Pick Me Up! 29-Aug-2019

Leaning in to help my daughter Ella, now six, blow out her birthday candles, I was over the moon. It was her second birthday and I couldn’t believe how quickly it had come around. Everything in my life was near-perfect. Me and my partner Ian, 45, had not long tied the knot in December 2014, and Ella was growing into a beautiful little girl, plus my job as a solicitor was as good as ever. But then, in May 2016, I found a lump on my breast. That’s when I received the devastating blow that I had grade three breast cancer. I always thought that only older women got breast cancer. I just didn’t understand. So, I started browsing Breast Cancer Care and joined some online forums. It was nice…

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I got my butt stuck posing for this photo on a ride! Mrs S P Clarke, Middlesbrough My Evie at 6 months. Where has the time gone? Amanda Hadley, Cradley Heath This is my wife Lisa at the top of a volcano in Lanzarote. Shortly after we went to a restaurant serving food cooked via the heat of the volcano. Amazing experience! Richard Adams, West Midlands Me, my partner Dave, and our little Yorkie Dennis went out for lunch. We were chatting to a couple before we realised the gentleman was no other than the snooker legend Willie Thorne! Here’s Willie with Dennis. Kyri Dalton, Bristol Here’s my daughter Sue modelling her new cap and þashing her Love Island tee. She certainly is what she is – really funny! Patricia…

Getting dressed in my room, I heard my husband Peter, 61, call from downstairs. ‘You’re going to be late if we don’t leave soon,’ he said. Looking down at my watch, I realised he was right - time had completely gotten away from me . It was September 2015, and I was going to a weekly meeting with my local health group. ‘Just coming,’ I called. I quickly sorted the mess on top of my chest of drawers, returning my deodorant and makeup to its place before turning to walk out the door. The bottle crashed down onto my foot But as I swung around, my arm caught one of my perfume bottles and knocked it to the floor. All of a sudden, I felt an almighty pain in my…

I created a list of all the positives that would come with the removal of my foot, and it continued for over two sides of an A4 piece of paper. ‘I’m going to see a specialist about my foot and the options I have,’ I said to Peter in September 2016. ‘I still believe amputation is my best option, and I’d love for you to be there when I speak to them about it.’ He agreed to come with me, where I explained to the specialist that I had no quality of life anymore. ‘I can’t leave the house, I can’t walk without crutches and I am barely sleeping,’ I sobbed. ‘And there is no chance that this is going to get any better without taking action.’ I had done…

Sitting down with a refreshing cup of tea, I gave out a deep sigh. ‘What a day!’ I smiled to my husband Ryan as we made ourselves comfy under a marquee in our back garden. It was 13 July, and Ryan, 30, and I had just thrown a birthday party for our kids, Charlie, 10, and Orson, three. ‘You did well, Kate,’ my friend Amy, 33, smiled. Just half an hour before, about 60 of our family and friends had been milling about our garden, watching their kids play on the swings and trampoline we’d set up. Charlie and Orson’s birthdays are so close together, so every year, we’d have a garden party to celebrate. But this year, we’d really outdone ourselves. A friend had brought over funfair games, and…