Forgiving myself

Tags

Abu Dhabi, attitude, ego, encouragement, forgiveness, help, hope, love, struggle, survived

Seems a strange thing to say, but there are 5 steps in removing my huge ego. Well probably 6. Earlier this week I was so hurt reading that someone had been given an opportunity speak and I was not even considered. It got me thinking. What’s wrong with me, that what I had done wrong. What was in the way, what could I do to help other people by talking to them. Then I started thinking, what makes me so special that someone would want to use me to speak anyway. Who am I anyway. I went down this spiral of self condemnation and by the time I was finished I was so low and disheartened I did not want to see anyone. Communicate with anyone or even think that there was anything positive I can do in/on this planet.

I have a lump in my throat writing this.

As I wallowed in self pity I then had to get a grip of my self at some point. This morning (my dads 79th birthday) I started to think of things maybe I needed to get rid of that maybe in the way of me blessing people in that way. My hope in the future is that I would like to stand in front of people and encourage them that they maybe even would want to hear what I had to say. It made me think this sentence “who am I anyway, that people would want to hear what I have to say) so arrogant maybe.

When your in pain, chronic pain like mine. You constantly (I mean that, it never ever stops) all you think about is how to stop it. How to live moments where you don’t feel pain anymore. Of course that’s included sentences like. “Just die, your of no use with pain anyway” sorry for my honesty. I need to be honest with myself here. This is NOT about anyone else. You must know that really I could not be any lower right now, I don’t work and you have a lot of time to think when you don’t work. Yet I do a lot in the home except working. I get the shopping, find wood to keep warm look after outside the house and many other things at home. All of which I do with my wife in mind.

Yet I am feeling that there is something that I need to get rid of in my life, something in the way. I have been feeling ostracised by my siblings, but surely change starts with someone. So I did a search on google this morning. Ways to improve myself. That’s when I realised that it’s perhaps me that’s the problem. That I am not kind enough, not honest enough. To proud maybe even my Ego had gotten that big that people could not actually see who I was. The people I love don’t ask after me, yet my wife said to me this morning. That she had watched a programme that reenforced to her that she could never ask how I was to often. That’s so true, if you truly know someone you will ask after them. You will want the best for them, but I realised one thing this morning. I don’t even know who I am.

Yes I am kind, yes I always want the best for people. But how can I help others by standing in front of them if I can’t even help myself. Am I always going to blame pain, is pain really that serious that it stops me seeing the wood for the trees. Cancer has ruined much of who I am. But it’s time to stand, it’s time to look at who I am and REMOVE the bits that are in the way. That took me to the google search.

HOW DO I REMOVE MY EGO

I am not the Wikipedia on everything. So where do I start.

The Huffington post listed 5 steps.

1. Practice forgiveness and Letting go .

2 practice honesty and being open.

3 surrender my need for control.

4 Enjoy silent moments with yourself.

5 Practice Gratitude.

Well this are the 5 things I am going to be working on going forwards. Number 3 is for sure the hardest for me. Except I am going to add a number 6.

6 Think less about me and more about others.

Have a great day, and remember it’s not necessarily someone else’s fault. It could be a change you make in you that makes the difference.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Everything you read, are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. People share

with others, if it meant something to you, it will to some

one else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post!

Will you?

Copyright ©2018

Dad, I am sorry my ego stopped me from seeing you yesterday, but I hope you have a great day today, and Happy Birthday. Thanks for all the times we do share together.

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The acceptance bridge.

Tags

achieve, desire, destiny, encouragement, future, games, hope, invictus, life, love, pressure, survived, transplant

Wow, the meeting I had today; maybe I will tell you about ‘the man in the mirror ‘ one day. But hey not to fast I need you to know about some other things first. Not least being a blog I must write called ‘Perspective’. Maybe a tool that’s used to get to the acceptance bridge. Imagine if you will, a bridge in front of you, the bridge leads to somewhere else. Yet your struggling to cross it, medication, pain, hurt and stubbornness are in the way along with, hospital visits, more medicine, distraction, feelings of failure, and thoughts of giving up. Wanting to be who we were bing the biggest and deepest crevasse between you and the bridge are there for a reason.

You see, people see the bridge as, a bridge to far. The last effort and what would remain of yourself when you get to the other side. Well that was me anyway, and I can’t see that I am much different to anyone else. The acceptance bridge has worry, uncertainty, despair and fear on the bridge all of which we need to face and move away from. Yet some of what’s on the bridge will be on the other side also. Crossing the bridge is a very pivotal point in our lives. People always want what we were and not what we will become. Yet what we become has many gifts. Perseverance, experience, hope, love, and faithfulness. There are many more gifts across the other side to. We will have been honed, moulder and made into a quite possibly better you. Your experiences will have taught you how to be strong. That tears are ok, that it’s ITS OK TO NOT BE OK that many things we were are ok to be in the past.

What we hope for, what we dream of. The things we experience in our lives help us to be able to Empathise with others where if we had not been where we were. Then how could we possibly be able to.

The acceptance bridge is special and no bridge is the same they are all unique. No one one can walk over your bridge. ONLY YOU! No one can take your place it’s your bridge made up of your life, your choices and things you have beaten conquered and helped people through. You are amazing that’s for sure, but I want you to believe with me that crossing the bridge means you will be empowered to do things in the future. Your experience is what will help you across.

The bridge means this, Accepting who you were and looking forwards to who you are and will become. Because once you accept, what was. That enduring that in your life has meant you are a new you and a better you because of what you were. What’s the point in regret anyway. Let’s look forwards to what lies ahead on the other side of the bridge. Embrace it and move forwards knowing you past is not a part of your future but it has helped you become who you are today.

Accept who you were and allow yourself to look back, but only to see how far you have come. You may not be as strong physically. But your stronger in other ways because of the choices others made and you so you have become the diamond you are. Walk across the acceptance bridge and embrace who you have become.

stop trying to be who you were, and accept who you are. God accepts you, so why won’t you. Life is Gods gift to you, what you do with it is your gift to God.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com
Follow me on Twitter
@fonzmark
Instagram
@fonzymark
Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Everything you read, are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. People share
with others, if it meant something to you, it will to some
one else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post!
Will you?
Copyright ©2018

Be kind to yourself.

Tags

destiny, encouragement, energy, faith, friends, hope, life, Oscar Wilde, relentless, struggle, survived, trending, twitter

Do you ever do that? Worry about what someone thinks of you, then that changes the course of your day. Your month or even your year. Words are cheap, yet they can have a lasting effect on someone’s life. What you say to yourself can be unhealthy, even damaging to yourself. Maybe you value another’s opinion to highly, you stop doing what you want to do because your worried about what someone thinks of you.

“To love oneself ” whote Oscar Wilde “is the beginning of a life long romance!”

Well I am going to stop chastising myself, stop changing my direction because someone’s opinion is different to mine. My opinion matters. But more than that, being restricted by someone else’s standards. Because you don’t want them to see you. Putting on a face all the time, and not allowing myself the moments of ‘not being ok’ that sometimes your not happy and the constant pain does indeed sleigh the giant from time to time. That it’s ok to feel something, to feel something means an incredible thing. It means you have something that can’t be bought, you can’t see it, you can’t borrow it, or be given it. Yet something more powerful than you would believe.

PASSiON!

If you feel it you have a drive others don’t, yet passion comes from integrity and doing what you believe to be 100% honest and true. No non. You either have passion or you don’t. You can’t do anything to get it. It’s a gift.

So in short I owe it to myself and everyone who will read this. To be myself, and to be ok with not being ok. That people actually like the normal mark. The mark that has integrity. (Thanks Rob Fischbeck)

What ever it is you do, don’t cut your nose off to spite your face. Embrace what you may learn and move forwards being kind and gentle towards yourself. People will like the real you, I know I have tried it many times.

Mark

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

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@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read, are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. People share

with others, if it meant something to you, it will to some

one

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2018

Life and death.

Tags

encouragement, faith, friends, health, hope, love, loved, Peace, weakness

Over the last few days I have been breaking my heart, the loss of my friend from my school days has really ripped into me. So I have had to go through a process of elimination. To take each step as I find it, yet realising such a hard lesson. That friendships (some at least) were never meant to be permanent. It is indeed right to compare this to a tree.

Our Damson tree

During my journey through life, I have expected to much from people due to my willingness to give so much. Yet I find in this time of deep sadness at a friend from schools death. That I have wasted so much time being disappointed! It’s my fault I have been this way. I expected to much of those around me.

Taken from Simons Facebook.

I have said many times. “That if you have more than 5 true friends it’s to many.”

Take a tree. We will use the tree as an example of people in our lives. That some people we meet are like leaves, that it’s beautiful to see them. But they are there for a purpose (maybe bear fruit) and a short time. The time could be as long as 6 months but one day you won’t even see them again. A gust of wind will come and their life will take a new direction and they will actually be “gone with the wind”

Others are part of the tree but through periods of no rain.(not seeing each other) the twigs break off and carried away by some way that may not be nature. Maybe a dog picks it up and moves it somewhere else. Not everything will go the way we want it to. Because there are to many things outside of our control. People move and you lose touch. Yet you remember them with such fondness. As you get older you know more people, and of course more people will have come in and out of your life.

My wife always says, “it’s the people who are prepared to push the limo when it’s out of fuel that are true friends” even some people at work we find out are actually real friends.

One of my true friends is without doubt a root that holds your tree in the ground. There will not be a time when we lose that. Your parents and siblings should be those roots and your faith should be the tap root. The strongest root of all.

My mistakes in life, are always that I expected to much of people, disappointment and low feelings of upset and of loss of joy.

Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life” but that’s not correct on it’s own. The next part reads “No one comes to the father except through me” things are great to have, and I have enjoyed things a lot in my life. Experiences, home, love, and patience. Yet I have wondered in my life, why people don’t do what they say they will. Because it’s something I do my best to do.

Well let me start again, to move forwards with no expectations rather that than the disappointment I have had all of my life. If in life your expectations are exceeded, surly that is kinder on yourself than expecting more than you were ready for. We are all growing and just because someone grows apart, or in a different way, or even place. That does not mean it should or could be hurtful. It comes back again to our own perspectives then doesn’t it surely.

Love what you have right now, but don’t expect something or someone to be in your future because that may not be in the master plan.

I remember going and watching Oasis at Heaton Park in Manchester. Wow what an amazing experience that was. Yet I can’t stand the group. My wife made a sign, her mum Norma died at age 63. We sent the sign forwards as she grew up on the same estate as the oasis brothers did. The sign read.

“Norma would have been here, but it was not a part of the Master plan”

So my friend, thanks for all the times we shared. Thanks for the love you gave in your life that you chose to end. I won’t forget you. After all you were the first to say hi by that tuck shop. Brigsy. You never truly found peace, you always were looking for something else. But what you looked for always shined, people that were fun. Yet now it’s time to say goodbye. but knowing that now for sure you have found peace. You can rest now Si.

See you soon Brigsy! but not yet.

Fonzy

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Everything you read, are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. People share

with others, if it meant something to you, it will to some

one

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2018

Depression.

Tags

cancer, Compassion, depression, encouragement, hope, life, live, love, together

Today’s not a day I want to repeat, the feelings of giving up and jumping off the planet are all consuming. No one can see in our heads and if there was a door I would say. Please don’t open it. My mental health it has to be said is not right, the list is long as to why. But I guess it’s normal for people, and I won’t be the first to feel like life’s not worth it. Thank God for my dogs that follow me absolutely everywhere. Accepted without judgement. There are things going on in my life and finding a lump in my body has just messed with my Melon. I am struggling really badly right now. The sun is shining, yet all I can see is darkness and negativity.

Normally my blog posts are to encourage others, but today I am weak. Feeling low in worth and feel like jumping. I am holding on but only just, is there anyone out there with experience. That they have been where I am maybe.

I guess it’s all normal, but I don’t like it and I don’t like life either. I feel like I am on a raft in the middle of the sea and all I can see is a storm. Pain is a constant and while I have made in roads to be a good influence on others right now I could happily just leave the planet with no regrets.

I feel worthless right now, almost like I am in the way of others. I have become depressed with the constant stabbing pain. I can’t escape it’s there always. When I go to sleep, in my dreams and when I wake. It’s like I have been buried in pain and it grinds away your happiness.

Why would someone who has fought so hard to live end up with a want to die? Only driving in my TVR does the pain disappear. You can’t do that all the time.

Maybe I have written how I feel just for me,

but it’s here for the world to see.

How long will it be for me,

To live a life with warmth and know no pain.

It’s my 50th yr and it does not even feel like it’s something to celebrate. How strange after such a long fight. Then the thoughts of what I have found, what is it. Please not again, surly not again.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read, are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. People share

with others, if it meant something to you, it will to some

one

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2018

Time for yourself.

Tags

desire, destiny, encouragement, energy, faith, hope, loved, mo, PTSD, struggle

Man life’s hard sometimes, you think you have got through the hardest part and your faced with another curve ball. I know because I have had one thrown at me to. Infact I am working it out right now. The thing is, it comes down to the people you trust, can rely on and love. Sometimes those people are not family, sometimes the people we most trust are people that we love. Who we love are the family we choose. Don’t beat yourself up if the people you love the most are not your blood family. That’s ok, it’s ok to be you.

Sometimes the right thing to do is what you think it is. Right now, I am taking a break for my own well-being. But sometimes we need to take time out to be the best we possibly can be, that’s not a bad thing at all. What matters is to be the best, not ok or good but great or the best we can be.

For me it’s time to deal with the issues that Pain has created, what’s happened to me and the road to recovery. The constant pain, creates dark places, some people may think me weak. Well that’s possibly true right now, for sure I need time to heal and I hope this will help other people one day. But how can that road be walked on until I have recovered from the problems caused by treatment. How can I stand and encourage other people if I have not walked many different paths. I see the issues I face right now as steps, you can’t look at the whole journey, it’s to much for the mind to handle and to much for the body.

Phycologists talk about elephants. They ask the question. “If you were to eat an elephant how would you do it”? Of course the answer is not all at once, but one piece at a time. It’s not possible to eat an elephant all at once and for sure will take a long time to eat which helps to lower expectations on how quickly you will heal. This coming from someone that gets frustrated at how long it takes to get served in KFC, that filter coffee is not instant and extensions take months to complete. I can’t stand waiting, yet the longer you wait the better the job will be. Cutting corners is not the way.

It’s like tyres on a car, the more they wear, the less efficient they become. We as people live in a ‘get it now’ society. We have credit cards, and new cars are easy to get. If of course you can afford the monthly payments.

Relationships with people take time, and if we don’t make time then we will never improve that relationship. People you love I guarantee you make time for, and the people you don’t understand I would hazard a guess you spend next to no time with that person at all. Yet time is the most important thing in life, and it’s something non of us know how much time we have. So it’s best to use what we have, not sit and wish things were different. How will they be if no effort is made. Someone said something to me last week. When I talked to the person about time, that they had been busy and surely rest would be order of the day. The response was ‘time is for filling’ how right that is. The time we do have we must use or lose it.

