Just a mum

my name is Margaret and I’m the mother of 9 children well I call them my children but they are now adults 46-19.

my daughter who is 31 has downs Syndrome and is certainly our gift however very sadly in 2008 my son who was 16 was murdered in an unprovoked attack in a bakery on a beautiful sunny Saturday and then life changed my husband and myself were determined to bring something good out of it and we started a charity www.forjimmy.org in his memory for all our young people .

life went along with ups and downs but I was always healthy doing lots of fundraising climbing mountains asking the bridges of London a mud race(yuk) and more when in July 2016 I passed some blood two day later at the doctors who sent me to the hospital and after a colonoscopy was diagnosed with Rectal cancer.

I’m not going to lie I felt I had my share of life’s difficulties this can’t be happening no more please anyway in September 2016 my tumour was removed now for  recovery but oh no my bowel decided to leak so was rushed back in with sepsis so another operation and a stoma.

I didn’t think things could get worse and although I was having chemo it was just a mop up it won’t be to bad......don’t you believe it I can only say it was brutal I couldn’t get out of bed it gave me blood clots twice and blisters so big on my feet I couldn’t walk.

after 4 sessions I decided enough was enough and so I came off it. But what I didn’t realise was the anxiety would set in I didn’t know how to cope with it I thought I was going to die my Gp was truly wonderful and would see me weekly also the staff at the hospital were indeed amazing.

i also managed to get some therapy via the Maggies centre in London which helped.

i am still anxious always in pain but my blood test and scans are good so I should be happy but .......