Hark The Herald Angels Sing

This week I went to a carol concert at Mutley Baptist Church. My 9 year old sister Ella is in the choir. She is the the school choir & the 'green squad' choir which is another choir in her school which she had to audition for. It was really lovely and again made me feel really festive. Ella really loves to sing at home she doesn't stop and apparently I was like that when I was younger to believe it or not. Ella goes to the same primary school as myself and I was also in the choir and had the same teacher which is pretty weird...shame i'm no beyonce now because I would love to be able to sing. I love singing Christmas carols and every christmas time me and my family attend a carol service at church. We are not hugely religious it is just a tradition we have done for years. LAAALAAALAAA

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Always smiling x

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It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

This year we put our decorations up on the 1st, my younger sister always nags my mum to put them up before but it's always a no as it's too early. My mum is a real perfector when it comes to our tree. 

I have been travelling a lot these past few weeks to Birmingham and Bristol. Obviously we went to the malls and they had beautiful decorations. When we went to Bristol cribbs causeway they had a beautiful ice castle outside the mall with a ice rink and snow everywhere it felt really Christmassy and definitely gave me & the girls a festive feeling. 

 

Also last week we all went to my aunties for tea and mulled wine to decorate her tree...when I say all I mean 12 of us. We had Christmas music blaring and it was a lovely evening. 

This year I have also decided to decorate my room a little bit. I have bought a lot of these decorations from poundland and tesco. You may recognise the little reindeer ball as I received it as a present from Kath and her family. It was one of my advent presents from when I was in hospital. If you didn't read that post, here is the link. Christmas Surprises

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS ☃

Always smiling x

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Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

This month is childhood cancer awareness month and my aim is to raise as much awareness as I can. CLIC SARGENT are a great charity for supporting children and young adults who are affected by the evil C. I am going to be doing something very exciting to help raise awareness. CLIC SARGENT have contacted me asking if I would be interested in doing some radio interviews and writing press releases for local papers. I have just sent a draft this morning and am waiting to hear back. 

CLIC SARGENT are an amazing charity and have been chosen this year to be one of ITV1 TEXT SANTA charity's. If you don't know what this is, it's a bit like children in need but six different charities are involved instead of just the one. It is airing ON FRIDAY 20TH DECEMBER AT 8:00 PM. It is important to raise awareness of childhood cancer and CLIC SARGENT are amazing at supporting as many children as they can. I know this because they give me so much support. I have mentioned CLIC SARGENT in a lot of my blogs and they are well known of in the UK. Me and my family love to support CLIC SARGENT as much as we can. Next Tuesday 17th we are going to be taking part in THE BIG BUCKET COLLECTION at our local Tesco store. There are also CLIC SARGENT christmas badges being sold at JD Wetherspoons & Lidl, they are £1 each and all proceeds go to the CLIC SARGENT Sargent charity. 

UPDATE : Me and mum raised £227 doing the BIG BUCKET COLLECTION. I want to thank everyone who helped out. Also this afternoon I had an interview on BBC RADIO CORNWALL and it was a success, although I was really nervous. I managed to raise a lot of awareness about CLIC Sargent.

DO SOMETHING SPECIAL THIS CHRISTMAS!☃

Irradiated Blood

I was rooting through my medical box and found a leaflet called: Information for patients needing irradiated blood. I forgot all about this. So thought I would share it with you readers and give you a sort of lesson or learning post. 

As I had a stem cell transplant last year, if I ever need blood transfusions in the future I have to ask the medical staff if the blood I am receiving is irradiated before it is transfused.

What is irradiated blood and why is it needed?

Irradiated blood is blood that has been treated with radiation. (by x-rays or other forms of radioactivity) This is to prevent Transfusion-Associated Graft-versus Host Disease.(TA-GvHD)

What is Transfusion-Associated Graft-versus Host Disease?

It is a rare but serious complication of blood transfusion caused by white blood cells in the transfused blood. A very small number of these cells may see the patient receiving the blood as 'different' and can cause a severe illness or even death.

Which patients are at risk of TA-GvHD?

Patients receiving transfusions of family members.

Patients with an inherited immune system disorder.

Patients who have developed an immune system disorder (Hodgkin's disease)

Patients who have had a bone marrow/stem cell transplant.

Unborn babies and babies needing exchange transfusions.

How does irradiation work?

Irradiation of the blood prevents lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) dividing and causing harm.

Is all blood routinely irradiated?

No. Red cell and platelet transfusions are not routinely irradiated and need to be irradiated 'on demand' for patients at risk of TA-GvHD.

What if blood is needed in an emergency?

Although irradiated blood is recommended, if I receive a small amount of non-irradiated blood the risk of TA-GvHD is very small. In serious emergencies there may not be enough time to arrange for blood to be irradiated. The medical team will judge the balance of the risks.

I have a card that I carry around in my purse just incase anything was to happen to me. I also have stickers on my medical notes to ensure all medical staff are aware.

Always smiling x
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