Polly d'Abo's page
Richard Bushill is raising money for Cystic Fibrosis Trust
In memory of Polly D'abo
Story
Thank you for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page for Polly and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. As almost all of you will know, Polly was a breath of fresh air in any situation. Whether it needed a decent dose of dance, music, realism, sarcasm, a Z-list celebrity put-down or just a wily, wry smile or well placed, raised eyebrow with some sort of hand-gesture, she was always first in line and excited for the opportunity. As you will also know, Polly sadly struggled with CF for many years and unfortunately this time her genetics outgunned her get up and go, which is hard to believe seeing as she had so much of the latter.
Polly had a unique outlook on life and it is possible that her positivity and proactiveness were born from her condition, but whether they were or not is irrelevant. It was a refreshing reminder and something we should all learn from. The best example of this was that she knew her time dancing, singing and even signing on this strange spinning sphere was limited, and because of this, she simply loved ageing. She embraced finding new grey hairs with relish and any new wrinkles that appeared made her look in the mirror and face her own face fondly. She simply felt fortunate enough to reach an age to attain them, it was a privilege and one which none of us really recognise. This is something we should all peruse and ponder next time we find a pesky pertruding grey hair or new ickle, little wrinkle.
It is important to Polly and myself that you know she fought very hard. She loved life and whilst being a tiny, thin little thing she was tougher than anyone I have ever met. It is true that she went through a lot over the years, but what is more important is that she twinned the fight with the right mentality. She always retained her scathing, sarcastic wit right up to the end. When a consultant asked her which doctor struggled to put in her arterial line, she simply held up her bruised wrist and through her breathing ventilator said it was done by ‘David Blunket and his dog’. Two days later, in the morning after a hard night's sleep she awoke, clouded from the slow build up of CO2 in her system and said, ‘I feel really drowsy, has Cosby been doing ward rounds?’. She was truly such a funny little fighter, and for all of us, a bright light to lose in the dense fog of an often apathetic, lethargic London.
Cystic Fibrosis is a cruel and gruelling, genetic, degenerative disease that affects more than 10,400 people in the UK. You are born with CF and cannot catch it later in life, but one in 25 of us carries the faulty gene that causes it, usually without knowing. The money raised here will go towards treatment for people with CF, increasing their life expectancy and helping to fund research and prevention of the complications and complexities of symptoms and their associated illnesses.
Now, Polly being Polly, wouldn’t want any dumb, glum, humdrum Victorian nonsense, unless it was six black horses with ostrich plumes pulling her positivity to rest with Jeff Goldblum playing jazz piano behind her. For this reason, we are planning a celebratory day which is open to all and details will follow in the months after the more formal family funeral. We spoke about the end stages of Cystic Fibrosis a lot and she never liked big, un-heartfelt platitudes, but let me be absolutely clear, she would want platitudes, and lots of them. So from the bottom of your hearts to the tops of your drinks held high, raise your glasses and spirits and toast Polly.
I would like to take this time to thank all of you for your love and support of Polly's thirty five years of laughter, tears, cheers and ardent opposition of the meek mouthed and the rand and bland. You have all been involved for at least some of this time and it genuinely means so much to Polly, her family and me. Polly's passion, compassion and fruit fashion will all be remembered, but she can rest assured that along with her bants and rants, none can be forgotten.
In summary, like Polly, dance like nobody is watching, but play poker like everyone is watching. Sing, smile and speak with conviction, and if unable to speak with conviction, sign with it. Observe, question, learn and love the evolution that follows, but most importantly, make the most of yourself, your friends and your family, and never, ever let your disabilities define you.
Richard x
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