Reply With QuoteHey, I know some sadly don't need to imagine. How be beautifully written. I didn't know about this but thanks for letting us all know.
Imagine being told that your child is seriously ill.
Imagine feeling as though you've been punched hard in the stomach and wandering the corridors not able to comprehend what is happening.
Imagine signing a consent form knowing that death is a possibility.
Imagine watching as your once active child becomes bed bound.
Imagine holding your child countless times as someone pushes needles into them.
Imagine standing by as their body is pumped full of poison.
Imagine being told the percentage chance of survival.
Imagine watching as your child loses all of their hair.
Imagine seeing your child lose over a third of their bodyweight, and being desperate to find something that they are able to eat.
Imagine dashing to hospital because of a raised temperature indicating a potentially fatal infection. Over and over and over again.
Imagine being stuck in isolation and not seeing anything but four walls for days on end.
Imagine not being able to make any plans apart from hospital visits.
Imagine the kindness of strangers who buy a toy or a comic for your child out of the blue.
Imagine the feeling when a hospital volunteer makes you a cup of tea and stops for a chat.
Imagine the incredible support and encouragement from people you've never met.
Imagine the magic of each smile when that smile has been lost for many weeks.
Imagine how fragile and precious life feels.
Childhood cancer is often considered a taboo subject but imagine if it couldn't be taboo in your world, because it was your world.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Gold ribbon pin badges are available from CLIC Sargent, Morrisons, wetherspoon pubs, Ernest Jones and H.Samuel. If just a small fraction of the community here bought and wore a ribbon, it would make a huge difference to many lives whilst doing the valuable job of spreading awareness.
http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/conten...reness-month-0
Thank you.
Hey, I know some sadly don't need to imagine. How be beautifully written. I didn't know about this but thanks for letting us all know.
Great post Matthew.Originally Posted by Mr Curta
Put donation in bucket in Shopping Mall after seeing this.
All the best!
J
Thanks Jim, it really does make a difference.
Best wishes, Matthew
For anybody considering making a donation this month, I can highly recommend Be Child Cancer Aware/Beads of Courage UK as a worthy recipient.
These are Laura's Beads of Courage. Each coloured bead represents a different treatment or experience in order since first diagnosis. The beads build up to tell the story of Laura's cancer journey as it develops. For example, white beads represent chemotherapy sessions, yellow is a night spent in hospital, red are blood transfusions, green are days spent in isolation due to infection risk. Radiotherapy beads glow in the dark! There are also special beads that record specific landmarks and acts of courage such as an anchor for when she built a trust relationship with the CLIC nurse, a fish when moving from GOSH to Alder Hey and a glass flower for overcoming major problems with eating and drinking.
They greatly helped Laura to communicate about her experiences and express her feelings at the time and continue to do so.
This photograph was taken about a year ago at Alder Hey, a few more beads have been added since.
They are a small family run charity that are little known but do immense good.
Their Just Giving Page is here: https://www.justgiving.com/bechildcanceraware/Donate
Thanks, Matthew
Last edited by Mr Curta; 21st September 2017 at 13:20.
That photograph speaks volumes.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
It really does make you appreciate what really is important and I feel very humbled by what you as a family have had to endure.
Lost my Mum to cancer and it saddens me still that I never got to say the things we needed to have said as we'd become estranged over the years.
My heart go out to you, especially having met face to face not so long ago, and I wish Laura the life she is now owed, full of care free thoughts with lots of laughter and happiness.
My friend has just been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, with 3 young children and a shell shocked husband.
I bloody hate cancer with a vengeance , but when it involves children, it breaks my bloody heart.
Thank you all again for supporting childhood cancer charities this month and for the many thoughtful messages.
Ten children and teenagers in the UK will have been told today that they have cancer and three of them will lose their battle. As Chinnock said, it really does make you appreciate what really is important.
Matthew
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