Time is like land, we can’t make any more of it. There is so much, and it’s up to us what we do with it.

What we do has an effect, be it immediately or in years to come. I don’t really want to go into what’s going on with me, but I do want to say that I am being kind to myself. I am making time for me to get well and overcome with tools that will help others in the future. As youngsters we called each other names and one we used to use as kids is tool! “What a tool”you have heard it said right. But have you any idea of how long it takes to make one. It’s actually a long process and the better the tool the longer it takes.

Time for you helps you to recharge and become a better you, it’s vital. We are all facing something, but the key is to make sure we help ourselves the best we can. That we are kind to ourselves so we can be a better us in the future. Beating ourselves up, is not a great use of time. But we do sometimes need time on the hills to reevaluate what’s important in life and who. Time for you makes you a better you.

So shortly me and the girls are off to see my parents at Brock bottom. A beautiful place, where my dogs can enjoy the water. Time is a healer, it’s necessary and for sure is an opportunity. Without time how can a relationship be nurtured. Nurture who’s special to you, don’t waste your time with people who speak badly of you or don’t give you time. The people that love you won’t make excuses not to see you, they will make reasons to see you. Be kind to yourself and others.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read, are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. People share

with others, if it meant something to you, it will to some

one

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my olwn, taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2018

Trust rely on and love.

Divorced people are amongst the most lonely in the world.

Tags

cancer, encouragement, faith, Families, family, friends, happiness, health, Hodgkins, hope, life, love, survivor

A divorce is like a death, it is for sure the same and certainly no one will understand unless they know the hurt that’s felt, when someone they love dies. I would like to think that all people marry because they love each other and believe that to be case in most marriages. It certainly was for me, yes that’s right I was married before as was my now wife.

When someone gets divorced, they carry hurt, Pain, and a feeling of failure. In my own experience it’s hard to see people siding with one or the other. No one truly knows what’s gone on except the people involved. Yet all that the people experiencing the separation yarn is what they got married for. They yearn love, and they look for a way to get rid of the pain. That’s why you see so many people drinking to excess, taking drugs and perhaps even ending their own life because they don’t feel it’s worth living anymore. I know how all that feels, the desire to not feel the hurt anymore.

You hear friend say that they are looking forwards to their own life changing events, a baby, marriage, a christening, you want to feel happy for them so so bad. But you just feel like the loneliest person in the room, everyone does not understand you. They just see what they thing we should be doing. To love someone is the most beautiful thing, yet in divorce it so quickly turns to hate. Everyone seems to see solutions where all you want is for the Pain to go away. The talking stops and the thought that you ever loved that person just seems so inconceivable.

I mean what is it we all want in life?

I would say that there is only one thing on this earth that has ultimate importance. It’s a concoction that we all crave to meet this end goal. That life gives us that one thing. It comes through, faith and love. Consideration for others, friendship. It comes through giving, through laughter and being around people that care about you and don’t want something from you. It comes through hugs, from having a good family. Yet someone going through divorce will not feel it, they have so much more to overcome before becoming happy. That’s it isn’t it, that we all aim to be happy in life and to find that balance has a high value. If not the most important thing in life is to be happy.

Everyone of us can be that small part of that concoction for some happiness. My challenge to you today, is that you can be a part for someone’s happiness. That someone who is enduring a divorce or a loss needs our love not our sympathy. They need our arm around them to tell them that they are important, they are loved and have value.

I think the key is not to judge what has happened, or who’s at fault rather love the person. Remembering that rejection which is what divorce is, can result in devastating consequences. Not to long ago a distant friend of mine (our electrician) committed suicide because the divorce was so messy. Going round to see him with some ring donuts and phone calls to lift him. We’re not enough, or maybe there just we’re not enough people that helped to lift him up. I cared about him and did my best to help him to come through. But ultimately he was not happy, that was missing in his life.

Our girls puppies

Happiness was not a part of his life, rejection took over and Gary could cope no more. That’s what we need to nurture in life. The situations and people that bring us happiness, and the feelings that go with that. Happiness is a priceless gift and one to be cherished.

The point of this blog is to remind you of what’s important, happiness. Bathe in it and enjoy it like the new morning sun. Happiness is peace, and peace is acceptance. Those 3 things are without doubt a recipe for a disease and stress free life. I have experienced the latter and for sure seek happiness over anything that’s going to rob me of it. If it’s not going to bring some joy in the end I tend to steer away from it. Life’s to short that’s for sure.

Have a great week.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read, are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. People share with others, if it meant something to you, it will to someone

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my olwn, taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2018

Higher your standards.

Tags

achieve, attitude, desire, encouragement, facebook, happy new year, health, help, hope, love, motivation, twitter, Writing

2017!

What Has that meant to you? Are you a better person at the end of 2017 than at the beginning? As you reflect on your year, have you had a good effect on the world. Or have you gone through the year just paying the bills going to work, to find you owe a little less on your mortgage than you did in 2016. Are you happy to step or do you want to stride. You know neither is wrong right? You know that what you choose to do is ok and that your choices are not wrong. Just different to everyone else’s.

What’s in your mind as you live each day? To get through it or to become a better you, to learn from the mistakes you may have made. Remember, if someone else thinks you made a mistake. Their standards maybe lower than yours, you may have a completely different way of thinking to them. Opinions are not wrong, because they are theirs and not yours.

I have made many mistakes this year, I have had personal struggles and for sure made efforts to be a better me. That means I may have moved on, or maybe had the same struggles over and over again because I have not highered my standards.

If we never higher our standards and always have the same ideas, we will just go round and round in the same circles as you always have done. At one point in my life I was happy with a tiny little stream, until the day I realised that it was as much work to look after a bigger pond than the tiny stream I had. We had a bridge, we still have the same bridge. It’s just that the area the fish have to swim in is a lot bigger. 5m long infact. Which actually is the exact length of the old one, it’s just it’s deeper and has a far bigger volume. We have fish in the new pond that were in the old one. But I like to think that they enjoy being in the bigger pond more than the small stream. We have moved forwards in my opinion, creating something better for the fish.

Because we have higher standards we are able to have bigger fish in there. It’s more enjoyable for us and hopefully more enjoyable for the fish also. I think quite possibly when we do have higher standards, that other people have a better time aswell. Yet my first stream was amazing, better than not having a stream right. So that’s my point. Doing something good is most certainly better than doing something bad. But what ever it is you do do, maybe it would be a good thing to improve on that in the future.

What you did this year may not have been bad, but for sure 2018 brings you new opportunities to be a better you. You have the chance to do something new, be someone better. To higher your standard is a special gift to the world and yourself. Yesterday will remain in history, yet today you have a chance to change your tomorrow.

My challenge to you is to be a better you than you were in 2018. I know that’s what I will do. I will exercise more, care more, love more and higher my standards. Will you?

Have a great 2018 and here’s to being better than we were, not accepting what we have become. But being a better us in 2018.

Happy new year everyone.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read are better based on my own experipence and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Pleople share with others, if it meant something too you it will to someone

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Thank you,

Tags

cancer, Christmas, facebook, faith, family, gift, hope, hospital, love, survived, survivor

Thank you all for being here, for your faithfulness in reading my posts in this blog. You all mean a lot to me. When I started this blog 2 years ago, I hoped that my writings would bless one person or perhaps even save a life. Well it’s done that and more, so why do I keep on writing? Because I am hungry for more people to be affected by positivity in cancer. That the choosing to do/write something makes a difference.

I always say to people, that doing something is so much more affective than just thinking about it. I think we can all say here that I do and don’t just talk about it. But yet I feel inspired because you read, because you reblog, like and comment on what I write. Many times like now I never know what words will be written and what order they will be written in. Many things have happened this year including the birth of Faiths puppies which has taught me so very much. That life’s precious and that there is no point in wasting this gift of life.

My advice this Christmas, don’t keep doing something if it makes you unhappy. Break free and be happy, even if your in a relationship where you don’t talk. Start talking, start saying nice things instead of making things worse. Say something nice even if you don’t feel like it, and appreciate what you have. Be happy for the haves, not the have nots. Because trust me where ever you are on the ladder of life, you will always have those choices.

Show respect to who ever it is that you meet, even if they are sat on the street. You can if you like do something for someone that did not expect it. Sometimes we don’t feel like doing, or loving even. But I say do it anyway. Bust open that thief called pride and start to appreciate what you have not the have nots. We all have and have not. So this Christmas I want to say thank you. Just that you are you, and that you encourage me to carry on by reading.

So merry Christmas to you and your family and I hope you all have an amazing time. God bless you all and thank you for all that share my thoughts to, it means a lot.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

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@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read are better based on my own experipence and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Pleapse share with others, if it meant something tou you it owill to someone

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

I feel like saying goodbye.

Tags

BBC, cancer, desire, encouragement, hope, mo, motivation, personality, survived, together

I can honestly say if I knew life would be like this that I would not have had a transplant at all. I have been patient and although the doctors said I will be better after a 2 year period. I am not. Everyday I do my very best to be upbeat and helpful and encouraging to people. Yet I am sat here feeling sad with a lump in my throat. It feels unfair to go through so much and to give with your whole heart yet still feel like this. I know for sure other people will feel the same way but are afraid to be honest. Well I am if one thing, not afraid, everyday I stand when my body says no, everyday I smile when my body says cry. But some days like today, I have to allow myself the honesty to myself. Everyday I do my best yo lift others, but it’s not possible when I can’t (yup I said it) even lift myself. My spirit is torn and my mind wonders how long I can carry on feeling like this. I keep myself busy so as the pain depletes, you can’t feel pain whilst focused on something else.

Well pain, today you win. You have dragged me to the depths I did not feel possible. I have very strong pain killers, OxyContin and gabapentin. Sometimes I need two of each just to complete a day. What people’s opinions of me don’t seem to matter anymore. My dignity has been taken and another’s opinion has near no effect on me these days. What did I have the transplant for? To render me unable, to make me depressed. Well I fight both of those each day, aside of that encouraging others that they can as well. Because if I can you can right.

Yet although my honesty is unrivalled here, I still have a small smoulder that needs fanning to make the fire. So now even though all is seemingly against me! I will look for positives where I am unable to see. Not even the birds sing today, but like Job. I will rejoice anyway, I will say thank you for what has been given to me. Life where I should have non, warmth that I should not feel. Acceptance of what has been taken away and gratefulness for what I still have. This is a true battle today, one I must be grateful to have. Because without a battle, how can you win. Giving up means defeat, slumping because of the torment of pain. But NO I will not, I will win the battle and understand one day why it had to be won. Today I have the victory, because Jesus paid the price.

So with a thankful heart, and a grateful soul. I say thank you lord for the prickles, because without the prickles there would be no blackberries.

I hope you win your battle today to.

Smile at someone, you could help them find some sunshine.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read are better based on my own experipence and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Pleapse share with others, if it meant something tou you it owill to someone

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Don’t let anyone steal your dream!

Tags

can, desire, Do, encouragement, facebook, faith, foundations, GOD, health, hope, life, Lord'sPrayer, love, meaning, rises, somebody, survived, survivor, twitter, world

Dear life, thank you for the doubters. Thank you for the people that thought I can’t. Thank you for the people that want to discourage me to remain in a box they see is fit for me. Thank you for the people that think a way is ok for them, because they are the people that make me want to be something. They are the people that make me want to and not try to. People talk to me about what they want to do, and I rarely hear people talk about what they will do.

One thing I love to do in my life is to encourage other people. For many years I have considered what to do with my life, what business to be involved in. Yet, it’s always been staring me in the face. It’s not about a product, or bad circumstances. It’s about my state of mind, about what I am am determined to do. When you are determined to achieve something for sure you will achieve it. It got me thinking about the things I have been determined to get, the things that I have been determined to get but did not achieve. Negative? For sure not. It also hit me thinking about the things I wanted to do and which of those I achieved. Then the things I have been told in my life I can and can’t achieve.

Is life really about circumstances? Does disease really have any right what so ever to take away your dreams. Why have you not got the car you want, why are you not in the house you want to be in. The watch you want is still in the shop and you are making do with one that’s perfunctory. You want to be in a detached house yet you live in a semi. You hate your train journey to work, your job is not what you want. You feel depressed, your in a life that you feel your being treated unfairly or that you have been given a bad hand that life has not treated you right. Who on earth has the right to do that, why do you do that.

I love it personally when people tell me “you can’t” because I am very stubborn which makes me want to prove people wrong. It makes me want to say. “Really, well I don’t feel the same way” I weight trained 3 times a week for 2 1/2 years. NOTHING would stop me. Why was that though? When we bought our second house together, it HAD to be detached. When we bought our dog car it had to be a certain car, yet a few years previous I made do. Although maybe we allowed our circumstances to dictate to us what that car would be.

It’s time for change, but how what will that involve. A job? An online business? Well I have my ideas, I have the solution and so do you. It’s staring you in the face as well. That you and only you have the answer.

Raise your standards, because you will always get what you HAVE to have. Never in the world have people had what they want in their mind. YOU have the opportunity to achieve, there is no possibility here. There is a reality here, that you have right in front of you. Commitment to the end goal will bring an achievement. Doing something over and over and over and over again. What ever that is that your committed to you WILL achieve it. 7 years ago I became passionate about getting well. I did not just want to be well again though, I wanted to be cured. To rise up once again and to help others to believe that they can also have a better day tomorrow. Yet I believe that what matters the most is TODAY, not the next day. Get rid of the people in your life that hold you back. Show me a man that said I could not beat cancer, I will tell you now they are no longer in my life. Get rid of anything that holds you back, it does not matter what that is.

“Who has the right to stop you” nobody! Yet you stop you all the time because your standards are to low.

I want you to know today, that what you have failed at in the past does not make you a failure. What makes you a failure is not getting up again and perusing your passion. Perusing your dreams. Dreams are normally more than what you have, unobtainable. But I want to challenge you today to stand up and say “I am going to fulfil my dreams” see you are the problem, that your thinking, your mind what you choose to be. Will actually be.

Einstein said “imagination is more important than knowledge”

What do you want? To be influenced, or to be a person that influences others? That’s my question to you.

I have been frozen, I have been held back by others opinions. You have the power to be who ever you want to be, you have the power to bring into your life what ever it is that you want in your life. There are a lot of complainers, excuse makers. People that don’t mind settling for what they have, people that let things happen to them.

No ones journey is easy, but you do have the chance each day to ‘Become’ you have the choice to think what you think. Success is a journey that starts with what you choose to think about. You really think you can be the best if you don’t do anything about it. I want you to believe today, that this one sentence is true. “That anything is possible”

If you don’t try then where is your hope, hope is something that becomes faith. I started writing a book some time ago, I for sure have been plagued with stumbling blocks in my life, but no more than someone else has. What’s wrong with me is that I have listened to some negativity in my life. That my thoughts that I have chosen have led to some of my failings. We have all had bad things happen to us, but your thoughts, hope, belief, and getting back up that matters. True failure is not trying at all.

