My Story so far (the shorter version!)

I’m Helen and this is my story

Of how I had a wonderful, full, happy life pre my diagnosis

A life with ups and downs yes

But one full of love and joy

A world that revolved around my family

Our three girls Jasmine, Lily and Rosie

With wider family and friends whirling around us

I am Mumma wholeheartedly, mostly, and proudly

Our girls, who Michael and I raise very much together

A life that always felt whole

But then inconceivably, incomprehensibly

Our lives got turned upside down

I got cancer (and no it doesn’t deserve a capital letter)

A dark shadow hangs over us now

As the veil between life and death became transparent

And at times that darkness is so dense that it is hard to see through

Days where I am desperate, so angry, so sad

My girls lives changed forever

We fight every day to love and support them through it

And they are amazing

We are closer than ever

They are stronger, more courageous, more compassionate than ever

Team Foster Always

The Fozzys

But I want to share something phenomenal and inspirational

Because the thing is….

You can live through this utter horror with Love

Your life actually doesn’t end

Our moments are magnified, more bright and more beautiful than before

And that’s why I’m writing this

I want to share that with you

Whilst also being real

Let me be very clear

I will never ‘thank’ cancer for the new lens with which I now see life

But I do want to share Hope and Love in the depths of suffering

And how I do it

Not all of the time, but most of the time

My life is now absolutely not devoid of love and joy

It is quite frankly brimming with it

My life continues with all the things I hold dear

And that Love continues to grow and grow

I seek and I find and I celebrate the small and the simple things in life

I often have to work really hard to do it

But I choose to do that every single day

My girls, Jasmine, Lily and Rosie spur me on

And I do it for them

They are my world (in case you haven’t grasped that!)