Supporting your NHS

I used to take the NHS for granted. If my cold went on a bit too long, or if I had done my ankle in from running too hard without warming up, I might visit my doctor. Nothing big, nothing major. But that is all I really knew about the NHS. I’d had a few run ins before, as I was born with a bowel condition, but day to day, the NHS wasn’t a service I particularly thought about. Nowadays I realise how crucial it really is.

In October 2014 my boyfriend went to his GP about a lump. Just like my mundane visits before, he didn’t think anything of it; imagining it was a sports injury or something. Nobody aged 26 thinks it will be the big C. But that was exactly it and one week later precisely my boyfriend of three years Ian Palmer was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

The next few weeks were a blur of hospital visits and friends and family paying their dues, followed by a day at the general hospital when Ian had his surgery. He went under just after 4pm, and was home in time for X-Factor.

It was only in December, after experiencing his first, and we hope last round of chemotherapy, that we both took a step back and looked at what we had just been through. And, more importantly, how amazingly the hospital and the staff had taken care of him, and me. Looking back the diagnosis, surgery and treatment was so swift and quick, yet done with such care and precision, it was obvious the staff didn’t want this to define his life. They didn’t want him in the hospital at all. They wanted him on the mend and getting on with things. Yet everyday they do this, everyday they face people in the harshest of conditions, but still they remained positive and wonderful.

Cancer. God I hate that word. It makes me shiver. I couldn’t even say it at first. It is even harder when I knew the very ward Ian was being treated on was the same ward my Granddad died on, again because of cancer.

But we need to stop being scared of it. Statistically more people survive cancer than die now. And my stepmother, who has survived breast cancer and ran the London marathon, and Ian, are both testaments to the amazing work the NHS does every day.

When you hear the whir of an ambulance, just remember how lucky we are to have such a rapid response to a medical crisis. When you feel ill, remember how lucky we are that we can ring up our doctors. And when you head to follow up appointments after a crisis, remember how great it is that they are still interested, still concerned, after all this time.

Around the world there are millions of people who don’t have access to decent healthcare, or healthcare period.

The NHS is, in my opinion, one of the greatest creations of our country. And this opinion has been formed because of Southampton General Hospital.

To raise awareness of the charity, and the hospital, I’m taking part in a number of challenges in my time as Miss Hampshire, and beyond hopefully, to really bring to the forefront why we need to talk more about cancer, why we need to appreciate the NHS more, and why we can help ourselves through fit and healthy challenges to raise funds and awareness.  

To donate to mine and Ian’s charity half-marathon please visit the link.

For further info on the Southampton Hospital Charity Fashion Show in May please visit this link.

Supporting your NHS locally:

If I have inspired you, find out about your local NHS charity and how you can get involved, wherever you are here.

Thank you for reading :) xxx