WHAT IS THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGLETS?


In January 2015, following a routine check by my vigilant GP, I was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.

As a Brit living in Sydney, Australia since 2008, I realised over the following days just how many of my friends and family were scattered across the globe and different timezones.

The Fellowship of the Ringlets was originally just a tremendous pun and the title of a closed Facebook group I created to keep those distant friends and family in the loop and worry-free.

But over 12 months, my little group somehow grew from 80 to 800+ and became a veritable band of brothers, a support team like no other and a true Fellowship in every sense of the word.

Their love, laughter and rallying cries have been the greatest tonic a little ringlet'd cancer-face like me could have wished for.

The following letters, musings, incoherent ramblings and occasional bouts of bad language are for them all.

Welcome to the Fellowship of the Ringlets.

VC x

Thursday 12 March 2015

* POST-CHEMO - ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES


Sydney sunrise from the balcony


Dear Fellowship, 

Morning all, just a quick update from the Connerty boudoir - what a treat! Just to reassure you that all is well on day 3 post-chemo.
No dramas to report and thanks to the always-one-step-ahead Cathy Walters , my flat has more pharmaceutical paraphernalia contained within it than a scene from Breaking Bad, so i'm fully locked and loaded, should there be any unexpected mishaps. In fact, if you feel a mishap of your own coming on, then pop over - I'll have you cleaned up in seconds!
Luckily the anti-nausea drugs are working a treat and I'm feeling pretty good so far. Following my friend Fishy's advice and eating little but often which seems to be working - an empty stomach is not a chemo patient's friend apparently! Bit knackered, but it's been a fairly full-on couple of months so i'm not even sure if this is chemo-related or just the luxury of having no appointments this week to dart to and from on a daily basis! Am sure this will ebb and flow over the next few months - chemo is irritatingly cumulative - but for now, I feel good so I'll take that as a win!

In other news, www.fellowshipoftheringlets.com is now live on t'interweb! Yikes! My gorgeous friend and queen blogger extraordinaire, Nicola Daniel has been a total legend in helping me to get all my Facebook group posts contained in one easy-to-read place so MASSIVE thanks to her, largely as my only contribution to the process has been to confirm the name of the URL I wanted, which wasn't really that challenging...

Thanks for all your good wishes and messages this week, they've all been outstanding in their encouragement and set me up beautifully for the Chemo chair. Special on-the-ground praise though goes to Matt, Jez, Vix and Cath for being such an awesome foursome and Team Cheem #1. 

Legends, one and all.

Love,
VCx

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