Don’t get in line because other people are, dare to make your own line. The one you dream of.. I guess this blog could be deemed ‘the law of attraction’ get rid of the people who hold you back and start your own line, be a line maker not a person that’s happy to que. my wife will read this after she has watched her Derby day. What’s funny about that is that she found herself queuing on 2 occasions today. Both times she chose to leave that que and come home to enjoy home instead.

You are what you think you are and my challenge to you is, that choose not to talk yourself out of your dreams like I have for 30 years. That you stand and act on your dreams. That you drop the negatives. You have learnt the fear of failure like I have. Well today I am am starting a new line, a line where I am going to stop listening to the negatives even if they come from myself.

You have a lot to offer the world, you also have a lot to give to yourself. Step out of the boxes the world puts you in, because your an amazing person with more to offer than you know. What people say about you, does NOT have to become your reality.

Do what you love, just do that. That’s your new line. You deserve to find your purpose! You don’t deserve to hear the play it safe speech. Because non of us will get out of this alive and that’s a fact, so we might aswell do what we love right? Keep stepping forwards, keep being positive. Keep practicing, keep believing in your dreams because they are there for a reason.

Write 5 reasons why you won’t give up! Make them your reasons to carry on.

Have a great week,

I look forwards to hearing you comments.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read are better based on my own experipence and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage yoou. Pleapse share with others, if it meant something tou you it owill to someone

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Why ya gotta owe something, to get something.

Tags

awareness, encouragement, faith, friends, given, happiness, hope, meaning, owe, partner, stories, together, weakness

It’s how people see things that are not saved, they think that if someone gives to them that they must owe them something. Wow that sentence hit home for me, because I like to give yet I receive aswell. It’s a hard lesson for someone that’s a giver to receive graciously. For sure I have made many mistakes in my life, some catastofic. (Spelling I would like to say is catastrofic but I can’t spell it.)

No ones perfect! But yet a really valuable lesson is to learn that to be given to is as beautiful as the person receiving something from you. Yet we hope the person would receive the gift and accept you want nothing in return. I have learnt in life that people want to give to me and I take away that pleasure for them sometimes. I love the feeling I get when I give to someone and even a small thing can mean so much to someone.

There begins the line from another Rocky movie

Que Rocky Balboa accent!

“Friends don’t owe, friends do because they wanna do”

Those nurses saved my life, didn’t they? Or was it the whole thing, the transplant, my faith, my friends? Or was it not the giving of all the people that were in the whole process. I digress.

The point is that giving in its self is a gift, that humility in being given to and allowing that person the beauty of the feeling we all get when we give. I believe that it’s as important as giving itself. It’s for sure something I am learning and stepping forwards to get better at it. You know I still don’t think many people get why I blog and get nothing for it. I see people going to work and earning while I blog to encourage others yet for no reward. Every time I pick up this I pad I want to use it to help people. So am I actually one of the people that feel like I owe, because the treatment saved my life? Well the answer is possibly a bit, but that’s only because I want people who are going to face what i did, gain from my experience possibly. That’s why I give.

We are all blessed in our own way, maybe although I don’t reread what I have written out loud very well (so I am told) but I am able to a small degree at least. Help people to find the strength to carry on, to find a way when they feel there is no way. To articulate what’s happened in my life to encourage other people. You can’t do much when your isolated so I did what I could do with what I had in my hands.

My friends I must conclude by saying, if someone wants to give to you. Allow them to feel good about it, allow them yo enjoy their giving. But also if you want to give don’t be afraid of rejection, be happy you are able or in the position to give. Don’t take people for granted, recognise the good things about them. But most of all. You ain’t gotta owe someone, to give something to someone.

Positivity changes lives.

Tags

cancer, Christian, desire, encouragement, friends, GOD, Hodgkins, hope, Liverpool, Lord'sPrayer, love, marrow, memories, Peace, southport, survivor, weakness

I did a bit of a test yesterday, I was feeling low and I have to say depressed. I was sat at the table and almost felt there was no point to life. Yet, I have done things for people that have lifted their spirits yet mine were low, I was really down and was punishing myself for not being an,e to do things. That my wife is now the bread winner in our house because of cancer, I was low that my energy levels are still low, my pain is still high. All those things got a hold of me.

Then out of the blue my friend sent me a link, it was about hope and that if you let go of hope then what are you anchored to? Something else perhaps like fear, or helplessness. Self pity, anger. The bible teaches us that perfect love casts out all fear. That fear is a product of our own making. Then I started to realise that even if I didn’t have faith, I had named my dog Faith. Knowing that even if someone was looking after our baby that they to, while they had her would also have faith. I started to think about all the good things I had and the top two were Faith and hope. You can have no money, no possessions and yet still be blessed with Faith and hope.

So you all know I can’t have children or so I am told by the doctors, yet I always look around the house to child proof it for when we do have children. I have hope.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Heb 11-1

Now those of you that know me well, will know that when I beat cancer the first time that I bought a lab. We called her faith because I believed I would beat it, I hoped that it would be gone and I believed it would be gone. I want to go back to when I was 4 years old. My parents were poor and they could not afford a bike for me, they told me that if I hoped for a bike then I should pray for a bike and ask God for a bike. My hope for a bike was so much greater than my parents knew, that night I believed I would get a bike and told God I would like a red one please. Every night I prayed, and asked God for a red one. Then one day, someone told us about a bike my dad picked it up and I still remember seeing my red bike with solid tyres by the gorse bush in the back garden lent up against the outside toilet. You see to have faith you need hope.

I had hope I would beat cancer, which gave me faith. Which was the name of our dog. So effectively we always had faith, and we say her name everyday. Yet even with faith I still had to hear those words again. “You have cancer” yes that’s right a second time it came but this time things would be much worse. I would have to have a Bone marrow transplant.

I have to say my faith took a hit and I did become very low exhausted and felt ripped off somehow. Yet still in the back of my mind I had hope, hope that I would win. I started this blog and wrote as my first post.

“I am Mark a cancer fighter, and I will win”

I had hope, and after my treatment was finished I had a fertility test that told me I was infertile and would never have children. We would never get to call our daughter Lily over to us, never get to hold our baby and nurture him or her. If we had a boy he would be called Harry. So we chose a different path and faith had puppies and we kept one. We spent 7 weeks nurturing those pups, letting them go one after the other.

Barney,

Reggie,

Hope,

Bonnie,

Trevor,

They all had their own little personalities and for sure made friendships in the box. If you want to see more of the antics in the box we used #BigPuppyBox

We kept one of the puppies and the one we kept we named Hope, although my wife did change her name to Lily Hope we have Faith and hope in our home and believe it’s a special way to live.

What ever happens in your life, never let go of hope because things hoped for is the substance of faith. With faith in what we don’t understand we can rise above our circumstances.

So yesterday I wrote a positive post. I wrote that I had beaten cancer and that I was 2 1/2 years out of transplant and that if I could you could. I stayed anchored to hope but I chose to do that. We now have a 9 month old puppy called Lily Hope, now we always have hope. But you can have hope also, you just have to chose it over fear. Because does not have a positive ending where even in the darkness hope can bring light and help you have faith that you will win.

What ever you choose I hope, you choose faith. Because that’s where a new beginning starts. Here is a picture of Faith and Hope as I write.

My state of depression was lifted because I chose hope. What will you choose dear friends?

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read are better based on my own experipence and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Pleapse share with others, if it meant something tou you it owill to someone

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

You are what you say you are.

Tags

blessing, hope, live, marrow, meaning, will

For me I believe in blessings and curses, I believe what you say is what you will be or become, and that your words can go even deeper than that. How many times have you said it “I am useless” “I can’t” well I am with you, although I expect more from myself these days.

Having been faced with losing my life, I know everyday I am also faced with life itself. That the gift of life is so very precious and knowing that, that it’s important to make each day count all the more. That’s why I make a conscious effort to speak life into people’s life’s including my own. Say you can’t, you will be right. Because the universe heard you say it. Say you can and you will be equally right. Positivity is possible every single day. If positivity is something you choose, then it’s something that will happen in your life. Choose to gain for yourself and not give to others you will live a pointless life with no meaning and for sure you will not feel the beauty of giving.

The words you say, will work themselves out in the universe. Take me for instance, I said I had cancer once, I was 15 I knew no better. But I did indeed get cancer. Twice. Maybe I got it because I said I did anyway, or maybe I just got cancer!

Choose to say nice things to people, even with no money what so ever you can change a persons life. You can make a person feel good, and perhaps even help them to have a positive outcome where they may have previously not thought it possible. You have the ability to speak life into people’s lives. YOU have an opportunity to not only bless others but to bless yourself and your family but what you choose to say and do.

A person I have known for some years, was told that they were nothing, a failure, and someone no one would want to be with. Unattractive and many other demeaning words. It’s so so sad that people feel they have to be that way towards others. Seemingly to make themselves feel better, but I can assure you the person that spoke those words will have harmed themselves and the feeling of (making themselves feel good) will not have lasted or even happened.

You have a choice every second as to what you do with your life. To love, to hate. To give it to take. What ever you choose remember there is a consequence. Some consequences are good, not all are bad. What will you choose? That’s the question?

Fonz

Bless someone I dare ya.

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read are better based on my own experipence and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Pleapse share with others, if it meant something tou you it owill to someone

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

How far you have come.

Tags

encouragement, hope, internationalstressday, Stress

Some encouragement for you today.

Source: How far you have come.

It’s easy to forget, what family means.

Tags

birthday, easy, Families, family, forget, hope, love

You know where you have come from, you know what you had growing up. But while we are children (in my case anyway) I used to have wants and used to regard some things unfair. Not being able to have that mars bar, that ice cream, that bag of sweets. My focus was on eating and what I could get. Yet we did not realise the sacrifices that were made in your family to have what you did have. 

It’s easy to forget how hard it was to get to the position you are in, and your children may never realise what you sacrificed to be where you are today. In my case it was later on in life when I realised what family is actually all about. That the love I had within me was being used the wrong way. That it was far more satisfying to give something to someone that needs it rather than to get something because you want it. Then I had a eureka moment, that that’s what love meant, that the word often used by my brother instead of “I love you” is the word family. That family although possibly not translated this way in the dictionary. Actually means sacrifice for each other. Giving because you love someone not always because we want to, but most certainly because we love that person. 

Working till 3 am, overcoming pain, smiling because every smile is a gift and a lift for someone in their life. It’s easy to forget what battles someone has faced to get to the very point they find themselves at. That their journey has had bumps in the road to. That doing for someone means that you are a part of something, that family means that you belong and that the efforts you have made are because you are in a family. We are all different that’s for sure but the feeling of love we have is there because of all that has been done in the past. The feeling a parent feels is overwhelming, you hear it said “a child only a parent could love” 

When me and my brother were growing up, I wanted to do and feel things how I thought I should. All children think they know best and I carried this on right up until my 40’s only the lessons in cancer taught me “you learn more when you listen”. Since then I have asked my parents many things and I have learnt much about them. My dad surprised me one day when he said he had made mistakes and asked me for forgiveness. 

Things have started to get a new perspective, losing a pet, loving a dog. They become family, and while some may say “it’s just a dog” you know they have never had a dog simply by calling him/her IT. I very much do my best to live a life where I love my dogs. Yes we have two. Labradors, but no children.  My wife and my dogs are our family, and it’s so nice to be a part of.

The word family means, unconditional love. It means sacrifice, it means going the next mile when you think you can’t. What my family is like is personal to me as yours is to you. But I will never forget in a low point in my life, my dad saying to me. “The Lord will restore the years the locusts have eaten” I could never see it before. Because to see it, dying to self was the most important.  Yet my wife and I will spend some time together in a cottage in Wales with my parents and our dogs really soon. I really look forwards to that, and don’t dread it at all.

That my wants were not the most important, that indeed what my wife needs is the most important. What my dad needs and mom needs are the most important. But I guess we all grow out of that immaturity, or is it just that the mars bar became a car. 

What I do know is that family is love, that encapsulated in the word family are many things that only your own immediate family know. The small things we do for each other are really what count. Not to count what was not done. That’s just a waste of time. All families have failings, but there are also some very beautiful things to be found in family. We just have to choose not to labour in what didn’t happen rather be grateful for what does happen. Family is precious, many say bloods thicker than water. But we also choose to love people that are the family we choose. 

So just take a moment to appreciate all that family means to you, be thankful for what you have. Because one thing is for sure, today is a gift so don’t waste it remembering your mars you never had. Remember all that was sacrificed so you could be you. It’s a wonderful life.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

 @fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Pleapse share with others, if it meant something tou you it owill to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.
You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

W

The mountains of Scotland.

Tags

Compassion, energy, faith, friends, Goodness, health, hope, Scotland, strength, travel, Writing

I am sat here as a new by to Scotland really. Even though I have been to the highlands. It was in the dark and nothing like our experience of today. I am finding it hard to find words to do this country proud. But I must start by saying how truly emotional I have been today. That we were able to enjoy the majestic mountains of Glencoe, the highlands and the small of the island of Skye we have seen today. I had always thought NewZealand to be the most amazing country in the world until today.  I have just merely been introduced to Scotland today. Yet we have so many adventures to encounter. Could Scotland actually be the most beautiful country “IN THE WORLD”

As you round each corner you see more than one mountain that comes into view, as you look up at the splendour faced by these naturally formed mountains. (The photos don’t do them justice) You feel small, insignificant and after a week of thinking about the right word to discribe them. intimidated. Intimidated in a gasp kind of way where you have your heart in your mouth, in awe that the world has such splendour in it. That a 8 hour drive had all this to offer, yet only now at 49 had I followed in my grandads footsteps. At this moment I would like you write you a picture. You see my grandparents loved travelling these parts, even though they lived in Redhill Surrey, they used to drive up to the highlands above lochLoman.  

They would get in the car, a beige Honda; always with them were  two chairs that unfolded. A table, a scrabble board, one of those blue gas burners you could buy for camping with the L shaped prongs. Theyunfolded so you could place their kettle on the top. Of course a kettle. A metal tea pot and my Grandma always had an old square tin that has had shortbread from a previous trip with some home made cake in it. They had pillows in the car so they could sleep anywhere. 

When my grandparents wanted a cup of tea they would pull over, put the chairs out facing each other unfold the table (wooden) and put the scrabble board (deluxe) on it along with the China cup and saucer. The kettle would be placed on the gas burner complete with the whistle to tell you when it was boiling. The water was then added to the tea pot, this was done by straining the water through a tea strainer. No tea bags for them, then more leaves added to the pot and left to stew. The tea would then be poured through the strainer to catch the leaves to make a truly British cup of tea.  Grandma would always have a tartan rug over her legs and they would both always have a smile. Sat by the side of the very quite roads laughing with each other, eating cake and drinking a lovely cup of tea. I feel like we are following in their footsteps and have imagined them sat in a lay by many times whilst enjoying time with my wife and dogs on this amazing island of Skye. 

