gareth for his contribution. His entry was far to filthy to win but it did make us laugh….a lot. Book on its way to you buddy!
The winners will receive a 101 T- Shirt or hoodie of their choice and a signed copy of the greatest book ever written – Kindness – ‘the little thing that matters most’.
Baby Trout not included! 
😉
For those who missed out the T-Shirts are available to buy via the 101 website and Jaime’s book is available on Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindness-Little-Thing…/…/000825284X
and in all leading book stockists!
Enjoy and I look forward to seeing your 101 photos!
X
COMPETITION TIME
Ok gang, this is a pic of me having a chin wag with Princess Anne, about all things cancer, mental health and of course 101 Things To Do When You Survive!
When the President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons sent me this photo I have to admit that it made me chuckle! My arms are everywhere and I remember Princess Anne looked like I was about to karate chop her!
My family and I have been having a bit of a joke with this pic by adding captions of what they think I was saying to her.
Lots of quotes from films were used and they’ve had us in stitches.
I thought I would open it up to you guys and see if anyone had anything funnier.
So, the two funniest captions to go with this picture will win…..drum roll…….
– A signed copy of my beautiful fiancés best selling book – Kindness – the little thing that matters most.
And
– A 101 Things To Do When Survive T-Shirt or Hoodie.
Wowzers! What amazing prizes I hear you cry! 😉
So please write your captions below and Jaime and I will choose the two that tickle us the most.
Quotes and of course self penned captions allowed!
Good luck!
X
2017
Yesterday, I turned the grand old age of 38! Yikes….How on earth did that happen!
2017 is coming to a close and what a year it has been.
Some of you may remember I took some time away from 101, social media and all things cancer related at the start of this year.
2016 was a tough year and it seemed like my life had become all about cancer. Several people in my life died from cancer and I couldn’t seem to turn on the news or social media without seeing articles about cancer or hearing of a celebrity who had recently died of this horrible disease.
Possibly the most difficult and heartbreaking experience was seeing my good friend Rowena slowly succumb to the effects of breast cancer.
I thought I could battle through it and keep writing, replying to emails and giving talks but by the end of the year I wasn’t feeling any better mentally and my physical health was taking a battering as a result.
The very mention of the word cancer, made my skin crawl, my stomach churn and the distant worried look I had for so long in the past, came back to haunt me.
When Jaime and I got the miraculous news we were having a baby, I decided enough was enough and took a break from everything to figure out what was going on. If there were two people I needed to be strong and fit for, it was Jaime and Joseph.
So, I read a lot, researched why I felt this way, stepped down as a trustee of a cancer charity, spent more time with family, deleted my social media apps from my phone, turned down 101 talks, reduced 101 messages and emails and just concentrated on supporting Jaime, being present and improving my own health. After a good few years of saying yes to things I decided to say no more and it was equally as life changing as the yes moments were.
As I always say – you have to help yourself before you can help anyone else.
Jaime and I bang on about Kindness a lot but many of us forget to be kind to ourselves.
We do things to improve our physical health such as diets and exercise but we sometimes neglect our mental health.
This little break was the best thing I could have done. 101 was an alternative to cancer blogs and support groups. I always wanted to concentrate on life and the good that could come out of illness rather than the bad things. So I tried to make my life about that once again.
This little change helped make 2017 the best year yet and I didn’t even have to get on a plane!:) –
I had a healthy baby boy (and made a new best friend), got engaged on Richmond Hill, climbed Ben Nevis with my brother, spent more time with family, gave some of my best and most influential 101 talks yet and in the last few weeks Jaime and I moved into our new home, which would you believe was Plot 101 – I don’t believe in fate or destiny but that was definitely a spooky one.
It has been an incredible year and it all started with me putting myself first.
In the talks I have given recently, I have mentioned that if I wrote my 101 list today it would be a lot different to the one I wrote back in 2013. I said it so many times that yesterday I decided to sit down and write one.
When I thought about all I hoped to achieve more than anything else I came up with only 7 things:-
1. Stay healthy
2. Be a good boyfriend/(future) husband
3. Be a good dad
4. Spend more time with family
5. Be kinder to myself
6. Help others
7. Have fun
There may also have been an eighth….
🙂
8. appear on Strictly Come Dancing
The list I wrote before was all about things I thought would make me happy…and they most certainly did. But I was always thinking about the next place I would visit or the next thing on my list. Now, for the first time in my life I am where I want to be.
