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.
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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.
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THING 101 – tick!
He’s finally here!!
Dearest gang, Jaime and I are so proud to introduce you all to our beautiful baby son – Joseph Greig Trout – born on the 2nd August 2017 and weighing a healthy and sturdy 7lbs 9oz.
I still can’t quite believe I helped make him.
He is the most beautiful little thing we could ever hope for and we are so grateful to have him in our lives.
Thing 101 – To have a family of my own – TICK!
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HELPING NOAH
Some you may remember that towards the end of my trip I spent some time at the incredible Butterfly Children’s Hospice in China.
This wonderful charity cares for abandoned and sick children and thanks to the help of you guys and 52 Lives we were able to help buy two of the children specialist wheelchairs which has completely transformed their lives.
Some of you have kindly offered to buy things for my baby son who will hopefully be born this week (He’s a stubborn little thing).
We have everything we could ever possibly need in the world and I wondered if instead, you wouldn’t mind donating that money or any spare you have to help buy this beautiful little boy his wheelchair.
Noah was just baby when I met him and I must admit I was slightly taken a back when I first saw him but then totally fell in love with him.
He sadly has a condition which doesn’t allow fluid to drain from his brain and as a result his head is a lot larger and heavier than that of a normal child’s. He was abandoned as a baby and now he is taken care of by the amazing nurses at Butterfly.
He can’t sit up and therefore can’t be taken outside and struggles to interact with his friends.
He is such a beautiful boy and I remember how he loved to grab my hands and play with the stubble on my face.
Noah is now 4 and the Butterfly Hospice has raised half of the funds needed to buy his wheelchair.
52 Lives is now helping raise the remaining £1500 and I thought the 101 gang might be able to help reach our target.
Like Matilda and Edmund a specialist wheelchair will transform Noah’s life. He will be able to go outside, sit up and interact with the world around him and no longer have to spend his days laying on the floor looking up at the ceiling.
As with all of the lives helped by 52 Lives – 100% of what you give goes straight to helping buy his wheelchair.
If you can spare anything at all we would be so incredibly grateful and even if you can’t just liking or sharing this post will help it pop up on someones screen who may be able to help.
Thanks so much gang.
Much love.
You can donate here – https://52-lives.charitycheckout.co.uk/life145
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THE TIME FOR CHANGE IS NOW
I recently had the honour of guest speaking at the The Avon Valley School & Performing Arts College annual awards ceremony in Rugby. What a truly amazing School this is. I’ve given talks at quite a few schools now and I think it is wonderful that they provide a platform like this to help both inspire and also raise awareness of topics such as mental health and overcoming adversity.
Although my time with cancer was challenging it was my experience with mental health that led me to change the way I lived my life.
This change came in the form of changing my diet, leaving an unhealthy job, doing more of the things I wanted to do and learning more about how the mind and body work.
I wanted to worry less and live a happier and more fulfilling life.
I’ve met many people over the years who have made similar changes to their life and who have also been through some kind of trauma in their life.
It often takes a traumatic event to give us a kick up the backside to get out there and do the things we’ve always wanted to. Sadly for some, that traumatic event may be too late to make the changes they wanted to.
I aimed my closing message to the students but I think this is a message for us all – no matter what age you are.
‘Please don’t wait for tragedy or illness to prompt you to live the life you want to live. Believe in yourself and get out there and make your dreams and lists happen. They won’t happen by themselves.
If you are enthusiastic and passionate about something it is amazing how much you can achieve and how many people you can inspire along the way’.
Thanks so much for having me Avon Valley – I can’t wait to see what you all get up to in the future.
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You can find out more about the awards ceremony and Avon Valley School here – http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/…/warwickshire-school-news…/
Photo credit – Avon Valley School
KINDNESS – The little thing that matters most
I am so proud of this amazing girl. Jaime and I had to pinch ourselves at the HarperCollins Summer Party last night at the thought of her book hitting shelves around the world.
She is inspires me everyday and I know her book – ‘Kindness – the little thing that matters most’ will be loved by all who read it.
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Baby Trout also did well by not popping out on the lawn of the V&A!;)
HOW YOUR MIND CAN HEAL YOUR BODY
I have seen first hand the effects of both a negative and a positive mindset and the power of the mind is a truly incredible thing.
During my worst time with PTSD I suffered with eczema, psoriasis, insomnia and anxiety.
It has only been in recent years that I have made a point of learning the science behind how our thoughts effect our body.