Scotland it’s just one amazing place and we are so so pleased to be celebrating our anniversary together. Scotland, you are a dramatic, intimidating place to visit. We have one more week here and look forwards to feeling inspired and intimidated in the coming days.

Little did I know that when more of our friends came to visit, we would actually be doing axe throwing in this land. The wifi was aweful in Scotland, so we spent a lot of time talking with each other, enjoying this wonderful planet through eyes that for sure have been cleaned through a new perspective I now have. The love of the planet is just so completely and utterly lovely, enlightening, emotional, and enchanting. No wonder my grandparents came up here so much. 

The waterfall you can see in the photo above was in our front garden, yet it could not be seen from the window. All I can say is we will most definetley explore Scotland more, what a wonderful country Scotland is. 

Everyday we would leave the cottage, and drive slowly being careful not to hit a sheep. Everyday the same thing happened, we would scream with delight as we saw the bird of prey. Which of course made him/her fly off, leaving us with phones in hand still trying to get the camera on. Your phone all of a sudden becomes like a jumping bean. When just moments earlier it was all calm and peaceful somewhere on the dashboard. Every single day the same thing would happen till we eventually got some absolutley appalling pictures that were blurred and really disappointing to look at. Even seeing the birds massive wing span will never ever leave my mind, but that’s no good for you, is it. I am sorry we failed at our endeavours despite being perched ever so close one morning. Our shots were just laughable. 

​​

I like to think our dogs saw the magnificence of those wonderful birds. We saw a white tipped sea eagle and what we thought was a golden eagle to. A Kestrel, and I think that was awesome. If your Scottish, your country is amazing. May I say sorry to you all for not coming sooner. It’s like a world I had never seen before. Thank you Scotland we will be back again.

Fonz

A smile can change a life.

Tags

cancer, Compassion, dad, faith, gift, happiness, health, help, hope, Lord'sPrayer, love, not, passion, Peace, StevenHawkins, survivor, today, together, Writing, yang, yin

I always thought I would sink so I never swam.

Throughout our lives we are faced with opportunities. Some I chose not to choose and some I am so grateful I did choose. Like friendships, to go this way or that. Have you ever stopped to think; what would I have happened if I had chosen a different path. Where life would have taken us should we have chosen to befriend someone or not.

I remember once walking down a street and our eyes met we smiled at each other and carried on walking. Perhaps had I stopped I would not have the people in my life I do today. But is not about what we didn’t do is it. It’s about what we did do that chances our path. Or is it the not doing that takes us on a new path to the things we choose to do.

For me I am happy I never stopped that day, although it’s still something in my mind. Because without me choosing not to I did not sink. Or maybe that smile was just something we shared that made both of our lives better.

I adore smiling at people I think need some kindness. 3 days ago I smiled at a married lady with little hair. “You on chemotherapy” I said. She lit up and gave me a hug. It was like we understood and empathised with each other. It’s amazing how we can affect someone’s life just by understanding someone.

Only you can have that affect on someone. Only you can bring light into someone’s life. Never say you are not able to do anything, because even a smile can have a positive affect on others lives. You have the smile and ability to do that. Try it make someone’s day, choose to smile today. Let me know how that went in the comments.

Let’s affect the world with kindness.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

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@fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience)

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others.

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Pleapse share with others, if it meant something tou you it owill to someone

else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Nothing is the most important part of life.

Tags

achieve, awareness, believer, blood, Christian, destiny, encouragement, facebook, faith, gift, GOD, health, hope, love, muscle, nothing, strength, survivor

So what are your thoughts on ‘nothing’? Useless? That nothing has no use what so ever? The most important thing about you, is not what you have, but what is nothing about what you have. You are not really you are you? Your just a body, when that body dies there is no you because there is no space for you to be in. Driving a car does not make me become a car, and who I think I am is not what others perceive of what I am. The bible says ” so if a grain of wheat falls to the ground, so shall it then bear fruit ” that you have to realise it’s not actually about what you are that makes you you. But what you are not that makes you you. 

Is a house useful? I say no, it’s the space inside that’s useful. How can a house have a use if it’s not an empty space. Ok so we put things in it, but it’s the empty space that makes us able to put things in it. You are NOT your body, your so much more than that. 

People say to me, “isn’t it amazing how life gives us so much yet takes it away” life happens all around us and we can’t stop it. Yet what we can do is decide what we fill ourselves with. 

I believe I had cancer once to teach me that, but I did not listen. So I had cancer again to help me see it’s not the person that’s successful but the things they allow to come into their lives. A man that learns has to listen and allow change to happen. No one can be anything of use if we think that who we are is greater than anyone else. That’s called pride and that always comes before a fall. Or so we are taught. Life happens to us, because we are empty and allow life to happen to us. When you build something come bricks you are building NOTHING for life to happen. 

You can only be of use to anyone including GOD if we are empty of ourselves, and who we think we are. 

I absolutley love hearing people’s stories about the things they own. Only yesterday me my dad and my mum were clearing some of the garage out. An empty space that had things in it. I saw a box, a really really old box. I picked it up and asked my mum to tell me about it. As I opened it, it revealed nothing inside yet a torrent of memories were realeased from my mums memory. Non of the story could have been told were it not for that empty box. It’s nothing that matters the most, because what’s the point in being full of everyone else’s rubbish if there is no room in us for something that matters. Being full of nothing means there is room for something that matters.

Have a great day

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

 @fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Pleapse share with others, if it meant something tou you it owill to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.
You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Be who you are, who cares what others think?

Tags

achieve, attitude, cancer, destiny, encouragement, energy, faith, friends, hope, life, love, twitter

The most important thing is what you think about you, what others think is not actually your problem unless you make it your problem. From this moment onwards, my caring about what people think stops here. Impressive is being happy in your own skin, not wanting others to recognise that your ok or that your a good person. Actually why would you care what anyone thinks of you, as long as your ok with you. You will have made mistakes in life, and thats ok. Don’t give yourself a hard time for the mistakes you have made, move on and surround yourself with people that like themselves. Choose your friends wisely and make sure your around people that want to build you up, not drag you down. People that are content not to be something, will not help you grow. Growth starts with you, and the acceptance that your a good person. 

Be who you are, not what the world thinks you are. Because you know what, people will want you to trip up. I still don’t know what I want to do in business but I do know this. That I want to encourage people in their journeys. I want to lead people to success, even if that’s believing that they can beat cancer like I did. Believing you can starts with you and not what others think of you. What you are not, is a wasted sentence. What you did wrong is a wasted thought. 

Be positive in your daily walk, and make sure everyday you do something that builds yourself up. You won’t find multi millionaires in a night club being sick down a toilet. They will be in a nice restaunt eating good food with a hood wine or even an ice water. 

Be who you want to be not what others expect you to be. Because what others think is not your problem.

Have a great day

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Instagram

 @fonzymark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Pleapse share with others, if it meant something tou you it owill to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.
You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Sometimes you love a person, for all the reasons their not like you.

Tags

achieve, attitude, cancer, desire, encouragement, faith, fish, friends, hope, labrador, love, loved, relentless, stories

Sometimes you love a person, for all the reasons their not like you.

I might say some pretty random stuff in this post. I make no apology. It’s time to have a little fun, maybe be a little crazy and most of all smile. So here we go, here is a little story inspired by a sentence on ‘Brigette jones baby’ .

I wonder if it was just me that spent a long time looking for someone I loved the look of, that loved what I loved, that wanted what I wanted.  Spending thousands dating, then at the end of a night that you spent all week buying clothes for, that lasted 5 hours. You find yourself on your way home in a taxi hoping you would be sick in the toilet and not all over the cab windows. Then hoping shortly afterwards that you would not get the cleaning bill for the taxi but then ya did. Only to find you had no money and you had to go inside your own home to look for money stinking of sick. Along with kebab sauce dribbled on your shirt. I can assure you this look is also accompanied by a bad hair day to. No not you? Oh well that would be just me then.

That the one you were to love, was interested in what you were, not what you had. Yet one of the first questions was always “Do you like motorbikes”  not all girls do you know, in fact I would say MOST don’t. I found out quite early on in life that just because a lady (girl) said they liked Martini. That alcohol should be savoured. That not all men would like Martini, including me, especially as I drank a full bottle in approx 40 mins. It was actually the second bottle of alcohol I drank that fast. The first being one of ‘thee olde English ciider’  just before a party at 13 I think (sorry mum) both occasions resulted in huge amounts of sick. Thinking back I wonder why I ever drank again. Just to clarify I don’t think that any more I am just not blind drunk every weekend… quite possibly making myself look bad but there is some humour among the the honesty, I think.. I mean. Oh never mind.

I am one of the fortunate people on earth, that I found out what is meant by the word love. That just because you like to eat fish it does not mean that’s right for the fish. In fact it’s not fair on the fish at all, it’s selfish love. If you loved fish, would you not look after them and feed them? Love for yourself, that’s why so many get divorced, because they love the fish and don’t look at the person eating the food we don’t like. 

Ok let me be clearer, we all love ourselves. A short video I watched recently reminded me of that.  You giving  love to someone does not mean you love them. It’s the other way round. You love those who you give to. You see when you give to someone you count the cost. If you give because you love to give, you never count the cost. It’s just given, because you will always love those you give to. Because you love you right.

Only understanding these principles can we understand who cares about us and who does not. The love of my life, who just so happens to be my wife likes all the films I don’t. The tv shows it all. Yet we give ourselves to each other making ourselves vulnerable often. Yet in doing that we don’t feel vulnerable because we both know, there is some of us invested in the other. True love enjoys vunrability. People that look for a fake skin deep love will never have anything invested so it will always be weak and fail at some point. Possibly leading to divorce.

Oh how I wish I could upload what I have learnt and take the chip out and put it in a younger persons head. But it’s not like that is it. I can tell someone that, it’s really bad to walk backwards on a pavement and turn around. Because at some point you will turn round and be faced with a lamppost. We have to learn it all for ourselves. Even the books we read will still mean we will eventually find out for real in the life we have.

When you give to someone and don’t want anything back, that’s true love. You can love working because you get paid. But giving to someone because you want to is the most precious of gifts. So true love is because you love  giving to that person, not what that person can give to you. 

Love is not easy, but then if it was we would all know how wonderful it truly is to love

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.
You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Your a failure

Tags

age, cancer, Compassion, dad, faith, Families, family, foundations, Goodness, hope, longevity, love, rises, strength, unity, weakness, Writing, yang

Your a failure

But is not failure a good thing? There are many ways in which failure can be a good thing, a potatoe when boiled fails to stay hard. An egg when boiled becomes hard turning it into a hard boiled egg and coffee beans become coffee that we drink instead of a bean. Failure is only a bad thing if we don’t learn from it, find the good in the situation that we are in. My ethos in life is. “It’s better to do something, than to do nothing.” Many things in our lives  feel like they are there to hinder us and not help us. Yet for sure if we looked a little closer we could see something different.

People tell me they are depressed, people say that life’s tough and that it’s impossible to move on. That no matter how hard they try it’s not possible or that life has made them weak. Sometimes becoming weak is exactly when we can thrive and become what we are supposed to be. The potatoe is useless to us if we are hungry, if it’s not boiled. The potatoe has to go through a process to become useful. 

I want you to know something today, I want YOU to know that what ever you have faced does not make you less useful. I want you to know that actually what you have faced has not made you a failure but it’s brought you to where you are today. Failure is not failure unless you don’t learn from it. You will only talk about someone’s failures when they are a success, because how will anyone become anything unless we have known failure. 

You still have the same value as before life supposedly made you depressed or you got cancer. Believe me if you screw up a £20note and throw it in the bin, it still retains the same value as it did before. What people say about you, what people do to you does not change the value of who you are. Last week I was told a man could not use the internet because he had only a phone. That it was to expensive for him to have a good phone. Yet I asked Facebook and someone donated a phone and a tablet to the 88 year old man. You will only achieve what ever it is that you restrict yourself to achieving. But this blog post is written to tell you, that it does not matter what people have done to tread on you or run you down. Your value is the same as it was before. What ever your situation.

I got cancer and had to look after myself, give up smoking and make some adjustments in my life to remain cancer free. I lived with cancer and did not push it away, I learned that cancer was a part of my life therefore it never took a hold of me and took me down. A friend said to me once, you act like you are successful. “I am” I said “I beat cancer” the world wants you to be in specific boxes to be or not to be. But I want you to know, you have value and you always did and always will. You will never ever know what the dots will be to join up in the future. You will only know what they were when you look back. Only then can you see why certain situations were what they were. Because without them you would not be who you are today.

I am divorced, but I am also married to the most wonderful lady in the world, who I would never of married if I had net gotten divorced. If life happens our way how we perceive it to happen, we will never achieve what’s possible. Because we only think of what we believe to be possible in the box we had made for us by life. 

My best friend on this planet has a thriving business, it thrives because he said yes to carrying on a lot. His vision was to make a little bit of extra money. Now a great deal of people benefit from his business, but that also involved a lot of other people to say yes also. To believe that they had value also. You are so much more than a job title, or the words written on your CV your actually part of someone’s future. A part they are not able to achieve without you in it. 

Look at what you are, not what you where and remember that the value someone else thinks you have is nothing to the value you actually have. The bad you maybe experiencing will lead to something good in the end. Believe me.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.
You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Thank you cancer

Tags

bone, cancer, desire, encouragement, faith, family, friends, given, health, help, hope, hospital, love, loved, survivor, transplant, Writing

Thank you cancer.
Why not? I mean cancer has for sure helped me to see a world in a different way. I hope I can explain it well enough for you, that maybe you can see the world differently to just by reading this blog.  
In my world only my loving wife and my mom and dad truly know what life’s like for me. I am fortunate to be a prayed for man, which humbles me greatly that people take the time to pray. As I wrote that I phoned one of my dads friends who is in a nursing home who prays for me to thank him. People are so nice aren’t they. So on with this post.
If you suffer with pain or know someone that does or side effects from treatment this is for them, I just hope you can share it with them if you think it will help.
You see when you have pain, a useless one like nerve damage. It’s not something that can be changed, it most certainly will not go away by complaining about it or worrying about it. However there are things we can do, things that make life less painful even though the pain still exsists. I get told many times how wonderfully I have done, and can only thank God for the strength I have been given to carry on and the friends he has put my way. There are many things and words that can help us in life you know, just by putting a positive word into Google, or on my blog you will find something that will take your mind away from the pain you feel. So let’s take a word any word, an ordinary one and let’s see if we can help ourselves with one word.
BEE

So firstly from my own mind, what does the word Bee mean to me, well until just recently it could be an insect that stings and then dies needlessly. Pointlessly you may think. That could be the end, could it not? Or we could look at what a bee has it’s sting for that it protects its colony from predictors, that it makes Honey that’s used in so many different ways. In fact we find that some bees have heeling properties in their Honesy such as Manuka from New Zealand. We can take a photo of it and look at how amazing it is how it collects pollen, and by doing so pollinates other plants and even helps them to produce fruit. In fact without the bee, there would be no fruit at all on some trees. We can see the beauty that there is in what the bee does and how it looks all the time whilst doing this one thing, the pain we have feels less. Because we have looked at something in a different way. We have given ourselves a new perspective at that moment therefore helping our mental health and feeling less of the bad things for a short while.
Of course the Bee symbolises so much more now, being a symbol of anti terrorism for Manchester and a sign that we stand together against it.
Our two Labradors are amazing, they change how I feel and for sure help me with my own pain levels to. When I concentrate on them rather than the pain, it’s like I have gone through a period where I forgot I was in pain. Speaking of positive things, and doing positive actions make a differance in life, not only for the person that suffers but for the person that supports a person that suffers.
How you perceive something changes your whole life.
Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com
Follow me on Twitter
@fonzmark
Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com
Our support group on our FB
Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 
It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I
Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone
 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?
Copyright ©2017

I know what it’s like to eat salty bacon with tears.

