1979 -1999

I will condense these 20 years as much as possible, following Mum's death Dad stayed with us for a while then returned home to the family bungalow with lots of memories.  Eventually through mutual friends he was introduced to a widow, Pat and they married in 1985, I credit her with giving Dad a happy second marriage and he is now 91, and Pat in her 80's.
Mark and Lisa went through school and went on to get employment and then meet their partners.  We had a surprise one family gathering when Mark bought Tracey home and she queried the date on a bottle only to realise her and Lisa shared the same birth date.
Unfortunately by 1990 my marriage was breaking down and following a divorce I then went on to marry Chris. In 1992 we became dubious owners of a derelict property in Spain following his brothers death.  We have since turned this in to our holiday home and have spent many happy hours there.  It is an ongoing project as it has a lot of land and we have Olive and Almond trees which need managing and there is always a new job each visit.
I had not had a proper job since having my children as my role was to stay at home and look after my ex husbands business and manage property so in 1994 I took a job with Norwich Union Healthcare which I thoroughly enjoyed and stayed with them for 15 years until my retirement.
In 1998 my son Mark married Tracey and my daughter Lisa and her partner Colin gave me my first Grandchild a boy, Bradley (now Brad). Lisa and Colin married in June 1999 and we had the pleasure of looking after Bradley whilst they had a short honeymoon and I was delighted when he started to walk during his time with us.
As my Mum had died from Bowel Cancer I thought I would be as aware as possible, helped by deciding to have full Medical screening checks at 5 year intervals from the age of 40, in the summer of 1999 I had the screening and was called back due to the faecal occult test having a positive reading. After another check I was referred to a Consultant and booked for a colonoscopy in November.  We spent a month in Spain before this appointment and I can honestly say I felt as fit as a fiddle although looking back I had a sort of indigestion discomfort and sometimes felt the need to go to the loo but not be able to go.  In the back of my mind because of the Health screening I did not consider these as symptoms of Bowel Cancer.
As I had Medical Insurance as part of my employment I had my colonoscopy on the evening of 5 November 1999 in Sarum Road Hospital, because of everything we had been told Chris had carried on with his normal work schedule and was away at the time and Lisa had taken me in and was coming back for me.  Unfortunately from being very blase before the colonoscopy Mr Shepherd then appeared at my bedside to tell me that he had found a tumour and would be calling Mr Lane a Colo rectal Surgeon that night.  My first need was to speak to Chris before Lisa came in and then had to hear the news too. 
Chris came home the next day and the weekend went in a blur of telling people, trying to come to terms with what to me felt like a death sentence as I didn't know people got better from Bowel Cancer all the while trying to carry on as normal.
I was given a date for surgery, in those days there was no scanning or planning just straight in for the operation on 20 November 1999.  I decided to carry on at work to keep me occupied for a while hoping to keep life 'normal' as if!
I made a good recovery from the operation and came home after 7 days with the knowledge that it was recomended I would need Chemotherapy once I had fully recovered.
I am pleased to say that by Millenium Eve I was well enough to go on a treat that Chris and I had planned long before this happened and we had a brilliant time on the Pride of Bilbao which had gone up the Thames as far as Greenwich where we saw in the new Year, 2000.

1949 - 1979

I was born 8 March 1949 in Eastleigh, Hampshire a Railway Town, that I have lived within a five mile radius, my whole life. Dad was a Train Driver and Mum stayed home, my brother John was born two years later to complete our family. My earliest recollection is of going to see the Queen's Coronation in 1953. I then remember being dragged to school as I hated it so much. Anyway the years went by and Mum and Dad bought a new bungalow when I was 9 and this was then in a relatively unbuilt area and I recall we were allowed out to play all hours, all weathers. One day my brother had to run home and get a ladder because I was stuck up a tree. Another day we tried to April Fool Dad by telling him we had broken his green house windows, unfortunately before shouting April Fool we had both been smacked.
Life drifted on and I attended the local Grammar School but still hated it and was more than happy to leave with 3 GCE's and get on to work. I met a boy at Youth Club and went on to marry in 1971, my two children came along in quick succession, Mark in 1972 followed by Lisa in 1974. We moved house twice in the next couple of years then just after Lisa's 5th birthday Mum was taken ill and that is when Bowel Cancer came into our lives and has never really left it. Unfortunately she had been told by her GP that she had haemorrhoid problems so never really questioned any more, she was taken in to Hospital for surgery but never recovered and died from Bowel Cancer on 1 May 1979 at the age of 55. My Dad was devastated but as a family we had to pull together. This photo was taken at Lisa's 5th birthday party when we had no idea how ill Mum was.
I will cover 1979 - 1999 in my next post.

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