Hello all Lovely to hear news again, thank you for getting i touch Emma and Louisa (fab blog btw Pupletrunks - you capture the intense mixed emotions perfectly). Thankfully I am well and apparently clear of cancer since the lung and breast ops Dec 2019. The enlarged lymph nodes turned out to be a false alarm- phew. It has been so strange to have had this covid year dovetail cancer treatment. What a weird, unpredicted, shocking experience we have all had. I spent most of last year not going out/in my garden. My children found shielding me very stressful. Youngest turned 18 last weekend and has had very low times, but the recent news about A level plans and return to school has lifted her spirits. She spent yesterday organising a trip to a music festival with friends in the summer - i do hope it can go ahead after so many cancelled plans and disappointments. It is hard to imagine such large events ever happening again isn’t it? My 22 year old son came home to finish his degree last summer and hasn’t yet found a “proper” job, but he is now in a temporary role for the NHS and that has lifted his spirits considerably. At least he gets to meet new people and have in person conversations. He also got vaccinated, as did both me and my husband, and it is bringing us a lot of reassurance after feeling we were dodging death if we went out of the front door. My oldest daughter got married at New Year, sadly we couldn’t be there because of lockdown. She moved to Canada with her husband in January and has a job out there. So she has been able to move her life forward despite all the obstacles in her path. We miss her terribly but do enjoy the window she is giving us into something new. My husband has been a star and emotionally we have gone through more together in the past 18 months than we had in the previous few decades. It has been very bonding, though as I recover I find my old irritation with the things he doesn’t do is coming back (taps that need fixing/doors easing/tools tidying- it’s a long list!). And perhaps we are now moving out of the nightmare times into something newly joyful? I begin to think that might be true and to feel happy much more of the time than I feel sad or anxious. I hope that is true for all of you too. It’s impossible to put into words the seismic scale of the emotional upheaval that came with the cancer diagnosis and then bloody covid on top of it. I expect we might all be a bit more ragged and torn as we emerge, but one thing is for sure, you appreciate your life and your friends with new intensity. Likewise the importance and value of this little group. It has been a hugely important part of my survival. Thank you all. Much love kath xx
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