At a talk recently, a man asked if I ever feel that I should tone down my positivity when talking to people with cancer. As someone who has struggled with survivor’s guilt I understood where he was coming from but I told him – if I’m not positive then what is there for people going through physical or mental illness to aspire to?
I share this all this with you today because I truly believe that there is hope for everyone and that challenges with physical and mental health can be the start of a whole new life, not the end of it.
I hope 2018 is filled with health, happiness and it is your best second, minute, day, month, year yet.
X
NOAH’S WHEELS HAVE ARRIVED
These have to be the best photos ever! This was Noah’s first outing in his new wheelchair and as you can see he looks like he’s in absolute heaven.
I can’t even begin to imagine how it must feel for him to sit up and go outside after spending the majority of his life laying on his back. (See thank you from head nurse Katie in pics)
Thank you all so much for helping make this happen gang. You are amazing.
Thank you also to the wonderful supporters of 52 Lives and of course the incredible Katie Hill from the Butterfly Children’s Hospice who made all this possible.
I don’t thank them nearly enough as I should but I also want to say a special thank you to my beautiful parents, Alan and Phyllis. By the time I reached Asia on my world trip I had pretty much run out of money.
After Katie had got in touch with me after seeing my story, I made a promise that I would visit the Butterfly Hospices when I made it to Asia. Like other organisations I had physically visited or volunteered at I knew we (the 101 community) could help make some small difference to this wonderful charity and the children they care for.
My parents also wanted to help them and knew how much this visit would mean to myself and the charity so they gave me the money to fly over there and visit both hospices. I only spent a week in China but seeing the charity first hand helped introduce the wonderful work they do to all of you and of course Jaime at the life changing 52 Lives.
So thank you Mum and Dad for helping make this happen.
To date, the 52 lives and 101 communities have been able to help the butterflies buy specialist wheelchairs for three severely disabled children -Edmund, Matilda and now Noah. At over £3000 each they are not cheap. These beautiful children were abandoned by their parents and now thanks to the Butterfly Hospice and strangers all over the world, their lives have been filled with love and hope.
Thank you all so so much for helping make these wonderful things happen everyone. Whether you donated money or even just liked or shared the post, I guarantee you it all made the world of difference to these incredible children.
Much love and thanks to you all.
X
NUTRITION, EXERCISE AND MINDSET – A health filled start to the day.
Morning autumn walk in nature with these two little munchkins followed by a healthy brekkie of turmeric scrambled eggs with spinach, tomato and a big mug of turmeric tea – all eaten whilst flicking through my favourite paper – The Happy News – a newspaper filled happy real life stories and all that is good about the world.
Bring on the rest of the day!
NUTRITION
Turmeric is has been used for its medicinal properties for thousands of years and is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. It has been proven to alleviate and prevent degenerative disorders such arthritis, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and cancer!
POSITIVE MINDSET
Negative emotions release the stress hormone cortisol which causes inflammation in the body and I turn a whole host of health problems.
Positive emotions however, have been proven to have a significant impact on physical and psychological health. When we feel happy or do something meaningful that fills us with joy, it releases a whole host of natural chemicals in the brain which cause a chain reaction in the body giving us a feel good feeling.
When we feel good our mind and our immune system are thriving and when that happens – anything is possible!
Turn off the regular news and focus on the positive! It might just save your life!
The happy newspaper is available here https://thehappynewspaper.comThe Happy Newspaper
EXERCISE
Regular exercise helps :-
* reduces risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and many cancers.
* reduces anxiety and depression, and helps prevent mental health problems
* boosts mood and wellbeing
*keeps bones and muscles strong
* Helps us live longer!
X
MACMILLAN SCOTLAND ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Last week I had the honour of giving the closing presentation at the Macmillan Scotland Annual conference in beautiful Edinburgh.
I was fortunate enough to be there for the full day so caught all that was being said.
So much talk and action around supporting people post cancer. As we all know, being cured can be just the first step in recovering from cancer. The effects can often last a lot longer than the treatment.
I’m usually quite excited about speaking at these things but last Monday we took our wee boy to have his 8 week jabs. On day I left he was struggling to move and keep his eyes open. All this is apparently normal but I have to admit I found it heartbreaking seeing him like this.
Both this experience and the conference itself really got me thinking about those who have to care for and support children who are unwell.
I am now in no doubt that it was much harder for my parents than it was for me when I was unwell with cancer as a 7 year old.
I called my mum up after Joseph got his jabs and asked how on Earth they managed to cope seeing me go through operations, treatments and injection after injection.
She said they just had to be strong because there was no other way.
They are amazing.
