Wow to the Wee, I was one proud charity Mama yesterday. For so many reasons - some of which I can not even begin to explain - I was brimming with pride and an overwhelming urge to high five everyone and everything in sight. It was BRILLIANT. I guess, because I had been having a particularly difficult week, it was just what I needed to re-focus and smile again.
So anyway, yesterday 120 runners and 1 Dermot O’Leary took on the beautiful streets of Bath in aid of CoppaFeel! at the Bath Half Marathon. As my friend Simon announced mine, Dermot’s and Maren’s names to step out for the photocall in front of our hundred hooters, to an audience of a million paps, I almost cried at how many people were there, and who those people were. I looked around us to see faces and their stories of how I met them. And I wanted to share a couple of them with you - if you’re not mentioned here, please believe me that you are all equally special and equally awesome!
Almost three year ago, just after CoppaFeel! had first popped into the World, I found myself face painting a lady at Farm Festival in Somerset and telling her every little colourful detail of my story and why I was there. Without stopping for air but eventually finishing my masterpiece, she looked at me and said “I’m a GP”.
Oops.
I had seriously let rip on the tale of my GP and there was one, in the flesh, sitting right in front of me. I hadn’t met another GP since the day I was misdiagnosed so i hadn’t quite figured out how I felt about “them” anymore. Which might seem odd, as I was terribly unlucky with mine, but trusting them was far from my agenda.
“If there is anything you want me to take away from this little chat today, what would it be?” she asked.
I pondered for a while.
“Always LISTEN to your younger patients. If in doubt, refer them”.
And she did. Because a year or so later we heard from said GP who had just referred a young chap named Wesley, that had come to her with a persistent cough. Apparently I was perched on her shoulder the moment she decided it was best to refer him to a specialist. And unfortunately Wesley was later diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. This was not the news I wanted at all, but I was proud that the GP had remembered my story when she made her decisions. And she is now a huge advocate for what we do! So much so, she volunteered herself a hooter in this years run. I was blown away when she told us. Wesley, unfortunately, was diagnosed with secondaries recently so she was running in his name. A pretty heart warming story and bloody proud moment for us. GP friend, you know who you are and you have my biggest respect!
The next story is equally cool!
Last August, just before I was re-diagnosed, I was very embarrassingly whisked out of Boob HQ on a special wheelchair, pumping in as much gas and air as possible. I was busy having a lunch meeting with Maren and our volunteer consultant fundraiser lady Beth when, all of the sudden, something tweaked in my back and I could no longer move without wanting to A. pass out and B. vomit everywhere. Scared to bejesus, Maren called an ambulance and luckily, by the time it arrived, the lunch rush was over, leaving only the catering staff wondering what the heck was up with me. Two paramedics, one named Helen, had to maneuver me into the ambulance without making me scream the place down. Tricky that, when it was later revealed I had another tumour doing it’s think higher up on my spine, causing all the pain in the world.
As we sat in the ambulance, Mar quivering with the shock of it all, I chatted with Helen, at a gazillion miles an hour, about all things boobs and my whole life story. Gas and air works a treat in moments like that. Add that to a shot of morphine and you have yourself a very jolly Kris. Bewildered by it all, Helen did her best to keep both of us as calm as possible, but not just that, she ensured my make up smearage was gone before we got to the hospital. That’s what I call service.
Once Helen and her co-pilot got us settled in at Royal London, we waved goodbye but I had a sneaky feeling it wouldn’t be the last time I saw Helen either. Later that day we received a lovely email from her, telling us she had just signed herself up for Bath Half Marathon!
Helen and our GP friend joined two of our Boobettes, a pair of identical twins we met at a festival three years ago, Paul Devin - MD of Wonderbra, a team of people from our creative agency, my nearest and dearest friends plus lots and lots of other very cool people at yesterdays little running session and I’m happy to say everyone survived! Money is yet to be totallised but we’ve raised in excess of £20,000.
And why do they run as giant hooters for us? Well, I guess you’d need to ask them, but I’d like to think it’s because they too believe that young people need to start thinking about their boobs NOW. That they too believe we can make a difference through all the programs and campaigns that we run, that they think it’s a fun and dynamic charity to support and most of all, because they are good people.
I am so proud and SO honoured to have met so many truly amazing people over the past three years. It gives me immeasurable inner power to continue what I’m doing and ensuring no one else goes through this, if it could, at all, be prevented.
Ps. You can still donate, ya know.
Friday, May 11, 2012 at 01:47PM 