Tags

awareness, bone, cancer, faith, Families, friends, Hodgkins, hope, life, love, partner, Peace, strength, survivor, transplant, weakness

I know what it’s like to eat salty bacon with tears.

I don’t know how many of you have just watched “Growing up with cancer” but I just did. Children that had the cancer i did, children that had to grow up with cancer and face things no child should. Well it took me back once again to that room where I had my stem cell transplant.  Kids are so resilient aren’t they, accepting of their situation and able to rationalise things and adapt. They seem to be able to deal with things quickly and efficiently. 

There was a young lad in the wards that became depressed and lost his appetite. He was unable to eat due to how he felt, he was angry and upset although he was uncertain of why he was so unhappy. Being depressed he was certain of. I know I was low and forced my family away from me, which is actually why I am writing this very post.  The family that wanted to be close to me I pushed away.  I did not allow them on the ward even though they could have really. I was so hung up on the word. Isolation. 

I wanted to give myself the best chance at beating cancer and living longer by not being around any germs what so ever. Well I want to put that right right now. Today should my wife’s dad be alive he would be 74. But cancer took him aged 59. I never knew him. But it’s made me realise I was wrong to be that way, that I should apologise to my family and say Sorry. Sorry for keeping you at arms length, and ask that you all forgive me.

Whilst in that room the chemo they give you, is so horrendous that you get hundreds of ulcers all the way through your body. They tell you that you are unable to eat, and that you would be better to have a nose tube to be fed through, and that exercise would be impossible. 

What I did in there I did for my family, I did what I thought I could to come through. I did press ups on the visiting chair that my wife used sometimes. I walked from the bed to the ensuite which was about 5 steps and back whilst having chemo moving all of the time and eating my breakfast not once but twice everyday. Sounds greedy right? Wrong. I would say eating bacon with ulcers in your mouth throat, intestines, all the way through to your bowl is not easy. You cry whilst eating making the bacon taste saltier. But every bite hurts like hell as it goes through your body making you not want to eat. Without doubt the easiest thing to do is to not eat, to choose nothing off the menu to sleep all day and not excercise. To give up. 

All I did in there I did for my family, and want to say sorry for not doing the things you wanted me to. It was wrong of me. 

To anyone that’s facing cancer or supporting anyone with cancer. What seems normal in life without cancer is most certainly not normal in a life during cancer. 

But I leave you with this, to do something is better than doing nothing, even if at the time it may seem like the wrong thing to do, it’s still better to do.
Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.
You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Family

Tags

age, banned, Bellamy, Christian, Compassion, Families, foundations, gift, Goodness, hope, longevity, Lord'sPrayer, love, Monkey, motivation, Paddington, passion, Presence, strength, unite, unity, weakness, yin

Family

Family does not have to be a place, it’s not something you get. Family is something you give, for many years I have missed the point till right now. No one owes me anything, no family member owes me. People that truly love don’t do it because they are a part of a family. They do it because they want to give NOT receive.. I personally know what it’s like to love someone, loving someone means you never remember what they owe you because they owe you nothing. If you think a friend owes you, then they are no friend. If you scroll through your phone and a person has not called you, that’s when you have to question if the traffic is one way.

I have this saying, that. If someone really wants to see you they will. It’s not your fault someone does not include you it’s their choice. One thing I have learnt of late is this one thing.

I have just bred a litter of pups, and at 16 weeks old our pup has just spent a week with her sister. They both have different personalities and the only time they truly love each other’s company is when they accept each other, warts n all.

 

Having dogs has also helped me to realise what true love is, and it most certainly is not what the dog can get from the other. It’s only when a dog accepts how another dog is and does not count the cost tat the love really starts..

we could learn a lot from dogs, but if nothing else what we should learn is. If someone has their hand out, the person they love is themselves. If the have their hand out yo help you up, their friendship is not just an action it’s a feeling. People love to receive or they give because they wanna give. What you have in your hand is nothing to what is given from your heart. Jesus paid the ultimate price to show us what love meant. Unserstand that, and you will have life.

 

enjoy your life with your hand out to help someone up, rather that a hand out to receive is when you will feel the true freedom of life.

Fonz

 

To give Life

Tags

cancer, encouragement, family, friends, GOD, hope, life, love, together, transplant, travel

To give life!!
At the moment we are looking after 3 dogs, although the other 2 are faiths pups you still follow them around guiding them to be good. The warmth they give my heart far out weighs the mist chief I find them making. Take this afternoon.

I am making a bigger pond for my fish of which I have 12 remaining. But that’s due to me not putting a net over the pond and a heron pinching one last night. So I am indoors sorting out cloud print or something on our Epsom printer… (Still no idea) the pups were outside. 

I am not silly, I know they make mischief but hoped they would be good. They normally play in the side garden, ripping up paper and snapping things. Anything is fair game. Take the other day I planted some climbers, only to find the plants half eaten on the grass. I said nothing and ent and got some chicken wire ( the plastic kind) and screwed it either side of the posts so no further intrusions of plants avoiding all dog chrime!!

The next day I came into the garden where I was confident I had sorted the issue to find the same plant uprooted and more besides and the netting ripped off. I looked at Lily Hope our puppy who tilted her head to the side in a (waaaaat) kinda way. Looking to cute to chastise. With a smile on my face… “NAUGHTY PUPPY”. I said. She looked at me satisfied with her dog chrime with a look of one upmanship as she waddled off.  No more has happened since. However. 

We return to the pond build and I had successfully moved all remaining 12 fish into a paddling pool ready for putting into their new home. Tomorrow. Whilst confusing myself with printer clouds and google chrome it appeared the two amigos ( sisters ) have been naughty and removed one of my fish and had decided to play with it on the decking. When I arrived they quickly left the area waddling satisfactorily down the path whilst I decided if I should bin the fish or do my best to revive the poor girl. 

Of course I opted to revive the fish, to my astonishment it now lives. My puppy and our friends puppy no doubt will still be partners in dog chrime, and I will continue to love them, and hope they find me some sort of  leader in the future. But I do rather think it best to enjoy that they are with us, and see their little lives as pleasant unpredictable additions to our family. 

Life is that, and no matter what your pain you can look upon the trials you face however you like. But you do have life which is a gracious gift.
Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.
You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

The love of coco the family dog.

Tags

agility, cancer, companion, dogs, faithful, happy, hope, love, pup, puppy

The love of coco the family dog.

We all dread the day when our dogs will leave us and I guess we all hope it’s a painless parting. So I want today to write about coco my brothers chocolate Labrador.

Never did I meet coco and not feel love, we had a friendship as did everyone she knew. Coco was amenable and would adapt to any situation. It seemed her duty on the planet was to warm hearts and take away pain through love and hugs.

When you saw her you would get out of your car as quickly as possible. Knowing her exuberance would end with a number 11 down your car door. 

Me personally I was always a bit rough as we played together, but I like to think she enjoyed it. 

You could never leave food around where coco was, or anything edible for that matter. She was quite partial to after eights, I was to find out after leaving them on the floor from the night before. My fault entirely – cakes – even birthday cakes, I believe a chunk of an 80th birthday cake was missing, when it came to the cutting!

Coco was known to eat cakes and 12 paper cup cake cases were found one day in amongst her doings.  

Some dogs especially labs are food orisntated. We all loved coco in this house, and could never imagine cancer would take coco.  

Our dog Faith adored coco and if we said her name in the house she would look for her eager to find her. She always got excited 2 or more miles away knowing they would play together. I am fairly sure coco thought she was male at times. 

Coco was playful and was always up for a laugh.

Coco was a faithful companion to her family and without doubt filled their house with joy and made a house a home.

I personally will miss arriving at my brothers to be greeted by Coco. Possible not the defacating around our pool table however. All the same, coco will be missed by many. So glad you got to meet Lily Coco. We will miss you and will always have a place in our hearts. Thank you for all the love you brought to us all. Love always Mark, Andie, Faith, Lily and Jenson.

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We will miss you Coco.

R.I.P.
XxxxX

Transplant 2 years in.

Tags

camcer, chemo, encouragement, hope, love, marriage, survivor, transplant, wife

Transplant 2 years in.

It’s incredible how things have changed from this day 2 years ago to today. 2 years ago today right now I would be having my first chemo in isolation having had my Hickman line fitted in the morning. I remember who was there for me, my friend Karl who was so amazingly supportive during my stay in hospital doing jobs for me back at our house. My wife is so impeccable at the detail wrote everything down from day to day during my transplant. Whist I don’t like to look back on negative things I just move on normally. But it’s reasonable to say it’s important to look back, so others who face the same can learn from my experience possibly. Your brain is a powerful instrument and I think shuts off from us the trauma we experience at certain times in our lives. That’s why my wife’s write ups are invaluable when looking back at my transplant journey.  For sure I don’t mind telling you I proberbly cried more in the first 24 hours in isolation than possibly any other 24 in the whole of my life before. 

There are two things you never need to chase in life. They are true friendships and true love. Both of which ironically we have no control over.  People that truly love you will be there for you as they were there for me. People that don’t really care about you will not be in touch with you at all. 

My Hickman line was playing up, although I don’t remember much about it. I made friends in that hospital that sadly I am not able to peruse due to hospital protocol. Dr Salem, Heather and Kim. The girls were like my Angels, there for me when ever I needed it. I am not able to get across to you just how amazing the people that work for the NHS are. They are committed and conscientious and vital to the health of us all in the UK. You will never realise how important the NHS is until you need it. There are some that disagree with me, but you have to remember that they do the best with what they have. 

If I have any advice for anyone who has this to face, don’t try and make your friendships happen. They will take care of themselves, the ones that are really important will make it through to the end. Aside of my family my wife Andie, Paul Benson, Johnny Wilson, Karl Boardman, and Simon Naylor were the people that kept me motivated. Phone calls not talking about cancer were a great relief in that small room.  Our cancer stories group which was small back the, had so many faithful people in it that were a great support. To name a few, Rob Fiscbeck, Liz Peters, Eileen Almond, our late friend Eileen Salmon, Judith Taylor, jean Anderson and Deanna Perich, were all good people and many many more that helped along with the whole Cancer stories group. My dad rang me everyday, if your reading this and your supporting someone in cancer. NOT talking about cancer is the best conversation you can have. 

You find out what’s truly important in times like these, aside of friendships. Peace with yourself, God and the planet is vital. What was can not be changed. But the future is in your hands and for sure you can make a differance in this world if you want to.

I guess what I am trying to say is, treasure what you have and enjoy what you have to the fullest. One day medicine won’t be my saviour, but I have and do know true freindship and true love in my life. I leave you today with a song Johnny Wilson gave to me when I went in for my transplant. The 3 weeks that changed me and my outlook forever. I only hope that someone reads this today and listens to this song and it helps you to realise the good you have in your life.

Be good to one another.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.
You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Mr Nasty.

Tags

belief, home, hope, hospital, love, lover, marriage, perseverance, together, university, win

MR NASTY.

It’s been a while, whist finishing all my projects someone I met who called round a couple of times. Said “finish one thing before you start another.” As I looked around I realised how much there actually was unfinished at our house. But is that the right way to look at stuff. I mean there is so so much we have done in our home to. Let’s start a list. 

Let’s call it inside out. 

Tiled the whole of downstairs,

Decorated throughout,

Ripped out double doors and made it a through diner,

Built an extension with vaulted roof.

Log fire fitted

Oak floor,

Conservatory built,

Indian stone placed around 360 degrees of the house.

Garage floor fitted,

Drains fitted

Stream fitted with fish and pump and furniture,

Rear garden created with shrubs and plants,

Side garden obtained and planted,

Seating area created,

Orchard started,

Front area planted,

Rear chill out shed next to the stream created,

Log store built in side garden to serve log burner,
Also dream car maintained to a great level.

Oh and all whilst beating cancer, twice. Don’t know if I mentioned that. 

There is a way to fail, but you have to believe that to. Only people that believe they will win, will. You see while we can believe we will fail, we can also believe we will win. People can see what’s not done, or see what’s been done. Yes there are some small piles of bricks, yes I have stuff that’s not moved yet. But there is also a porch that’s not built yet, and a stream that needs finishing (Well building) in the back garden. The roof and rear door needs fitting to the garage and a wall building. But I think it’s best to look at what we have achieved while we could have just let the walls cave in.

My point is, your words can have a devastating effect on people’s lives. But it can be devastatingly positive, or negative. The word devastating can also be positive but then you knew that right? Have you ever seen someone who’s devastatingly beautiful. I don’t mind telly you I have. That lady stole my heart so many years ago and she is the reason I live today, she is the reason all of what I have spoken about has been created.  Her devastating beauty stole me from me. But hey I needed stealing and if I were to start over it would be with you Andie. 

Thank you for all you have done, and all you will do. I ask also that you would forgive my failing as I am not perfect. But one thing is for sure you are perfect for me.  Every brick I move I move for you.

Forever yours

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.
You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Who you are.

Tags

facebook, faith, family, happy, hope, instagram, Puppies, religion, tmbrir, twitter

Who you are. 

Isn’t this what matters, who we are. In my life I have heard people tell what I am not rather than hearing the good that I am. It’s been tiring to change from what I have been taught, to what I believe now. But it’s true of society as a whole that people seem to focus on what we should be and not what we have chosen to be. Society wants to put us in boxes and have us stay there and be quiet. While acceptance for who someone is, most certainly something I have had to learn. Although I must have just accepted people for who they were as a child. We are taught not to accept certain people arnt we. We are taught that some ways are not the right ways and others are. 

Who are we anyway, that gives us the right to judge another. Should we not just be happy to accept another’s point of view and not change it. Should we not lead by example. Jesus said ” suffer the little children that come into me ” as children we are not consumed by any of the world. Time is all children crave, they only want things because of adverts they may see. 

A man should be strong and not cry says society. Yet I find the tender touch of a man is so much more appealing than a man that is arrogant and boistrois. Maybe that’s because I am boistrois myself. We have puppies here at the moment, and those puppies are showing me who I am rather than what I am not. They trust me, because the do not know anything other than love and tenderness that’s been shown to them. Their lives and what I show them in it will have an effect on them forever. These little guys just trust and love completely. How special that is, to love someone and not expect anything in return. That’s who I am, a man that gives not expecting to receive. I accept people, and dislike people that can’t accept who I am. 

