Pick Me Up! 11-Feb-2021

Working as a lead nurse, focused on pulmonary hypertension, I loved my career in the NHS. For over 30 years, I dedicated my life to the health of others. However, in 2019, after suffering with chronic insomnia, I made the decision to retire. It took me a while to accept that I didn’t have anywhere to go, but I soon began to settle into my more leisurely life with my husband, Chris. Only, when coronavirus struck, I knew I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. Like many others, almost immediately, I came out of retirement and started doing call consultations from home. It worked well, but I wanted to do more. My daughter Bryony had set up a group of volunteers in her local area, and I decided to do…

GOOD DEED OF THE WEEK Say BOOBS! The Bunch Of Optimistic Breast Survivors have turned a terrifying experience into something positive. Vanessa Haw was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2015, and decided to open up to her friends and family online about her experience. She received a shocking number of responses from family members who also had experience in battling breast cancer – a total of 10 ladies from her family, between the ages of 47 to 81. After discovering so many of her family members had suffered in silence, she was determined to bring everyone together. Vanessa came up with an ingenious idea while watching The Full Monty: Ladies’ Night on TV – to create a nude, breast cancer calendar to raise money for Breast Cancer Care. The 10…

The National Trust’s laundry and household cleaning range is made from organic ingredients and Fairtrade essential oils, making it sustainable, ethical and safe for people, animals and the environment. Produced in Somerset, the collection is allergy friendly, vegan and cruelty free and certified by the Soil Association, Cruelty Free International, Allergy UK and The Vegan Society. All items are available in store and online at nationaltrust.org.uk/shop. 1. Plant based dyed cotton cleaning cloths set of 3, £12 2. Natural Loofah scouring pad, pack of 2, £8 3. All-purpose mint castile soap, £10 4. Lavender laundry liquid, £7 5. Lavender fabric softener, £7 6. Creamy citrus furniture polish, £10 7. Citrus washing up liquid, £5 8. Herbal floor cleaner, £7…

THE BIG READ You never forget your first love. They have a hold on you, like no other. I started dating Connor MacDonald when I was 19-years-old, after he contacted me through Twitter in January 2017. We followed each other on social media as we had mutual friends, but that had been the extent of our relationship. At the time, he was studying Business Management at The University of Central Lancashire, which was only 15 minutes from my family home. The short distance worked well as we started seeing each other most days around my job as a business developer. Before long, we were in a relationship and I introduced him to my mum, Trish, 54. ‘He’s really nice,’ she smiled after their first meeting. My dad passed away when…

I WAS LIVING IN FEAR I was devastated and I knew then that the Connor I once loved was truly gone. Despite everything however, I still loved him, but I was terrified at the same time. Sometimeshe could be nice and show signs of the old him, but he’d flip within seconds. I felt as if I was constantly living on eggshells. ‘You make my anxiety bad,’ he’d tell me, making me feel as if it was all my fault. Every time he’d yell and attack me, I’d always end up apologising to him. ‘I’m so sorry I’ve done this to you,’ I’d sob. I genuinely believed it was all my fault. I’ve always considered myself a strong woman, but all of this trauma was knocking on my confidence. Connor…

MY FIGHTER When I was 20-weeks pregnant, I was told that my baby only had half a heart. It was absolutely terrifying to hear. ‘Will he be okay?’ I asked my midwife. Doctors said that he would be fine in the womb, and that his health problems would start after he was born. They diagnosed him with suspected hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) – a birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart–and then made plans to induce my labour. At 38-weeks pregnant, I gave birth to my baby boy in a room full of specialists. And for just one precious minute, I was able to hold my son in my arms. ‘Hello, Kori,’ I beamed, before he was whisked off to intensive care. At only one-day-old, my…