The Story of My Journey

Whose idea was it to do 20 walks of 20 miles? Mine. Who's only ever walked one 20 mile walk in their life? Me. Who did 2-mile dog walks as training? Me. Who struggled every step of the way? Me. But do you know what? I wouldn't have changed any of my decisions! Every...

At around the same time my melanoma was discovered, I had an MRI scan and the results were more detailed than I'd ever read before. They worried me because they showed a leak on the heart repair. From the beginning of my surgery, I'd been told that my heart repair...

There have been many times since my surgery that I've been reminded of my surgery and how fragile life actually can be. To think that I learnt to play the trumpet with one working lung without anyone realising it is a testament to my teacher and her teaching skills...

I was having problems with accepting my new body. I never knew I was ill, so I don't see myself with an illness. And they'd repaired it. So surely, I was fine. An impatient patient I'm not a patient person, which made me not a great patient. If I'm stopped from doing...

I was so nervous getting ready for surgery, but my GUCH nurse came and sat with me and my mum, keeping our spirits up and trying to calm my nerves. (Somerville Foundation - formally GUCH) This would be the last time I would see my chest scar free. 22 with a massive...

Medical procedures are something I've gotten used to over the years. So many professionals have seen my open, bare-naked chest, that I no longer have any issues with undressing for all these "procedures". But at 22, I had issues with it! Before the surgery, I had...

Now heart problems are something I've grown up with. But they were my dad’s, not mine. When he was 39 and I was 8, he had his first heart attack. This changed our family in so many ways, but we supported each other and learnt to live with Dad’s ever changing heart...

It's good to look back on your life and see how the journey unfolds, how you got to where you are and what steered you there. Looking back on my life, there is strong evidence of resilience and pretty much doing what I want to do, rather than what is expected of me....