Acceptance is something we have to relearn, after a TV and society has untaught  our innocence. 

There is nothing weak about showing others love and compassion. In fact I would say it’s a quality, how others respond is up to them. For me life is about paying it forwards no matter how it’s received. How someone chooses to be we should I suppose just accept even if it’s not the way we would be ourselves. 

Me I am sensitive, I cry. I can tenderly touch a new born puppy and look in the mirror and like who I am. I can be who I am, and be happy with that. 

Can you?

Have a great day

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.
You could change a life by sharing this post! Will you?

Copyright ©2017

Relativity

Tags

belief, depression, faith, hope, manchester, relavant, relavency, survival, united

Relativity

So is it possible, to change how we feel inside. Is not how we feel relative to our souroundings, is not how we respond relative to what we think and say things will be. Today I want to help you. Someone said to me the other day, that our family has mental health issues. I laughed inside, because I realised at that moment that the persons point of view was indeed right. That her family did have mental health issues, but then as I thought on the sentence and considered it. I realised that the sentence was relative to that persons experience and it was up to me to accept it as relavance in my life or to change what is relavant to us in our lives.

How many times have you said “oh no not such and such again” or “we have to go again” things we do and say in our lives are relative to our surroundings. So whose responsible for these surroundings, the people that suggest the relevancy in our lives. The throw away sentence of “there is mental health in our family” was a statement believed by that person. See my relavancy is this. We have strong people in our family. The two refer to the same thing, but we are taking from it what we deem to be relavant in our own lives. WE (Me and my wife) do our best to turn seemingly negative situations around. That’s why I write. One song we listen to a lot is 

We listened to it a lot when I was having treatment, and we still desire to have the relavance of faith in our lives. I tell my wife often how much I appreciate her, and that there is power in we. I personally believe that forgiveness is one of the most poswerful tools in the world and without it people can’t move on. It’s not possible to find a relavancy that’s stronger than the negativity that surrounds other sentences feeling s and actions. People have said to me “I am depressed” “there is depression in our family” well your right. Because that’s the relavancy you have chosen to adopt in your life. I prefer “We are surounded by fighters” 


Who you are in life depends on your own personal relavancy to situations, you choose to include in your life what ever you believe to be relative to you. One thing I do know and that is I prefer things and people that smile and speak positively. I find people like that relative to how I want to live my life. Now that’s not to say that your not supposed to feel grief, that your not supposed to get sad. Of course you are, again that’s relative to your own situation. If you have just watched someone fight cancer and die, your relavancy would be different to someone that had gotten a disease and chosen to give up to it and die. Trust me the two are the same in that they both involve the person dying. But the relavancy in the two situations are very different. 

LIFE in most situations is up to us, but the relavancy we choose is for sure 100% up to us. What we choose to be relavant to is in a situation is for sure our choice. What others say is their choice. 

My challenge to you is this, can you find relavancy in your situation that helps you today?

I hope you do.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Ps, I have committed to doing this for 365 days every morning, what I ask of you is that you share these blogs I make on email, facebook twitter, you can affect people by pressing a button. Please do that. I asked ppl to share yesterday 18/05/2015 at 8pm they did and 100 people saw my blogs in 2 hours. It only takes a click or two.

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright ©2017



#PuppyWatch

Tags

belief, belonging, childbirth, faith, GOD, hope, IVF, life, love, Puppies, purpose, tvr

#PuppyWatch 

So what’s the most amazing thing in life. I have just said it, its life itself. Judging people makes an unhappy life in my opinion, people like some church goers think that having a religion gives them a reason to judge. The hardest thing I think is to come to a point of acceptance for who someone is. To love them anyway even though you may not agree with another’s method. Well that brings me to answer the question as to why we have chosen to have puppies and not children. 

WE DIDNT.

Someone else chose for us, someone with a pen and paper computer and no logic. Someone that said we should have chosen to have children sooner. That we should have considered my wife’s age and mine and not left it so long. You see, when I first got cancer I was told my sperm would stop working, that maybe I should go and store some should I wish and indeed we wish to have children in the future. I was 41 when I donated and hoped one day that we would have children of our own. So I beat cancer and by the time I had regained some kind of strength I found it had come back and would need a transplant of my stem cells to preserve my life. The worst months of my life. All written about here in this blog. 

Sorry
My life has been consumed with hope that one day I would look face to face at my son or daughter. It was not to be and whilst my wife is fit, and has enough eggs we are being refused IVF unless we pay for it. Of course it’s at appeal and even though I have messaged the BBC and many other people no one seems interested that a system that has made me infertile cannot help us. In true Fonz style though. I have started a new journey, the one of new life through the puppies our Miriacle Faith has created. It’s a blessing in a different way. But still life. More people are being touched by the blessing of life because we fought the Evil of cancer. I don’t know about you, but it fills me with a sense of pride. Happiness that others will benifit because someone ticked the NO box. But I do still hope that someone somewhere hears my story who can help us. I will just keep writing and blessing people.

It’s nearly time for our 6pm #PuppyWatch where people will tune in to see their puppies. What a privalage that is, to know such gifts of life because of something that tried to take my life.

You can be anything you choose to be, but surely doing something is better than doing nothing.

Have a great day

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Ps, I have committed to doing this for 365 days every morning, what I ask of you is that you share these blogs I make on email, facebook twitter, you can affect people by pressing a button. Please do that. I asked ppl to share yesterday 18/05/2015 at 8pm they did and 100 people saw my blogs in 2 hours. It only takes a click or two.

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright ©2017

Our puppies.

Tags

cancer, faith, faithsworld, heathy, hope, lillyhope, Puppies, PuppyWatch

OUR PUPPIES

Wow,  how amazing it is to see these little ones grow. So here is the story. I got cancer, I beat it so we bought our dog Faith. I think that would be a stunning enough story in itself. But now we find ourselves at something called #PuppyWatch https://m.facebook.com/Faithblackwell/ is our dogs site where we show all the puppies new movements, the funny little things they do and how they are growing. The puppy watch hash tag above will take you to anything that’s been published by faiths world. It’s funny isn’t it how cancer has given me so much. The last 2 days we have had attacks from people you would expect support from, but yet more and more people are learning around the world about faiths journey and mine by a simple symbol. 

#PuppyWatch

Our lives have literally become enveloped by these little guys. In turn by recording the feeds on Facebook lives many many people are seeing the puppies evolve and are also being blessed. It’s amazing, seeing them enter the world and how innocent and dependant they are on us just to survive. We are sharing the special moments with the world that are not normally seen due to it being so intermate and non interactive to other people. You have to be the pack leader like I am to see what we are seeing and I am loving sharing it all with you all. Like faiths page on Facebook and see all the wonderful family thrive using the #tag we want you to see it all. Here is a short video of a birth, the miracle of life.

I will write the full story as to why we have chosen a puppy family and not a human one in a future post. For now I hope you find it as amazing as we do watching them grow up. 

Have a great day

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Ps, I have committed to doing this for 365 days every morning, what I ask of you is that you share these blogs I make on email, facebook twitter, you can affect people by pressing a button. Please do that. I asked ppl to share yesterday 18/05/2015 at 8pm they did and 100 people saw my blogs in 2 hours. It only takes a click or two.

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright ©2017

Suicide.

Tags

death, faith, family, GOD, hope, love, Suicide

Suicide.

In memory of my friend Gary Townley. 

Whilst there has been a lot of joy this week, there has been much sadness in my world. I have had a lump in my throat since I found out. I don’t think there has been a moment since Friday that I have not felt sorrow, I always said that suicide is selfish, something only a weak person would do. 

I met Gary through a random advert I put up, some electrical sockets I needed fitting and wiring in my garden and lean to. Peter Pan replied to me saying he could help me and when could he come to look. Gary did a lot for us after that day, and to be honest I used to find work for him to do just so I could give him some money to get by.  Some people in life you just warm to. Gary had a strut when he walked like I had not seen in anyone before, he genuinely cared about people and whilst I won’t talk about his personal life here, I do want to write something that will be there forever when someone googles his name. I struggle writing this, I really struggle as all of my life here in this village has been about preserving life.

When I looked back through his messages he wrote to me, he was crying out. I did call round to see him, I offered him my hand of friendship and he did come round sometimes when he was not working. He was a softly spoken man, but with an air of genuine about him. Fear was his terrible friend and sorry to say that he needed to escape his demonds. So here ya go Gary this letter is for you.

Dear Gary,

I thankyou , for your friendship. For your kindness, the workmanship in our home. You know I still have lights to fit in my house, that you have yet to fix. I have to say, I loved your hat and how different you were. Your dangly cross ear ring. I liked how you wanted to be a good person, and am greatful you wired the extension in our extension. Everywhere I look in my home your hands have been, lights fitted and you even taught me how. The tools you gave me, the care you showed me. Thank you for always doing your best, sad to say you are now at rest. Just wish I could knock your door again, share a doughnut again. It hurt me so to see you so sad, we even cried together. 

We never did have that beer did we. At least you heard my story though, my story of life and not suicide. I feel I should have done more, except knock on ya door. But hey, your demonds are now finished. Your not going to suffer on earth anymore, maybe suicide is actually the hardest thing to do after all. So Gary, goodbye my friend. I will see you again, but not yet. I want to make time to make it matter, my life matter somewhere in some form. God knows you never got dealt the best cards in the world. But you did know happiness at one time.

So Gary I lift my glass, and say thank you lord that I met you.

Rest now mate, and see you soon.

Fonz

Friends are the family we choose.

Tags

belief, faith, family, friends, GOD, hope, strength, together

Friends are the family we choose.

As I sit here on the settee minding my Dam ‘Faith’ I am watching the movie ‘CREED’ it’s brought a lot of memories back to my mind. Rekindled my cancer journey and even why I embarked on treatment in the first place. The first reason of course was my wife. My friend turned LIFE long partner, then my wife. Which she will be till my last breath. Loads of things are spinning around in my head, in not very long faith will give birth to her puppies. Life will be because of the fights I have had to have and won. Strange for me to think, that without cancer there would be no Faith. Without cancer I may not have realised who my fake friends were, but also who my real, true friends were and indeed are the family I have chosen.

It’s bringing back to my mind not just why I beat cancer but how. In the film Rocky gets the cancer I had, which opens the flood gates for me every time. I can’t help remembering the day, the day your told what’s making you so tired and weak. You see when you fight cancer, it’s every scan, every blood test every chemo. It’s Avery person that sends you a text that helps you to go that one more round when you think you can’t. That’s what beating cancer is about, ‘one round at a time’ Faiths about to give birth and whilst she will never understand the words I write, our friendship is without a doubt real. 

What ever you face on your journey, I want you to know that you can. That no matter how many obstacles there are in the way. If you keep getting up and moving forwards that you can.  You have to have the heart to stand and move forwards though. I don’t know about you but the friends I call family have given me the strength to get up when I thought I couldn’t. The visits from people when I didn’t want them, because I wanted to give in to cancer and die. I want to right here right now, thank those people for helping me get to today, for my actual family for the love and support they showed me to. That through his people God gave me the strength to choose life.. in choosing life, there will be new life in the form of faiths puppies. 

So thank you cancer, and thank you for helping me choose life.

Together we are stronger.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Ps, I have committed to doing this to encourage people, what I ask of you is that you  share these blogs I make on email, facebook twitter, you can affect people by pressing a button. It only takes a click or two.

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them hereby to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright ©2017

Fighting for love, means it’s not love.

Tags

faith, greatness, help, hope, joy, life, love, passion

It’s funny how a memory can trigger so much of your past. How people act or even a film! We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, but we do love each day together, now don’t think we have the perfect Hollywood relation. What we do have is something that many people never find in life.
 My mum and dads look at each other is Valentine’s Day every day for them. Then I think of the sand storms , the snow, the rain, the potholes in the road we have faced and then remember my wife. I say in my mind ” thank you father ” you allowed this part of my life. Some people have stopped visiting, but they dont love us less. They just have a life to live to. 

Love you guys

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Ps, I have committed to doing this for 365 days every morning, what I ask of you is that you share these blogs I make on email, facebook twitter, you can affect people by pressing a button. Please do that. I asked ppl to share yesterday 18/05/2015 at 8pm they did and 100 people saw my blogs in 2 hours. It only takes a click or two.

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them hereby to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright ©2017

To love another, is truly a gift.

Tags

faith, faithful, gift, GOD, happiness, honour, hope, love, nelief, others

To love another, is truly a gift.

So tonight, I watched a Facebook live that I was supposed to watch. I listened as the person spoke how they together had done, achievements together and fulfilled dreams together. I heard how two people worked together to achieve a goal, a common goal. A goal they both agreed on, overcoming what ever they faced by working together..

As I thought tonight about what’s important in life, my need to contribute in our family as we draw to the end of making our house a home. To contribute in other ways, more financially maybe. But most certainly whilst these thoughts went though my mind, I realised the one thing that I was greatful for. Thankful to God for apart from life itself, was that I had been given the gift of love from another. We are approaching our 14th year together, I love my wife more today than ever I did, although on times you would not think it. 

Who ever you are, what ever the choices you have made. If you have loved and lost, you had a gift. Your friends, the people that have or indeed still do care about you are a gift. God has given you gifts, yet you don’t see them anymore because of what you are going through. Well I want to encourage you, no matter what you face, and I know what it’s like to look in my wife’s eyes and hold her hand and cry a tear as I fight cancer, and she fights with me. The love of another is a gift, you can choose to cherish that. Or you can choose to let the circumstances get in the way of that. Oh God forgive me for forgetting that sometimes, forgive me for forgetting the moments we stood together no matter what.

That it’s not about what we have, but that we do it together. It’s not whose name is on the pay cheque or who did what, but that we did it together. So tonight I find myself in a grateful position, grateful once again that there is a we. That the gift I asked God for is right there in the people that love me. That when you move forwards that you only need to look down or to the side to see who’s holding your hand or standing with you. 

Don’t let your circumstances be an excuse not to, let your circumstances give you a reason to do. We all have circumstances, we all have gifts also.choose to walk with those that are with you. Don’t be dragged down by the weight of your circumstance.

You matter

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them hereby to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright ©2017

What’s extraordinary anyway.

Tags

can, cant, extraordinary, football, gift, help, hope, life, love, SENSATION, success, yes

What’s extraordinary anyway.

I was reminded on a phone call tonight, something very poinient. Something that all to many people do in their lives that stops them from being successful. I am married to a winner, my marriage is to someone who likes to say Yes. Extraordinary people tend to do one thing that makes them just that. Do you know what that is? They help people. Now I am not talking about helping them to get up a hill when they don’t want to. (Energy is wasted pulling donkeys uphill) You see how can you hold another’s hand unless they reach out theirs. People that hold out their hands are either helping or being helped, and what you do will always remain your choice. How you see yourself is who you will be, and who you won’t be also. 

