Emma Ritchie
Emma's Courage on the Catwalk page
Fundraising for Friends of ANCHOR
Story
For those who don't know I’ve just past my 5 year mark which is a huge milestone and have just hit my 40th birthday, a stark reminder to the cancer muggles that I certainly wasn’t “too young”. To celebrate this milestone I was looking for a new adventure and what better challenge than to push outside my comfort zone and fundraise for Friends of Anchor as part of their Courage on the Catwalk event.
Parading down a catwalk is absolutely not my thing at all but I want to do it for those we have lost, those in treatment and those yet to be diagnosed. As a huge fundraiser we have the opportunity to raise a significant amount and give those living in the north east the very best chance! Uniquely, every penny of every pound donated to Friends of ANCHOR goes to the cause because the operating costs are fully covered by Aberdeen company Balmoral Group - as they have been since the charity was founded.
The ANCHOR Unit is a collective of specialised wards and clinics within Aberdeen Royal Infirmary - the central hub of cancer and haematology care for the North-east of Scotland.
During treatment, I fought tirelessly throughout to prove that cancer wouldn’t stop me and craved to be treated as normal… I didn’t stop work, only taking chemo day off. I attended Guide camps and organised events for 100’s of girls. I pushed myself hard, too hard to prove to myself I wasn’t broken. I even convinced myself I was succeeding… in reality I was putting myself through more than I needed to but as my own greatest critic I had high expectations. Looking back I don’t think I was aware of how ill I was, only that the Anchor unit had a plan for me and I’d pass over that control… which then left me in this crazy spiral of grasping any control I could externally.
Post treatment I struggle massively with my confidence and anxiety. While the outward visible scars have faded, the mental scars have heightened. I have coping mechanisms to try and conceal this, the reminder alarms, every cream and cooling mist the market has in my bag, the caffeine addiction to keep me awake. I'm not going to lie it's tough. The Anchor Unit continue to be there throughout.
Here is a little bit more in their own words:
Our person-centred wellbeing services are freely available for every patient, with programmes also available for the staff caring for them. We invest in medical equipment and pioneering research to push the boundaries in how we diagnose, treat and care for people, while our pledge to promote clinical excellence includes funded development programmes for NHS clinical staff to enhance knowledge and expertise.
Our founding aim was, and remains to this day, to provide the best possible treatment, care and support to patients.
So if you can spare a few £'s and want to help make a difference I'd appreciate it. Photos and updates will be provided... lets see if I'm the first model in the history of the event to fall on my bum!