Page 288 - She's One Crazy Lady!

I simply had“
with patients if they were on their own and needed someone with them – never to say anything, just to hold their hand or be present. What was encouraging, was that the nurses and consultants welcomed this input, knowing they did not always have sufficient time to speak to patients once appointments were over. Naturally, all volunteers were given training and regular meetings were held to give feedback and gain more understanding of what they could and couldn’t do – or say.
I was to go to Walsall with Pat on several occasions to meet these wonderful people and gathered so many ideas from such a pro-active, fun-loving and dedicated group that I was able to bring back to follow up in Northamptonshire. They learned from us too.
Their large support group in Walsall was all about having fun – with the husbands, partners and families very much involved. I was very impressed with the apparent bond they had with the whole Breast Care Team – how they felt their efforts were needed and valued and did much to enhance the Hospital’s Breast Unit. On my last visit they had just opened a relaxing garden, funds for which had been raised and donated by the group – a project I was to remember!
As time went on and I became retired from education, all the conferences and meetings became fewer and fewer – and eventually stopped – my choice – my last conference being about Palliative Care when we were asked to think about our own death and how and where we would like, ideally, our final days to end! It may sound morbid but conversations were so open, so upbeat (and varied) and all this was relevant to what I was about to do – and wanted to do.
I simply had to do something with all the ideas I had amassed – adrenalin was running high!
Talks
“Speak in a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.”
Oh, how I loved giving talks! I was to give hundreds and hundreds but will always remember the very first one when I was invited to a WI group in a village on the outskirts of Northampton – word was spreading.
The date had been in my diary for a while but I hadn’t given the talk much thought at all. Never had I considered myself to be a public speaker. Taking assemblies, yes; talking in front of a class of children/ staff/governors, yes; but to a group of people who were all strangers on the subject of breast cancer? – no! I was with Marilyn in the morning and when it was time for me to leave she casually asked me what I was going to talk about. I didn’t know. What was I going to say? I hadn’t been to a Women’s Institute meeting before, although I had seen the film ‘Calendar Girls’ so had my own perceptions of what went on. On the drive over, I had to smile – what was I doing? The venue was a small, old village hall. Inside, lines of chairs were arranged in front of the President’s table – a table that was covered in a crisp white cloth
to do something with all the ideas I had amassed – adrenalin was
running hig”
h!
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