The people in this world that help others in my mind, are the ones that are extraordinary. They are the people that make things happen, they are the ones on the phone helping others. When I started this blog, I hoped that one person would be encouraged to carry on. That one person would find the strength within them to get back up and move forwards once again. For sure cancer has helped me to mature, it’s helped me to see the world in a perspective that maybe I never asked for. Someone sat in front of me and told me I had cancer, and I chose how to respond to that. Cancer or indeed any battle in life, makes you who you are today. Even the word can’t makes you into something.

Some of my posts are very dark, even life itself seemingly impossible at times. Thoughts of giving up, throwing in the towel and times on my knees with tears rolling down my face. But yet all those times made me into the man I am today, the man that wants to hold out his hand and help others in their very own battles. My heart is to help those that want to help themselves. My heart is to stand with those that want to stand and maybe feel they can’t. It’s not a word I use often but I know others do say it. Which kinda brings me to the end of this very short post.

Those that are extraordinary, always move forwards. They find solutions, where others see problems. They say yes where others say can’t. Because of course you are right, if you say you can’t you can’t. Those that give reasons to do rather than excuses not to help people. Choose to say can’t, you are exactly right.

What will you choose?

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them hereby to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant soumething tou you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright © 2016

The walk, that wasn’t a walk walk.

Tags

belief, faith, grace, hope, knowledge, lakes, love, walk, waterfall

The walk, that wasn’t a walk walk. 

In life sometimes we just have to accept who we are, and who we are not. When you have had the battles that cancer fighters have even a small achievement is better than no achievment what so ever. So today my challenge having arrived at 11.29 at a walk that set off at 11-20 was to play catch up. Me and faith were keen, faith (my lab) was excited. She does this whining when she is excited, she jumps up and down, with her tongue out. Even though I sent her on ahead, to follow the trail ( I made her smell the car of one of the walkers) she led the way for me but never let me out of her sight, it was to amount to nothing however. So why am I blogging about this, well it’s because when you are faced with cancer you place goals in your mind. You hope that one day just one day that there may be some level of the normality that once was. I personally hoped to make new friends and to befriend people with new perspectives. You see, when someone (anyone) gets cancer. People show true colours they tend to not understand what you face and that has a result of loneliness. People show you how much you mean to them by the actions they make towards you. The commitment some people show towards you in your time of need is humbling. But there are not many that stay by your side, most don’t understand and leave you to deal with it alone. 

I remember being in that room imagining the very walk I endeavoured to do today, you know uphill with running streams and fallen trees and wildlife although I never envisaged cows. But there were.

I was hopeful I could take some great shots today and make some memories, to get better at using my IPhone whilst enjoying other people’s company.  Now those that know me know I have a lot of pain killers and today I took 90mg of codine to enable me to be able to walk. I had food and water and was prepared for a walk. I was told it was an easy walk and I would have no problem. However the night before my friend (he’s the type of friend that carlsberg would make) if they made friends. He told me it would be to much, the lakes is for seasoned walkers he said. Of course I am a beginner in every sense. As I moved forwards as fast as I could I slipped and fell and hit my head, fortunately I was wearing my trappers hat. I realised right there and then, the condition of my body is such that things like this are beyond me. I sat on a stone and knew that I had higher expectations of myself than were actually possible. It filled me with sadness and I don’t mind saying I even shed a tear as I sat there. Faiths head on my lap, even her eyes said “Dad its to soon” 

It was with regret that I turned around and began to face what I had not allowed myself to do before. Accept I was not able, and whilst I had been wildly eager and went against all the advice of all the people that know and love me. I then had to accept that I needed to do lesser walks. Steep slopes are not within my capabilities, with a lump in my treat I headed home. No phones were in service and hope was gone.

As I walked back I took a couple of pictures to remember where I had been. 

 

Some of you know I love pictures and that they speak to me, this photo speaks of life. That this little river I was stood in was going somewhere else to where the walkers were going. It was somewhere different to where the walkers were going where it flowed to and maybe my path although different. Would still have a meaning somewhere, I didn’t give up I got there, me and faith shared time together and whilst I feel like I have failed in some way, we did get onto the hill. 

So what’s the punch line, well it’s this.

” what ever you think in your mind, where ever that is. Remember that just because it does not end up how you imagined, that does not mean you failed at something. It’s just different. ” our paths even though we choose them, don’t always end up the way we had planned. But what’s important is that we have a goal, and in doing something you will achieve something. I mean this blog for a start, will be written forever and will encourage someone somewhere. That’s because today did not go to what I had planned. So already there is something positive. You just read it.

Have a great day
Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them hereby to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright © 2016


My story

Tags

cancer, death, demetia, faith, fumeral, grace, help, hope, life, matters, trump

My names Mark, Fonz to my friends. My story isn’t a A heart wrenching one or anything, it’s just my life. A life I never expected to live. I always had plans to be a dad some day, but with the right girl. The girl that made me quiver, the girl that loved me for me. I was not especially good looking normal I guess, mr average although not in all departments. I always thought I would be a high achiever. Live in an above average house, not that the house was big, just that it would be full of love. One song I can’t forget was ‘feel’ by Robbie Williams. 

I always dreamt of feeling the feeling of love in the home that we live in.  My first marriage was born out of hate, a bomb in Ireland my girlfriend bk than was stood 10 feet from the bomb when it blew. We married and love was born out of a tragic bomb that affects people’s lives today and will forever. Married life failed. Back then I wanted to end the hopes and dreams, I felt as though I should die . Leave you all behind as it were. I decided to travel instead to look for my Mrs right. To have some fun whilst doing it, I drank to forget. When I drank I was numb,numbed by the alcohol. I lived and did things I loved. Went to Sydney on New Year’s Eve, Brisbane at Christmas. Travelled New Zealand. Along the way I turned down life long dreams. Swimming with dolphins, seeing a glacier, many things that I wanted to do with a true love. I did go to an F1 grad prix in Melbourne though and came home soon after. Tears rolled as I flew back to GB.

I moved to Manchester. Where I met some amazing people, but one I met in the most unlikely of places on the most unlikely night. A night out with a friend, a different pub and there she was. Blonde hair, the most amazing smile and sourounded by men. I whispered in her ear ( I will be back when your boy friend is gone) I then flicked her hair into her face.  That was the start of our lives together, the girl I had gone around the world looking for was there. You know, the one that makes your heart melt. The one that’s for you. 

We worked hard, moving into a really little semi detached house after 4 years renting a big terrace. Then losing her mum to cancer so suddenly it shook us both. 4 years later we moved to Preston where we now live. Little did we know what was ahead. 1/4/2011 we moved in June 2011 I was told I would die with out treatment diagnosed with cancer. July I started treatment. They told me I would become infertile so I had to store some boys. Swimmers or sperm to the medical among you. I did, and hoped one day I would be able to use them after the fight to beat cancer. 6 months of treatment, chemo every 2 weeks. We had Christmas together 2011, friends disowned us. Family did not understand. Our fight carried on, until I started to get better, work again, the extension I started when diagnosed was finished. I started to do bits in the garden, help a friend, my energy came back a little and we bought our dog faith. 
Faith was my shadow, a wonderful dog. She still comes with me where ever I go,  and loves her dad like no other. For me she would do anything.

Ah but then I have to say, she licked me on my neck, again and again and barked at me often. She was telling me it’s back, my cancer had come again. A Bone marrow transplant, a tiny room. All the time believing my deposit would be used one day. 18 months ago I had that transplant weak though I still am and not able to work full days, we hoped that IVF would be given to us. My wife was 39 but got to 40 when we had our appointment, we were told we would be able to go ahead to now eventually have a child. A gift from God, although stored by me and saved in the nitrogen bank. 

Then that day, the letter came. No it said, your wife’s to old and you should have tried earlier. You are not able to have children. But not giving up we made an appeal, supported by phycologist doctors and reports. Yet still the answer is no. Is it? 

That’s when we decided to let our beloved faith have pups.

So here we are, that’s where our journey has led us.

Meet our puppies that will get a new home. But also our blonde girl Lilly Hope. Our new blessing.

Rejoice with us.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Ps, I have committed to doing this for 365 days every morning, what I ask of you is that you share these i make on email, facebook twitter, you can affect people by pressing a button. Please do that. I asked ppl to share yesterday 18/05/2015 at 8pm they did and 100 people saw my blogs in 2 hours. It only takes a click or two.

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. I

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone

 else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright ©2017

Pain, and Christmas.

Tags

cancer, christians, Christmas, Eve, faith, help, holidays, hope, love, pain

Pain, and Christmas

I guess this should be a merry Christmas post, or happy something or other if your religion is that of those that consider Christianity and Christmas non exsistant or offensive. Good news it’s not, it’s about pain. It’s about the people that never asked for pain, they never did a stunt and broke a leg, or tried to commit suicide. Although some have, but that’s another blog. This is about people that are not able to escape from their demon PAIN!

Pain really  screws up your day, makes things that seem simple to others impossible once it takes hold. You do your best to be as normal as possible. Yet no matter what you do outwardly it never disappears. Only those that know pain know what I mean. You wake up with it and go to bed with it. It never dissapears. It’s not like a pin prick, or a broken limb, it chips away at you never ever resting. Until you have had enough and it does not matter that it’s the time of year, or the love you are supposed to feel. It’s just about doing the best you can. You smile so others feel good. I mean, no one is ever interested in what’s going on with you really are they “Snap out of it” “smile ” they say. 

Well I just want to say, sometimes words that I never normally want to say. F…K Y.U have a little understanding by putting yourself where they are. But you can’t can you? because you don’t understand. Please don’t glance over what a pain suffer feels, what we feel is as important as a child. Only we don’t get to take our pain away for the evening, to have a meal without it. We just have it, and nothing we do will enable us to escape. We are trapped by a consuming fire, chemo can cause permanent damage. I have that, it grinds you down and you feel useless, and extremely worthless. Yea some people say ” great life you don’t have to work ” I laugh. Because I do work in lots of ways. Just do no matter what is my advice. But above all else, be honest. If the person speaks about themselves in response. Well you know, and I know they are trying to understand. It’s not their fault really. Give those that don’t understand a prayer this Christmas. Of course pray for al, those in pain this Christmas, they really do matter. 

Bless you all

Fonz

Merry Christmas

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright © 2016

This is what I mean by perspective.

Tags

doing, faith, given, hope, love, perspective, share

PERSPECTIVE….!

​​
Have a great day.
Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are better based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright © 2016

From bad to Worse!!!!

Tags

chemo, children, faith, family, gift, happiness, hope, IVF, religion, treatment

From bad to Worse!!!!

Going on holiday is supposed to be a way of relaxing and when you come home your supposed to be refreshed. We were for sure just that when w were on the plane holding hands feeling that feeling of feeling refreshed and looking forward to our IVF treatment. We felt excited, we even met people on our holiday that had had the treatment and it worked first time. I mean knowing we have fought so hard for our life together. The room, the treatment, the sickness and suffering. Surely this is our time, surely it’s time to get some good news in our lives and have an opportunity to have our own child. My swimmers are dead, so we are not able to have children naturally so our only chance is to have them through IVF. We were told they were dead on the day before our holiday and our holiday in Greece was time to come to terms with that. I was angry, and upset that cancer had taken that from us. That the consequence of the fight was that we could not have children, that somehow we have been ripped off. 

It was about a week into the holiday that we met a couple that had had their successful IVF. Our anger turned to hope as we heard the story that was theirs. That he had fought for his life after breaking his back, but years later had their gift through IVF of a beautiful baby girl. We began to feel hopeful, we even began to feel excited at the prospect. Our holiday began to be a joyful time as we imagined our new born and what it would be like to be parents. We talked about how we would parent, the methods we would use. We even watched how other parents were with their children, we looked at each other knowing that we would work together to help parent our child and realised that maybe we would make good parents. We spoke how we would ask questions of why they were doing what they were doing as apposed to shouting. (Maybe a far fetched dream right) we spoke how we would parent and how we would love them, places we would go, what we would teach them. 

It really was the beginning of a new life for us, especially as Archibald the guy at the hospital had told us we would qualify for the treatment. We are not people with money, we are people with big hearts and share love with people and help others to overcome what they are going through. It’s what I do with passion, helping others with cancer, dedicating my life to holding out my hand to other people like you. Encouraging people that they to can win their fight, whether it be cancer or something else. I have heard the words, “you will lose your life without treatment” I know how valuable life is, I know how precious it would be to parent. I know how my dog makes me feel, I mean you see people that are parents and apparently some children don’t know what a loving home is. We do, because we live in a loving home and truly hoped to be parents and thought that this was our time.

We arrived home up beat unpacked opened a bottle of red wine and began opening the post, you know the bills ect. Then I heard my wife reading a letter out loud from the hospital. She said the word “unfortunately” followed by “you have not been accepted” it did not hit me really till now. That we are not being accepted for IVF. Right now I feel as though yet again Cancer has taken something else from us. After spending our holiday feeling hopeful that we would become parents. So here we are with yet another disappointment. Another set back, something else to overcome. Yea of course I am upset, we both are but you know me, I won’t just sit back and allow this to ruin me. I will continue to look into the options until they have been exhausted. But I tell you now reading that letter has floored me, for now. 

We will get over this, we will become positive again.

Today is a gift and treasuring what we have, is most certainly important. Life is precious, appreciate what your life gives to you. Also the people you have in it. We are each other’s gift.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something tou you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright © 2016

Good is everywhere.

Tags

believe, care, faith, health, help, hope, Laughter, rich, wealth

GOOD IS EVERYWHERE

So it’s true, that there is good in everything if we look for it. My wife reads to me most nights now as my friend has given me a book to read called “illusions” Although I write believe it or not I am not a great reader, I don’t even read my Blog posts back a lot of the time. I also find that in my dreams sometimes I am spoken to, not by my wife but by someone far bigger than me. Sometimes my dreams are complicated, and others so very very clear. But this came from the book she reads to me.

So picture this, a river not the fastest river you ever saw, but all the same one that never runs dry. A river teaming with life, imagine then that there are some creatures in the river holding on for dear life, they do it everyday. Everyday they have to hold on so they are not swept away by the current. They don’t know why they hold on, but they chat to each other one day and discuss why they are holding on so tightly. One says to the other, we  will be hurt if we let go and will be battered and bruised by the rocks. The other one says “yes but I am bored holding on, I want to let go and trust where the rivers current will take me” 

The ones holding on, do not trust that they will not get hurt. For if they let go they will indeed get hit by the stones and rocks. They have no faith in what they don’t see, they only trust in what they can see. Yet the one who wants to let Ho and trust the stream believes by faith that where the stream is going and must know something he/she does not. Or surly the river would not keep flowing. 

The time came that they let go, and sure enough the stream sent it smashing into the rocks below, hurt battered and bruised by the Flow of the water. It was not the water that hurt, it was what was in the river. The stream continued to flow and carried him up to the surface where there was sunlight and a new way of living. He had never seen the sunlight before, but because he had let go and had faith in what he could not see. He/She was able to see how beautiful they were, the colour of how he was made and learned that he had wings and was able to fly. He was given a gift because he used faith in what was unseen to become the beautiful person he became.

