Dear Lucy….

Dearest Lucy,
Two years ago today you left this world. Not a day passes where I don’t think of you and wish you had survived the cancer that ended your life. Not a day passes where I don’t think of you and take inspiration from your life to put into practice in my daily life. A lot of things i do have been inspired by the strength, courage and love that you showed every day, even the days where you were in pain and incredibly unwell.

The biggest thing you inspired me to do is take part in Dry July this year. 31 days alcohol free to raise money for adults who are fighting cancer. Just as you did. The money I raised is going to the same cancer unit that you had your treatment and you got so much care. They do great work. They did with you, and my only hope is that they can continue to do so.

You’d be pleased to hear I survived 31 days sticking to soft drink and water! I did it! All in your name. You’d be so touched to see all the people that donated too. So many people were touched by your story and shared the post I wrote about you in the lead up to Dry July. People love you, Lucy. Just like I do. Your story touched so many lives and it’s such an honour for me to have known you and I’m privileged to have been able to share your story.

I miss you loads, girl. Thank you for everything you taught me. Today we celebrate the memories from your life and realise that physically you left this world, but in our hearts, you’re not really gone. Ever.

Love,
Nat. xxx

Did you donate to my Dry July? If so, this is for you!

To everyone who donated to my Dry July,

Thank you for your kind donations. Every cent touched my heart and the total amount you all donated is off to help adults with cancer at the Cancer Care Centre at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney.

Thank you for helping a cause close to my heart and helping my dream of giving back come true. Some may say it’s corny, but once you see the amazing work these doctors and nurses do, you realise just how much these funds help them carry on the work they do every day.

Aside from donations, thank you also for all your messages of encouragement and support throughout July. All of the texts, tweets and Facebook messages checking on my progress have helped more than I can put into words and made me feel like I had you all behind me. Even the texts with photos of alcoholic drinks with the caption “this is my Friday night…what about you?” helped spur me on. They made me smile and helped the days pass by faster.

To everyone who read the post i wrote about my dear friend Lucy, thank you for your lovely feedback on that post and love for both her and myself. She would be touched! Her mum has read all the little things people said about Lucy and says to pass on her thanks.

To everyone who shared my Dry July links on social media…thank you! Only by sharing these links can online fundraising grow. You all helped get word out, not only about MY Dry July, but the Dry July fundraiser in general.

Here’s to the remaining days of July and then the countdown to Dry July 2015 begins! If anyone is keen to join in the fun next year, give me a shout and we could make a team. Power in numbers…right?!

All my thanks and love,
Nat. x

PS….August is now at an end, and donations close in a few hours. The grand total donated by all you lovely people is $160 and donations came far and wide, including the US and UK! A huge thank you again to everyone who donated. And if anyone is up for Dry July 2015…hit me up. I’m serious about getting a team together if anyone’s keen! 🙂 xx

The unspoken fears

In 2010 I had thyroid surgery. It was filled with so many uncertainties (as surgery does by nature!) and I had lived a life that wasn’t the real me for so long leading up to this, so it was quite a long journey. The surgeon had told me all about the medical things and the associated risks. They didn’t really phase me. They’re rare, chances are they won’t happen to me. What did scare me beyond anything else was the fears the doctor didn’t speak about as such.

The fear of not getting back to the Nat I remember before all this thyroid stuff happening. The fear of not being able to get balanced on thyroid replacements. The fear of being months down the line and still feeling all the symptoms the doctor told me would go away. You could say I feared post surgery life. That would be a pretty accurate description.

But i had no choice. I had to go into surgery and hope that when I came through the other side things would be good. And by good, I mean normal. There was no way to squash these fears except to face them head on. Be as positive as I could, and think that chances are, it’s my mind making up all these scenarios and I’d probably come out just as the doctor said I would.

Fast forward back to 2014 and I’m pleased to report that none of the wild scenarios in my mind eventuated. I wouldn’t say I’m completely the person I was before thyroid issues, but I’m so close that it’s close enough to make me happy. I can’t do everything I did, I’m not the pre-thyroid “normal”…I’m a different kind of normal. Normal with a slight adjustment, you could say. I don’t quite have the stamina I had before, but my stamina is still enough for me to easily do all the things I want to do in life. I can work full time, I can still study (so yes, the brainfog does go!!) and I run. Not fast or super long distance, but I can keep myself fit.

The fears pre-surgery show that the mind does crazy things when under stress…and a dodgy thyroid doesn’t help!! But, in the end, chances are it’s gunna be ok! Don’t expect it to happen overnight, but you will notice yourself slipping back into a place where you think “oh, I haven’t done this since before surgery…cool!”

This post is dedicated to a friend of mine who’s just about to have her thyroid removed and is feeling some of these fears…it will be ok, hun! I’ve done it, so you can too.

Dry July – the first 2 weeks

Having signed myself up for Dry July (31 days in July with no alcohol to raise money for adults living with cancer) back in May, it seemed so far off. Until it wasn’t. July crept up on me, so I started sharing posts and my Dry July link on social media, hoping someone would see the passion I have and donate something.

Here we are 2 weeks into July and I’m pleased to say, my hopes have come true. People have been amazing. People in my real life and some lovely ladies I connect with on twitter…they’ve come near and far to click on my link and kindly donate some cash for the fundraiser, and left some encouraging messages for me.

I can’t say it’s been totally easy, there’s been days I’ve thought “I’d love a wine with dinner…oh, right…I can’t”. And I’m sure I haven’t seen the last of those moments either. But the passion I have for making a difference and for completing Dry July makes the soft drink worthwhile.

Almost every night so far, I’ve thought of my friend Lucy. She’s my Dry July inspiration. She lost her battle with cancer in 2012. She was far too young. She fought so hard and was so brave through everything. So I decided to do Dry July in her honour. She taught me a lot and I know my doing this won’t affect her directly, but the money raised can go toward helping others in that situation. She’d like that.

The next two weeks I’ll continue to substitute alcohol with soft drink and water, and continue my fundraising efforts to ensure at the end of it all, I have as many donations as possible.

To those who’ve donated…thank you for making this happen! A big (non-alcoholic) cheers to you all!