I never expected motherhood to be challenged by cancer, but during my pregnancy that’s exactly what happened and on top of that it all happened during COVID, I’m pleased to say we have a lovely healthy beautiful daughter Connie.
However, my Bowel Cancer was only just the beginning with an emergency operation to remove my tumour in January 2022, and 2 days later I was fitted with a Stoma. Reggie my son was always by my side and I told him I had a naughty ball that needed removing.
I’m pleased to say that I’ve now had the stoma reversed and living life.
During my time of wearing the stoma I had to use a disabled toilet and was confronted by a lady who was very rude, just because she couldn’t see my disability she accused me of being inconsiderate, I’d had a really bad day and it’s not my nature to respond but I actually said just because you cannot see my disability it does not mean I don’t have one. I wear a Stoma to which she was horrified and apologised but the damage had already been done.
I’ve set myself a challenge of raising awareness with the Little Purple Sticker Campaign which is about raising awareness saying “Not All Disabilities are Visible”. I would love to have these stickers in around 50 establishments by the end of 2025, that could be a pub, restaurant, coffee shop, shops, the work place, anywhere that have toilets I would just love to know that they have a sticker on display.
The Hummingbird Centre have been great enabling me to get the ball rolling, they liaised with Colostomy UK <getinvolved@colostomyuk.org> who provided all the information that needed to be displayed and on 15th January Reggie and I visited the centre and put together a display in one of the toilets with stickers on all the other toilet doors in all 3 of their buildings. With Mechelle’s help being my point of contact for the stickers The Hummingbird Centre is behind me all the way to enable me to achieve my challenge.
If you would like to help me reach my target, please contact mechelle@thehummingbirdcentre.org.uk who is keeping a list of all the names so that I can send out the stickers and say thank you. Mechelle reckons we will have no problem because the community of Bicester and further afield are amazing and will get behind the campaign for sure.
Written by Nikki our Guest