Life has been like this for us all I suspect at certain times, but not knowing what will be is the same for us all. Having faith in what will be is the same for us all to, only we can let go of what is so we can know what could be. Only we can allow what our true destiny is, to be discovered by having a few hits but still moving forwards. I just wonder if you will hold on tight to what you know, or if you will allow yourself to trust what is going to be by letting go.

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something to you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories every day.

Copyright © 2016

Happiness is for everyone else, not us.

Tags

cancer, chemotheropy, dream, dreams, faith, hope, love, miriacle

Happiness is for everyone else. Not us.
That’s how I was made to feel on hearing the words. It’s true I could had a family young. My choice was to live a life a life that I enjoyed on many occasions of course that life was never completely perfect not until we met each other. We were just pawns living this thing called life. Sure I knew I was blessed with knowing God and all the joy that brings with it. But there is something about having the opportunity of having children. Our own to love and cherish. A chance to bring a child into this world with non of the money worries. In a fairly comfortable way.

We are fortunate in a way that I have stored some swimmers that could potentially give us that opportunity through IVF (Test tube fertilisation) but I don’t know how I feel about that. But it’s our chance to have a miracle. So who knows maybe that’s where our miracle will happen, I don’t know but it’s a bit like the biscuit tin as a child. It’s something I hope for more than ever now.
My friend said this to me this morning
“Take time to relax and come to terms with it, having kids is not everything. You have each other, and some people go through their whole life never experiencing that kind of love, treasure what you have.”
So that’s gonna now be my focus been as no other advice I have to go on, I guess it’s the best advice. You do feel less of a man that’s for sure like your whole meaning of what we are put on this earth to do has been stripped from us because I beat cancer. Well I suppose there has to be a consequence to any action you take in life. It’s just the only option I had was to have chemo to steal a few more years. I am mad to not want to leave a legacy behind. That maybe I live on through my son or daughter. 
I guess this is just another part of cancer, you create your home, make it a home and then hope for the pitter patter of feet in the surroundings you have created. Imagine a Christmas morning with our dog faith, Jenson our cat, Mark Andie and our new miracle with us, crackling of the wood on the fire. The warmth not only from the fire but from our hearts as we experience the journey that is family.

Right now I feel robbed again, but in usual Fonz style, I am gonna believe for the miracle that the little girl got in the film miriacl on 34th Street. If you have not watched the film them please watch it, so you to can realise what our miracle would be.
It’s not the fault of the nurse that gave me the news that my sample had no sperm in it at all. It’s cancers fault of that there is no debate. Cancer has taken this from me and made me infertile. Some may find it funny, but I assure you who read this there is nothing funny about cancer and it’s effects. I will as Johnny says treasure what we do have and move on from this. They did tell me it would be so, otherwise why would they have asked me to store some swimmers. Life that’s what I am gonna focus on, and the brilliance of another day, yes I am sad, yes I am even shedding a tear as I write this blog. 
But I must enjoy what we do have not want what we don’t have, I must have faith that Gods Will Will be done. 

Here’s hoping for our miracle on our street.
Have a great day.
Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something to you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories.

Copyright © 2016

What cancer looks like.

Tags

cancer, depression, failure, hope, stroke, success, sucess

A period in life I would rather forget right? 
Wrong, it makes me appreciate what I have now.​​This is a PICC line and how I was given Chemo for something called ICE. This makes you projectile vomit as soon as it enters your body. 

View could be worse hey.

That’s my Wife Andie xxxx

That’s my line being flushed, no matter what this has to happen every week!

HICCMAN line, given to people having the most effective drugs and most danderous. The end of the line enters a wide vien near the heart to lower the risk of amputation. If the drugs (some) touch your skin it can eat your flesh. That’s why I looked like this when I had Chemo.

Just to have my life 8 teeth were removed from my mouth. So next time you see someone with teeth missing, maybe wonder why they ate missing.

You want to know what incredible is. 

That would be beating cancer, or anything else that has questioned your mortality! 

But I did it, to give you hope!

I know what it feels like when you look like this.

But now know what it feels like when you do this!

You got this.

Fonz

A Fallen Tree.

Tags

athiest, belief, cancer, chemotheropy, faith, health, hope, operation, pain, paralypian, surgery

In life we have many things to deal with, many we don’t know what they entail, or what the outcome will be. My day has been consumed today, consumed with hurt for another an a family. Consumed with what has been, what will be and what could be. 2 of my cancer friends face surgery this week, and I have prayed virtually all day for them and their families. So I want to try to encourage anyone facing journeys like theirs in the future. I may need you to think about pressing the share button on this one.

I will attempt to tell my story today through pictures.

The two pictures above signify what is ahead. That we can see what is there, yet it’s still uncertain, no one knows who or what’s behind any of those trees. Yet you and I would walk there if we could, we would believe by faith that we would be ok when you hot to the end of the path, turning the corner and believing you will be ok when you get to the next corner as well. If your an atheist, or a believer. You have to have faith, it’s impossible to walk without faith. You have faith in a chair when you sit on it. Belief your legs will hold you when you walk.  We all have faith everyday without even thinking about it. It’s only when something happens to us do we start to appreciate what life truly is. As I watched my dog “Faith” enjoying her walk I asked God to show me something, to show me possibly something that would help me write this blog. This is what he showed me.

 

A fallen tree.

When I talk to God, the voice I hear with in me that some people call conscience. I began to understand that the fallen tree still had life, although it had hit the ground it still had life. It had taken one hell of a fall, some of its branches were broken and was quite obviously different to when it had been stood upright, yet it was still alive. It got me thinking that even a tree with no soul could adopt a new way of living. Just like us who have had a life changing experience.

I began taking pictures of my surroundings, the sign

All those paths were ahead of me yet I would only choose one. There was the tunnel, that could not be seen through from some angles.

Yet wether I could see through it or not, did not change what was or was not in that tunnel. The tunnel was always going to be the same if I could see through it or not. I have had to learn to stop punishing myself for the life I have lived, rather to change the life I will live. Whist cancer has struck me down like the tree, I still live a life. I can still breath like the tree can. The life that I have fought for was always going to be this bad, the pain I feel was always going to be this way. Only to get to enjoy what I have now I had to put faith in what was in front of me, the surgeons, the nurses, the chemo, the treatments, the phycological effects cancer has had on my life were all going to be there. 

  

The bridges I had to cross to keep my life many have walked, many have also believed the walk was worth it. I guess for me it’s better to have faith in what is than fear of the unknown. We can’t change what was, we can’t change the path required to get there, but we can change how we see our life. Change how we see the fallen tree, maybe some will just see a tree that’s fallen over. I see a tree with a new way of living. What ever your way of living is, isn’t wrong. What is wrong though is not making the best of what you have. Seeing the bad as opposed to success. You have an opertunity of how to use your path that you choose, you will always have to walk the path you choose. Will always meet the people that you should meet. The thing that makes you special is what you choose to do. How you use the experiences you have.

What Faith chose she loved, even though her dad was actually quite embarrassed as she (again) jumped in right under the “no dogs swimming” sign. If you have an oppertunity to continue with life I rather hope you choose to do what’s required. Today my friend Pam ( who I dedicate this post to ) had to walk a very tough path. But she did, she has walked onto the bridge and walked forwards. Of course a new life will be hers, but I tip my hat to you Pam as do we all.

If you have never suffered, make sure you do all life has to offer you. Sing even if people can hear, dance if people can see. You have a life and however your living that life is a blessing to you, make your life a blessing to others. I dare you

Fonz

Ps someone put this sign up to. It rather made me laugh.

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something to you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories.

Copyright © 2016

Faith.

Tags

9/11, death, faith, forwards, Godly, hope, life, love

Sometimes simple things that happen, help us to come to the realisation of some parts of this life that we live. We all know I have had cancer, we all know how hard I had to fight to complete the tasks that were before me. Never once did I not believe that I would die from cancer. I believed that I would survive, I also believed I would survive for a reason although that reason was not yet apparent. In its entirety at least. There are many times that I have used the word that entitles this blog, many times every day since we gave a home to our baby doggie “Faith”. Many times me and my wife have held hands and looked at each other, with a look of belief whilst masked with the fear and sorrow that was and is still called cancer. 

When ever anyone faces any desease, difficulty, challenge, or life changing situations. There we have to realise, that we have enough Faith to see us through to the other side. Because of course without actions Faith is indeed dead.

Faith for me, apart from our amazing addition to our family. Well it’s something we as a family Mark and Andie, also my further family have had to have to come through the otherside. With my Fathers cancer thrown into the mix. The thing we need most in life, is faith that we will overcome the treacherous road that’s before us.  We have to believe that our God, has a plan for us, believing that even what we are going through has a reason. You see that’s why I started writing, why I started the blog you read and share fonzandcancer. Because I believed that I would survive, I believed that I was allowed to have breath in my lungs because I had faith.
When you have Faith, it’s not the feeling or the belief that makes a differance. Anyone can have faith, it’s only powerful when you WALK by Faith. So simple an action as walking by faith, can make more differance than you know. The effect you can have in another’s life starts with a step, and believing that those steps you make are for a reason. I personally feel it maybe possible that I am to turn another corner. Yet I have to step forwards by faith, not knowing what it is that will be my future in God Faith and Love.

 

What ever you do, make sure it’s something. Every journey you go on, even if it is just to the kitchen starts with a step. For you to achieve anything you first have to move forwards. I read a blog the other day and the person spoke about moving forwards, that it did not matter how far forwards as long as it was just that. You do not know the impact you can have on someone’s life unless you take your own walk by faith.

 

Remember as I hold my wife’s hand and she mine, we have to believe by faith in what we are together. It’s the same with our God isn’t it, it’s the same with what you believe in. You may not see what the effects have in its physical form, but if you are led by faith trust me, things will happen. For me personally, this up and coming week is most proberbly going to need more faith than I have ever had. I have arranged a meeting for people to discuss new possibilities in our local area for young people. I mean who knows it may just be a hand full of people, maybe I will look an idiot. But how will anything be achieved if I don’t step forwards and do something. Surely doing something is better than doing absolutely nothing.

So I want to end this post by sugesting this to you. That your life is for a reason, and if you believe that by Faith, and move forwards in faith. Believing that. Because only by believing that and then moving forwards can you make a differance. If you do that, you WILL make a differance. Your life is for a reason and all you have to do is step out in faith.

The question is
“Will you”?

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something to you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories.

Copyright © 2016

I wanted everyone to STOP.

Tags

alone, Belive, cancer, determination, faith, hope, survive

It was that day when I had to go for my results, it did not matter who was in that room. My wife was there, the consultant, student nurse. 7-9 people in the room altogether. Yet I felt so alone, so afraid and so weak. Non of it was in my plan for my life. It was not in my mind when I said I do to the person I wanted to spend my whole life with. What kind of crap is this, that I had to sit in that chair on that day and hear those words. I want to try and help you to understand what happens when you hear those words.

You see up until that day I was invincible, indistructable, a mountain of indistructable muscle. But I wasn’t was I, I like everyone else was falable. Those words pulled the rug from under me, made me lose my footing and fall to the ground in a heap in my mind. ” You have cancer ” he said. The world went blurred, black and white if you like. Life became like a vivid dream. That everyone should stop moving whilst I came to terms with those crushing words that I just heard. It was like a cloud of negativeness had just engulfed me. It did not matter how much I knew people loved me, as that tear rolled down my cheek, I just felt alone like no one knew or could actually understand what I felt. 

I believed everyone should just STOP, let me tell you how I feel. Just allow me a little time to come to terms with this horrific day, to do that you have to all STOP though. But no one stopped, no one allowed me time to understand what Chemo was. Nothing stopped only my world stopped, only our life was discontinued. Weeks maybe months they said without treatment. WHAT? Oh no not me, not a chance. I had more life to live and more to give than just an exsistance. My life was for a reason and I was going to fight and make sure I lived that life so others could be blessed. The cancer may be real, the effect may be real. Even the world not stopping was real, but so was my stubborn determination to make my life count. 

Cancer is a lonely road to find yourself on, but trust me it’s the stubbornness to survive that has given me the breath I breath today. Nearly 6 years ago I heard those words, then heard them again last year. But I was also able to hear the words that I heard 1 year ago. “You are in remission” I was at 4a once upon a time, the closest to terminal you can get to with out actually losing hope in the life you had. I am not saying that things are normal again. Because they are not, but what they are is honest, real, reflective, and Gracious. I am grateful for the breath that I breath, and want to love those around me. Care for people where once I did not even concider them. Please God forgive me for that. Who ever you are, whatever your going through, when someone hears the words “You have cancer” right then at that moment is when your life changes forever. Dare I even say, cancer will give you gifts along the way. It will be lonely, it will be something that’s an interference but ultimately you can help others  too.

Just stand up and do, don’t live a life with regret. You have a life, Live it.

Fonz

 
http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something to you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories.

Copyright © 2016

I used to hear the birds sing, now I listen.

Tags

belief, choice, fear, hope, jesus, love, motogp, positive, Rio, teamGB, youth

That’s what cancer did for me, it helped me to realise what was important in life. To many people in the world (myself included) are concerned with how much things are compared to the value of something in your life. I used to get woken up by birds singing, I even found it an irritation on times. They do get up early don’t they. Take right now, I can hear the birds chattering away, I love it. When I was in that hospital in isolation all I could do was see them, I longed to hear their chatter chatter. So now I listen to them at every possibility.you should try it, it’s a sound we all seem to block out. Yet when we listen yo it there is such beauty not only in being able to hear the birds, but also in the appreciation of life.

For me when I listen to the birds, problems seem to disappear. My heart becomes grateful for what I do have not what I could have. I become thankful for a life I have rather than hoping for more than I have. Why does it take for someone to face a hardship to realise the value of life. There have been many moments in my life that have been light bulb moments. One of those being the sentence in the movie “the lion king” Simbas girl friend says to him. “You are more than you have become” how very true that we all can be a better us. That we can choose to have a better thought process, choose to be positive rather than see problems. After all are problems not an oppertunity for a solution. It just depends how we choose to think in our own minds.

You can choose to listen to the birds if you like and appreciate your surrounding. Or you can let your circumstances you find yourself in, dictate to you. Or you can appreciate what you have had in life and be thankful.

For me today I choose to be thankful that 15 months ago I looked like this.

Because when I looked like this it has enabled me to have the freedom to value what I have today, LIFE. That bone marrow transplant has helped me to get to this position where I can listen to the birds. The question is.

Will you?

Fonz

http://www.fonzandcancer.com

Follow me on Twitter

@fonzmark

Email – fonzicloud@icloud.com

Our support group on our FB

Cancer stories (people helping people through experience) 

It’s a group where people’s experiences are used to encourage others. 

Everything you read are based on my own experience and my own opinions. I express them here to encourage you. Please share with others, if it meant something to you it will to someone else. All images are from a Google search. Or my own, taken whilst creating memories.

Copyright © 2016