He Tore A Hamstring Dot Mee Dot UK

Inspiration in Adversity

I will keep this as succinct as possible … only because one of my best friends recently told me that my musings often give her a headache, either because her brain is fried by my somewhat ostentatious use of the vernacular, or because of the ‘sadness’ of the subject matter.

This sadness, however, can often be a source of inspiration to me. I wrote the article ‘Bravo for Bravery’, where I made mention of a good friend L, and also of ‘Chemobabe‘, both of whom have been fighting Cancer (note that I don’t use the word ‘suffer’, as it would undermine the indefatigable spirit that they have shown). Since then, it has been apparent that there are so many special people who are fighting for the simple pleasures that so many of us take for granted, the most apparent being health.

I have been amazed by the fortitude and determination of a group of people on Twitter, who have made it a mission to #kickcancer, not afraid to share their experiences, and most importantly with the desire to give the rest of us a big nudge to remember those who put our own problems into perspective.

Whilst on Twitter recently, I came across Victoria Tremlett. In her early twenties, Victoria is a talented and intelligent writer (her Award Winning blog is called Past The Point Of No Return and well worth a read), a great fan and connoisseur of the Theatre, and entering the prime of her life. Personally, I find it particularly distressing then that Victoria has the condition, Cystic Fibrosis. As a result, she requires a Double Lung Transplant to save her life.

Whilst it is true that I am still trying to come to terms with a bereavement which has changed my life, I cannot for a minute imagine or describe the utter bravery of Victoria and many others in the outright refusal to bow to illness, and the intelligence to teach the likes of me to be so grateful for all I have that is God given. I am simply blown away and inspired by you all.

I know that many of my friends are dubious about the uses of Social Media – I hope that these wonderful people can illustrate that there is so much that is positive about it. I urge you also to do something simple everyday that makes someone else smile … I forgot this for too long and am so grateful to the likes of Victoria for reminding me.

As a footnote, Victoria Tremlett will be featured on BBC1 Inside Out London next Monday, about organ donation and life on the Transplant List. She has added that it should be available Online for those outside London. For any of you who would like to learn more about Cystic Fibrosis, I would recommend that you look at the CF Trust.