Mandie Stevenson: At the '˜acceptance' stage so chill time

It's been a busy month with mostly highs and happy times. After contemplating having time off from work I decided it would be good for me.
Mandie Stevenson's friends and family collecting for Breast Cancer NowMandie Stevenson's friends and family collecting for Breast Cancer Now
Mandie Stevenson's friends and family collecting for Breast Cancer Now

Since my diagnosis of terminal cancer I carried on working and found it difficult to stop any sort of normal routine which I had before my diagnosis.

I guess this is a coping mechanism – my way of keeping my mind busy and active to prevent myself from thinking too much about cancer and reality.

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I know we all go through different cycles in life on how we feel, depending on what life throws our way.

I am at the acceptance stage and decided to take some time out to chill.

My life is 100mph and I love it but things do, at times, get on top of me.

After the grand opening of the Maggie’s Centre at Forth Valley I decided to go along and see what all the fuss was about.

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It’s one of the best things I have done. In the short time I’ve had counselling from them I’ve learned so much about my thoughts and feelings but mostly, coping mechanisms.

I know how powerful a person’s own mind is and chatting through worries has taken such a weight of my shoulders. A positive mind brings so much happiness and smiles.

I have always coped well but my mind is in such a great place right now that I am ready more than ever to take on the world and my fight with the big “C”.

After months of difficult news, my latest CT scan was extremely kind and I have been given six months of no hospital appointments and no change in treatment.

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Six months to most people is a blink of an eye but to me it is a lifetime.

For every rubbish thing that happens, it makes me even more determined and appreciative of the good things. I loved spending real quality time with my dad at the Falkirk v Morton game.

Kieran at FFC kindly invited my dad and I as one of his guests. Family time is a high priority in my bucket list and I was so chuffed when he invited us along.

Massive thanks to all the kind FFC fans who donated to the Breast Cancer Now buckets and to my family/friends who volunteered to collect. Your support to me is invaluable.

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The same weekend my family and I were invited to a hospitality box in Ibrox for food and drinks.

What a special day we had together and one we will always treasure. All thanks to a very special lady well known in Falkirk for her photographic skills, Emma Gray.

I met Emma a few months ago at a wedding and was thoroughly impressed with her and her photographs.

Despite how busy she is I was determined to get Emma to do a photoshoot of my pug Frank and I.

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Pictures are memories and my biggest treasures. I have always believed in never giving up on something you really want.

The kindness I have received from lovely people in Falkirk has blown me away and I am proud to live in this community.

On another note, I have been loving the sunshine we have been getting lately and seeing the local parks full of happy kids and Frank loving his long walks.

Sunshine brings a smile to everyone’s life. I was lucky enough to spend one of the sunny Saturdays we had at Brierlands Farm in Stirling with my good friend Tracy and her kids Haidan (4) and Lilly (1). They are both characters, and despite thinking we would chill in the sunshine I spent the afternoon chasing Haidan around the park. I loved it. In life it’s the simple things that are sometimes the most special.

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