It still feels so surreal to see them with my baby son. Who would have thought that that they would one day be grandparents after all that they had been through. We are very fortunate indeed.
CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS
Last month was childhood cancer awareness month. I just want to send a big shout out to all the parents and carers out there who are looking after an unwell child.
You are all incredible and I am in complete awe of you all.
If you are caring for an unwell child please talk about it with someone. Don’t bottle it up.
I know first hand that this is not the way to cope.
Seeing the figures released yesterday on World Mental Health day about the rise in mental health issues has shaken me to the bone.
We seem to be in the midst of a terrible epidemic and it is so important that people know that there this is help out there.
The most inspirational thing I’ve done is being open and honest about my challenges with mental health.
Macmillan Cancer Support are one of the many charities who have people on hand to chat about these issues.
X
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST COFFEE MORNING
Introducing little man to the amazing work of Macmillan Cancer Support at our local Marks and Spencer’s.
5p from every hot drink and cake goes to Macmillan! Love it!
The Macmillan Worlds biggest coffee morning is today and you can find your nearest coffee morning here :-
https://coffee.macmillan.org.uk/about/search/
Support is very much part of the cure for cancer and this wonderful charity supports thousands of people on a daily basis.
Have fun and eat cake!
X
SHE SAID YES!
Those who have followed this blog for the past few years will know just how special a place called Richmond Hill is to me.
It was a place I loved and loathed in equal measure, both during and after my treatment for bowel cancer. I loathed it because I struggled to walk up it but when at the top, feeling angry and exhausted, I couldn’t help but be mesmerised and soothed by the beautiful view.
Two years ago Richmond Hill became even more special to me when 200 of us met there to drink hot chocolate and celebrate life.
September 10th marked the 7 year anniversary of my diagnosis for bowel cancer. A day that I’ll never forget, but looking back, it was also the beginning of a process that saw me completely change my life.
Jaime and I recently took our baby boy, Joseph to Richmond Hill for the very first time.
While we were there, I got down on one knee and with the help of help of our beautiful boy I asked the love of my life to marry me and she said …YES!!
Never in a million years did I think I’d be standing on that hill with my baby son and the girl of my dreams.
When I was travelling I often wondered if I’d ever find my dream place to live and settle down.
I never thought that my dream place would turn out to be a girl who lived 15 minutes down the road!
I’ll never be grateful for having cancer but as much as I despaired during the dark times I realise now that without them, I really wouldn’t have made the changes to my life that have lead me to where I am now.
I know all to well that there are an awful lot of people out there going through the most scary and challenging of situations and this breaks my heart.
I only hope that my own experiences dealing with physical and mental health go some way in inspiring others to know that light can be found through the darkest of times.
I also just want to thank you all for being a part of this little roller coaster of a journey. You’ll never fully realise just how much your support has meant to me. Thank you all so much.
X
KINDNESS – the little thing that matters most
It’s HERE!!
I am so proud of my beautiful girl who has written the most inspiring and life changing book.
Packed with 52 suggestions of kind acts we can adopt on a daily basis to help us live in a kinder and more loving world.
Each suggestion is backed up with real life case studies from 52 Lives and proven science showing us why kindness is good not only for others but also for ourselves.
Kindness really is the most important thing we can be in life. As you can see little man already has his copy and we all popped out today to see if it was in any of the shops! It was! Aaaahhhh! It’s so surreal to see it on the shelves.
It really is a wonderfully written book which I know will inspire and bring out the best in anyone who reads it.
Kindness – the little things that matters most is out now and is available on Amazon and all good book stockists.
X
NOAH GETS HIS WHEELS
A couple of weeks ago, I asked for your help to buy a wheelchair for Noah in lieu of gifts for our new baby boy. So this little guy wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped buy Noah that life changing wheelchair.
We needed £1500 to add to the money Butterfly Children’s Hospice had already raised and thanks to all of you and the amazing community at 52 Lives we raised an astonishing £2163…..in just over 24hours. Absolutely Amazing!
100% of that goes straight to buying Noah his wheelchair and the rest will go to helping the other children at Butterfly Children’s hospices.
I recognised so many 101 names on the donation page and we can’t thank you enough.
This is without doubt the best birthday present Joseph could have wished for.
I hope we can take him to China one day to meet his buddy Noah and the rest of the butterflies. It is a truly wonderful charity that helps sick and abandoned children have the love and support that they deserve.
Much love and thanks gang. You are wonderful and I am so incredibly proud to be part of this community.
X
Noah’s wheelchair is being fitted as I type and I’ll share a pic of him and his new wheels very soon!
