My Winner Is ……. (Plus A Little Update)

Hi there peeps and hope that you are all OK today.

I don’t have a card to share – more in  a sec – but I do have a winner from last week’s Papertake Weekly 5 Year Bash and that lucky girlie is ……..

… you Stephanie W

So what did I have as my giveaway then?

My giveaway was sponsored by the sweetness that is Sue over at

Craftwork Cards

and the prize is …

… one of the gorgeous Memory Lane Project of the Month kits :)

Please can you email me at dawnyp123@hotmail.co.uk along with your deets and I will pass them on to Sue who will send out your prize.

Thank you to Sue and everybody at Craftwork Cards for sponsoring  us and to everybody who joined in last week xxx

Now you may have noticed that  I’ve been a bit quiet on here recently and the cardage has been very hit and miss.

The reason has been that my aunty has been really ill. She has cancer and has had the worse time if it these last 18 months. You may remember that I said that my uncle had died suddenly (the post is here). Since then, her health has gone downhill. She was told back in early 2011 that she had bladder cancer but it had been successfully treated. Then just before he died in the May 2011 she was told that they thought it had returned, and all the worry of it caused my uncle’s ulcer to bleed which is why he died. Well following his death, they told her that it wasn't cancer after all, but residual scarring from previous treatments. Then she began to get really unwell and they admitted to hospital and they discovered that it was in fact the cancer after all. So they operated and although it was thought that the cancer had been dealt with, she ended up not being able to walk for months and months because of an after effect of the epidural.

Eventually after nearly 3 months in there, she got home but had to use sticks and a frame to get about (she was very active before all this). But after a very short time at home, she started being unwell again. They could not make up their minds what her problems were but had done scans etc and she was reassured that there was no sign of any cancer. Well in June this year, she was re-admitted again and has suffered in the most awful way ever since. Again they did all kinds of tests but once again we were told that there were no signs of cancer. But she has been so ill and we have just been doing what we could to make her life a bit more bearable, which in truth has not been that much.

In truth, as a society we would not allow an animal to suffer like she has but that’s another issue.

So this has been going on in the background but I could not say anything because she was still reading my blog. Then on September 20th we were told that this residual scarring was in fact cancer after all and that they could do no more for her. How I got through the demoing at Rosemary's I don’t know but I did, and hope that nobody noticed anything untoward. Some people would have been bitter  about all the messing about, but she hasn't been. She just said that there wasn’t anything she could do but to just get on with it, but she aged 20 years overnight.  The one thing she wanted was to just go home to die in her own 4 walls and we have been fighting for this to happen. On Saturday she got her wish and was so upset when she got back because I think she thought she would never see her home again.

The Macmillan nurses have been in – they are amazing – and the family have been with her 24/7 – we are doing a rota and taking it in turns.  She looks desperately unwell but for all that, the stress and worry that was in her face when she in hospital has gone and I think she is finding some peace from being at home. The end for her isn't far away now,  the nurses think days at the most - so all we can do now is make sure she is as comfy at she can be under the circumstances, and hope that  she goes peacefully. It’s also so sad when we take the kids to see her, because as frail as she is, she gives them extra hugs – as much as she can - because I think she is wondering if that will be the last time she sees them. I am dreading it because this lady has had my back from the day I was born and she is  the last link I have to my Mum (she is her only sister) and my beloved Grandparents. But that said, it has been hell watching her go through all of this so it will be a blessing that at last, her suffering will be over.

So the old mojo has taken a bit of a battering and I can’t really think about making cards right now  and to be honest it’s been a struggle for a few weeks.   I’m sure it will come back but for now, I have to just have to concentrate on what’s going on elsewhere.

I’ll be back soon as soon but I don't know when that is likely to be right now. My teamies have been fab, and I have to say a huge thank you to Lols because she has been there with the moral support and offers of practical help for the last few months xxx

I want to end this post with a smile because life is all about balance and there is always something to smile about. So I’ll  leave you with a pic done recently of  Thea who is nearly 5 months old now

Check out that punky hair do and cheeky smile :)  Not the  best pic of her perhaps, but it is cute I think.

Take care sweet peeps and huggiest of hugs to all xxx