carrie's Story

In 2018 when I returned home after 8 years living in Australia, the last thing I expected to hear from my parents was what followed. My parents told me that dad had been given a diagnosis of throat cancer. It was such a shock for the whole family and so difficult to come to terms with. I remember feeling so grateful to be home at such a hard time for the whole family. Dads treatment started very quickly and after 8 gruelling months of treatment, Im so grateful to say he was given the all clear. To be given the all clear was all we ever hoped for. The difficult part however can often be the months to follow this where people hope to bounce back quickly, the reality can be somewhat different. After months of de-conditioning, the long term effects of treatment such as fatigue and for dad it was difficulties with eating and swallowing, it soon became apparent this would be a long and difficult road to recovery. This can be hard to deal with especially when trying to stay strong for family and get back to things like full time work. Suddenly no more appointments where you can ask questions, people are often left to navigate this part of the journey themselves. Thats why charities like Maggies are so important to ensure people have someone to talk to, share experiences and ultimately feel they are supported for as long as they need.  Maggies has done so much for so many people and is vital to the emotional well being of patients so helping to fundraise was an easy decision!

Following this journey with dad and seeing how important support is during recovery, I trained as a cancer rehab physio so I can now offer patients a safe place to come and have a positive experience during their recovery, where they feel empowered to become stronger and supported outwith the walls of a hospital.​ I will be running with Judith Paterson who I work alongside of. While not running with someone in recovery from cancer we hope to both represent all the many clients, friends and family we have who simply cannot achieve this distance. Yet!