Breasts: Breast Implant Removal Surgery

On Tuesday 24th July I had my breast implants removed, the first of either two or three operations. I’d been incredibly nervous in the run-up to the operation for a lot of reasons. Having the operation brought up more challenges than I had expected to face, some I hadn’t even thought of, some I had expected but I now realise I wasn’t mentally prepared for and some that I am slowly but surely adjusting to.

Breasts: Just Giving Page

I have been lost with what to do about my breasts and someone suggested to me about setting up a Just Giving page. I have thought about it on a number of occasions but never actually thought seriously about doing it. I messaged Z today and she suggested it to me, so rather than reading my book in bed I have set up my site.

The link is https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/flicsboobs.

When you set up your page you have to write why you are doing it and explain your story. That is one of the hardest things I have had to write. I didn’t want to feel like I was going into too much detail so that someone reading it would get bored, but at the same time, I didn’t want to not give enough detail. Finding that equal balance is very challenging. So this is what I ended up writing:

Lost For Words

I honestly don’t know what to say about this but when I read it, it made my day. I’ve tried writing more than just that one sentence as an introduction but for some reason, I can’t even put my thoughts and feelings into words.

When something changes your life dramatically be it personal or to a loved one close. Humans act differently. Yesterday I witnessed something truly amazing. A very good friend of mine who is fighting her own battles at this time, took time out to help a complete stranger in a car park. I was moved by […]

via Heroes have blonde hair and wear Dr Martin boots. — Kained But Able

Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover

We’ve all heard the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” yet most people do, sometimes subconsciously, even if they have personally been negatively stereotyped. Stereotypical associations are made based on a person’s sex, religion, ethnicity, individuality, physical appearance or even choice of clothing, the list is never-ending. Even a single word, with no image, can give rise to stereotyping. It has been said that it only takes 7, yes 7 seconds for a first impression to be made; so within 7 seconds, stereotypical labels are given. The idea that you can tell so much about someone, without knowing a single thing about them, apart from your own personal judgement, is absurd, especially in this day and age where there is so much variety in the world. The idea that “It doesn’t matter what your (insert characteristic) is, we are all the same”, is only half of the appropriate answer, it should finish with “we are each our own person”.

Mom’s Cancer: Getting Ready To Come Home

After a 3-week stay in the Countess Mountbatten Hospice, mom was set to come home. As her health and strength had deteriorated so much since she was last properly at home, dad and I had a HUGE task on our hands before mom was able to come back.

Mom’s Cancer: The Magic of Countess Mountbatten Hospice

Like so many people, mom’s association with a hospice was ‘end of life’, until she was convinced otherwise by our lovely community nurse. After being an inpatient for a day or two she realised that her original association had indeed been wrong. Falling down the stairs was definitely a drastic way for mom to get admitted to the hospice but it has been the best thing that could have happened to her. The person that mom was when she went in on the 13th December is not the same person that she has been since the 18th.

Mom’s Cancer: From Hospital To Hospice

After 2 weeks in hospital mom got discharged on Friday 8th December to come home. 5 days later she was out the door again after trying something incredibly stupid and failing. All I can say is thank god for my dog Lx, otherwise things probably would have been a lot worse. Admittedly it wasn’t a good thing to happen but in the grand scheme of things I am glad it did.

Breasts: Yet Another Problem

As a family we have so much going on at the moment. Every single day is stressful, tiring, manic and set with new challenges, and to make it worse time just seems to fly. Life is very difficult, for all of us at the moment and no matter how much shit we are already dealing with something else always seems to happen. Life has been so manic that I haven’t had time to do anything that I want or need to do recently and my life is spent revolving around mom one way or another.

Despite everything going on I have successfully managed to lose weight, which has at least been something positive. This morning I weighed myself and took my measurements, as I do every few days, and while I was stood in my pants I realised that it has been ages since I last checked my breasts. They should be checked at least once a month, but I hadn’t even thought about it with so much going on.

Heart-warming Facebook Post

With life being so incredibly challenging and stressful at the moment it can be really hard to find happiness. On Sunday, friends that we met in Spain on holiday years ago, L and her parents Sy and Cn, came down to visit us from London. Our time together was very different to how we normally spent it due to the situation with mom, but still it was amazing to see them, as always. Later on that evening, after they were back home safely, L posted a status on Facebook that she tagged me, mom and dad in. I don’t really use Facebook so I didn’t get to read it straight away. When I got to mom on Monday, she said that I had to read L’s post, and she passed me a tissue saying that I would need it.

I sat quietly next to mom and read the post. I was speechless. This is what it said:

The Week From Hell

*This is a pre-warning that this post is extremely emotional, raw and honest. The things I say in this post are just my feelings about my current situation with regards to my mother having terminal cancer. I do not mean any offence or hurt by anything. The situation I am currently living through is an extremely difficult and challenging one and I just wanted to voice some of the things that have been going on.*

Cancer is a terrible thing to have to deal with, whether it is yourself or someone close to you. It affects everyone in different ways. There is no right or wrong way to deal with it, all anyone can do is the best they can. As a family we have been affected badly by my mother having terminal cancer. Not only are we having to deal with her actually having cancer and knowing it is terminal but we are having to deal with the way that she is coping with it and the repercussions of it all. This is an incredibly stressful, emotional, challenging time for us all. What I am putting in this post is what the situation is right now. I am being very open and honest about the challenges that we are facing and how certain things have affected us. There is a lot of negativity in this post but what I am writing is what I am living.