MICHELE's page
MICHELE RODFORD is raising money for Valley Hospital Charity
Story
Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
This time last year I was only 6 months into my cancer treatment. The road ahead was so long. I had gone through four surgeries, was just beginning my chemotherapy treatment and had only just lost all of my hair. Words cannot describe how bad the chemotherapy is. I would spend days near to unconscious on the sofa unable to open my eyes, unable to speak and couldn't bear to hear even the smallest of sounds around me. My body had zero energy. It was too much effort to move my arms and legs, everything tasted awful and I couldn’t eat or drink. There would be days where I would lay in the bath for 5 hours at a time, at 3am most mornings as it was the only thing that would ease the pain that was felt in every bone of my body. My head was too heavy to lift up so would be flopped to the side and I would use all of my energy just to lean across to top the bath up with warmer water as the water got cold. Luke (my son) would get up for school in the morning with me still laying in the bath saying “Mum are you ok? What are you doing in the bath?”. How can you hide how bad you feel to your 12 year old son? Your face is grey and you can hardly find the energy to move your mouth to answer his questions. What child should start his school day off like that!
...Those memories I try to block out as much as possible and I am now so happy to say that, despite the few challenges that still lay ahead, I feel I am now coming out the other side of the cancer journey. Although I do not get the “all clear” for 5 years, every day I am getting a little bit stronger. I still have days where I cannot remember things, my mind is completely blank or I repeat the same things over and over again, but the side effects from the chemotherapy are gradually wearing off. It’s slow, but day by day I am beginning to feel a bit nearer to the old me.
The words “Thank You” just never seem enough. How can they be when somebody has just saved your life!
I made a promise that as soon as I was well enough I would (as my way of saying thank you) set myself the goal of organising or participating in different events to raise as much money as possible for the Empress Unit at the Darent Valley Hospital to help them raise money for further equipment/extend the Unit. The Empress Unit have been absolutely amazing to me. Without them I would not be here. They have treated so many women, all having faced or still facing an equally as tough journey as the one I have just been on.
So .......on 26/27 May 2018:
Sharon Day, Pippa Kelman, Marc Nicholson, Cathleen McCann, Clare Collings, Steve Rich, Chris Howells, Steve Smith, Mark White (aka Chalky), Rick Lincoln, Ange Lee, Stuart Hill, Ellie Sales, James Burgess, Madeleine
and Myself will all be taking part in the 100K London2Brighton Challenge walking from London to Brighton (63 miles) in 24 hours to raise money for the Empress Unit.
I feel blessed to have such an amazing team joining me and I am hoping that if my legs or my body give up that one of them will feel strong enough to give me a piggy back!
1 in 2 of us will experience this nasty disease.
Please dig deep. Every little helps no matter how small. Please help me to give something back to the Unit. I want to help make the Breast Cancer Journey become as painless and as bearable as possible for all of the other women (and men) out there who sadly are going to go through this or who are already going through this.
All monies raised will go to my most amazing consultant Miss Seetharam and her Team at the Empress Unit. They will allocate the funds to help the Unit.
This time last year I was only 6 months into my cancer treatment. The road ahead was so long. I had gone through four surgeries, was just beginning my chemotherapy treatment and had only just lost all of my hair. Words cannot describe how bad the chemotherapy is. I would spend days near to unconscious on the sofa unable to open my eyes, unable to speak and couldn't bear to hear even the smallest of sounds around me. My body had zero energy. It was too much effort to move my arms and legs, everything tasted awful and I couldn’t eat or drink. There would be days where I would lay in the bath for 5 hours at a time, at 3am most mornings as it was the only thing that would ease the pain that was felt in every bone of my body. My head was too heavy to lift up so would be flopped to the side and I would use all of my energy just to lean across to top the bath up with warmer water as the water got cold. Luke (my son) would get up for school in the morning with me still laying in the bath saying “Mum are you ok? What are you doing in the bath?”. How can you hide how bad you feel to your 12 year old son? Your face is grey and you can hardly find the energy to move your mouth to answer his questions. What child should start his school day off like that!
...Those memories I try to block out as much as possible and I am now so happy to say that, despite the few challenges that still lay ahead, I feel I am now coming out the other side of the cancer journey. Although I do not get the “all clear” for 5 years, every day I am getting a little bit stronger. I still have days where I cannot remember things, my mind is completely blank or I repeat the same things over and over again, but the side effects from the chemotherapy are gradually wearing off. It’s slow, but day by day I am beginning to feel a bit nearer to the old me.
The words “Thank You” just never seem enough. How can they be when somebody has just saved your life!
I made a promise that as soon as I was well enough I would (as my way of saying thank you) set myself the goal of organising or participating in different events to raise as much money as possible for the Empress Unit at the Darent Valley Hospital to help them raise money for further equipment/extend the Unit. The Empress Unit have been absolutely amazing to me. Without them I would not be here. They have treated so many women, all having faced or still facing an equally as tough journey as the one I have just been on.
So .......on 26/27 May 2018:
Sharon Day, Pippa Kelman, Marc Nicholson, Cathleen McCann, Clare Collings, Steve Rich, Chris Howells, Steve Smith, Mark White (aka Chalky), Rick Lincoln, Ange Lee, Stuart Hill, Ellie Sales, James Burgess, Madeleine
and Myself will all be taking part in the 100K London2Brighton Challenge walking from London to Brighton (63 miles) in 24 hours to raise money for the Empress Unit.
I feel blessed to have such an amazing team joining me and I am hoping that if my legs or my body give up that one of them will feel strong enough to give me a piggy back!
1 in 2 of us will experience this nasty disease.
Please dig deep. Every little helps no matter how small. Please help me to give something back to the Unit. I want to help make the Breast Cancer Journey become as painless and as bearable as possible for all of the other women (and men) out there who sadly are going to go through this or who are already going through this.
All monies raised will go to my most amazing consultant Miss Seetharam and her Team at the Empress Unit. They will allocate the funds to help the Unit.