A NECESSARY APPOINTMENT

I don’t suppose I am the only one who cannot understand why people miss hospital appointments without good reason.  I know it is very difficult for many women to walk through the door shown at the top of my collage, but today I had an appointment for a free mammogram and as there are many women in the world who have to pay for such an examination and cannot afford to do so, it would be foolish of me not to turn up.

Yesterday, when I told Gill, my friend with whom I am doing A Year With My Camera, that I was going for a mammogram today, she wrote back:

“Regarding tomorrow - a doctor friend of mine warned me before the first one that it was akin to putting them in a sandwich maker - a comparison only a man could make!!!”

I mentioned this to Caroline, the radiographer who actually performed the mammogram and she said that the machine had been likened to a sandwich maker, a panini maker and also a mangle, but actually today, because we were chatting, it didn’t seem that bad.

She was rather surprised when I asked if I could take a photograph of the machine before she started, so I then explained about Blip - and how it works.  Afterwards, she and her colleague were interested to hear that we have a Blip Pinktober, so said that if I rang in September, they would let me know when they were having a display at the hospital in October, which of course, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I could go and take photographs and do some advertising for them.  I told her I would be happy to do that, so have noted it on my calendar.  She also said that she would be telling her father about Blip, as she thought he would enjoy taking a photograph a day - it’s called “networking”!  

Brighter Futures is a charity that supports the staff, patients and families of Great Western Hospital in Swindon and community health services across Wiltshire. Its aim is to raise money in order to provide care to patients and an appeal was launched to raise £2.9million to provide radiotherapy treatment in Swindon rather than having to travel 30 miles each way to Oxford.  £2,153,034 has been raised so far, which is amazing!

This seems a good time to remind everyone that you can click on this link so that mammograms, funding and care can continue, especially for those who cannot afford to pay - and not just during October.  Thank you.

I am dedicating this Blip to my dear friend, H, who is having treatment at the moment and who is a real inspiration to me and to many others.  

“And once the storm is over,
     you won’t remember how you made it through, 
          how you managed to survive.
You won’t even be sure
     whether the storm is
          really over.
But one thing is CERTAIN.
     When you come out of the storm,
          you won’t be the same person
               who walked in.
That’s what this storm’s all about.”
Haruki Murakami