I recently discovered the work of this amazing man…
Dr David Hamilton David R Hamilton PhD is a former pharmaceutical scientist who was so fascinated by the placebo effect that he made it his life’s ambition to learn the true power of the mind and how we can harness it to improve our physical health.
His book How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body is something that every single one of us should read. Packed with case studies, research and examples, it provides clear evidence of why our thinking influences our physical health.
Having things to look forward to was the first step in causing a chain reaction within my body that snapped me out of my darkness and got me excited about the future instead of fearing it.
It was only later that I understood the science behind why that happened- when we visualise ourselves succeeding in something, it releases that little bit of dopamine in the brain which gives us that feel good feeling and this can often be the first steps in alleviating depression or anxiety.
When we visualise something, the mind can’t distinguish between what is real or not therefore when we imagine being somewhere else we can experience all physical and emotional responses we would by actually being there for real.
Visualisation, people, experiences, gratitude, support, kindness, joy and love have all helped strengthen my mindset to become the healthiest and most contented version of myself.
David’s book beautifully illustrates the connections between the body and mind and how these can influence the healing process. Even the way we think about the treatment or medication we have can have a significant impact on its effectiveness.
His latest book – The Five Side Effects of Kindness is also a must read. We use some of David’s findings in the 52 Lives School Kindness Project and it is absolutely life changing. Kindness doesn’t just help someone else, it also helps ourselves both emotionally and physically.
I met with David this week and also had the pleasure of hearing him give a talk.
His books may just change your life!
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LONDON
London was my home for 14 wonderful years and it is without doubt my most favourite city in the world. You will not find a more culturally diverse and accepting place anywhere else in the world.
I saw lots of things during my time working as a crime scene investigator with the Met police but I can’t even begin to imagine what the victims went through during last nights atrocity.
I’ve moved away from London now but just a few days ago myself, Jaime and our unborn son were in Borough Market where this horror happened.
Jaime had a meeting in London Bridge so we took the train to Waterloo and walked along the Southbank to where her meeting was.
As we walked along in the sunshine the skateboarders were out in force, children were playing in a giant sandpit and the sun was on our faces.
After I dropped Jaime off I walked back through Borough Market and I thought about just how much I love London. All the different stalls, music and people of all colours and cultures. All of the things that help make London such a fun and unique place to be.
I took this photo as I walked along the Southbank. People playing on the river and a tiny stretch of sand in the middle of the one of the biggest cities in the world. Amazing!
I had no intention of sharing this photo. It just made me happy and I remember feeling particularly happy on this day. It also reminded me that there was still a big part of me that missed living in London.
It was a gut wrenching feeling today waking up to today’s horrific news. The news that another few extremist idiots had ended and affected the lives of innocent people.
This particular attack felt even closer to home as it happened somewhere that I had not only just visited but also somewhere that had brought me great joy.
I wanted to write this post to say that like every other Londoner I won’t let events like this ruin the life and the city I love. We can’t let fear win which is what these terrorists want.
I can’t even begin to comprehend what these terrorists think they are achieving.
Eventually all it does is make us stronger.
Our love and thoughts are with the victims of this terrible and tragic act of violence.
Much love and respect also goes to the amazing NHS and my former Met Police friends and colleagues, who last night proved once again that they are the finest police officers in the world.
Stay strong London.
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A SAD DAY TO START AN ADVENTURE
I went to be bed last night super excited about going on this weeks adventure but woke up to the news of the horrific and senseless attack in Manchester.
My big brother, Barry and I have just spent the past 12 hours driving up to the highlands of Scotland listening to the radio coverage and we’ve both felt a bit numb.
We sent our love to Manchester as we passed.
We arrived in Fort William, set up camp and tomorrow we’ll tick off thing number 39 – Climb Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Great Britain. We then set off for 4 days of wild camping in one of the remotest parts of the UK.
This is the first time we’ve done something like this together and after hearing of the families who lost their loved ones, I plan on appreciating every single second of this experience with my Brother more than ever.
Grab your loved ones, tell them that you love them and do the things you’ve always said you’d do together. Life really is so short.
Tomorrow’s climb is for the victims and their families.
Much love Manchester.
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HOPE SUPPORT SERVICES
Loved this day, love this charity and love these people. This amazing charity helps those going through a family health crisis and is run entirely by young people, for young people.
I feel very honoured to have met these guys!
Please get in touch with them if you know of anyone who may need some extra support. This is such a worthwhile and much needed service.
CLICLK HERE to find out more – HOPE
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