Page 149 - She's One Crazy Lady!

Both Marilyn and I thought the black gown looked a little too severe so, taking the pink bow – the symbol associated worldwide with breast cancer, we decided to create a paper pink bow and added childlike drawings of crazy hats to them, cut them out of card, laminated them and pinned them down the lapels of the gown – so basic!
Within a few weeks the pink hat arrived. I, of course, had said I would pay for this to be done, but the firm said it was a gift – a gift that would hopefully help to raise a lot of money and awareness. I still have the hat but it is very, very shabby now having been worn by so many people – even a donkey!
Chemotherapy had now started but by being busy the effects of the drugs, although not nice, didn’t deter me from moving on with organising the Crazy Hats Day – we’d started, so we would finish and there was still work to be done.
I sent invites to Phil Sawford, the MP for Kettering, to the Mayor and Mayoress of Kettering, Councillors Robert and Barbara Civil, who all agreed to attend a special assembly at Highfields on the morning of the Crazy Hats Day and I had several more meetings with the Breast Team and other personnel from the hospital who really were on board, agreeing to decorate a day room (empty ward) for the occasion, organise a cake sale, a raffle and invite ex-patients along. Marilyn offered to organise a group of her colleagues to stand in the Swansgate Centre in Wellingborough to have a collection and promote what we were doing, and why, and similarly, my friend Anne, from table tennis, organised the same in the Newlands Centre in Kettering. Muriel Wallis, my music teacher from St. Peter’s also phoned me to ask if I would like her choir to perform for us on the day. How lovely was that! I agreed, of course, not having seen her for years. Local companies, including Boots and Sainsbury’s, said their staff were going to go crazy for the day as did many smaller local businesses.
My brother and sister-in-law indicated they would be decorating their fruit and veg stall at Corby and would be having a collection pot on hand to collect loose change. It was all happening! We were ready! I just prayed that, medically, there would be no setbacks. To ensure I would be OK members of the Breast Team were making arrangements, to stay with me the whole day and transport me to the different venues that we had planned. It was hard to take all this in – everyone was being so helpful and supportive.
Friday March 15th, 2002 was looming and it looked like the whole of Northamptonshire would, for one day, be going crazy! In the meantime, there was much to do and much to think about...
“
I still have
the hat but it is very, very shabby now having been worn by so many people –
even a donke”
y!
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