Lobe Yourself

Bring a woolly hat they said! First of all I'd like to start with a thank you to all who donated! we're so close to our £5000 target for The Brain Tumour Charity so please keep donating at www.justgiving.com/moneyforbrains Okay, so it does usually rain in Scotland, especially up high in the clouds...but we had a fluke day of perfect clear skies and 20 degrees Celsius at base. In the above picture it is 8am and we're in full weatherproof gear for the predicted thunderstorms on Saturday 10th August 2019! I've even got my waterproof trousers on. We set off from the Tourism Centre at the base of Ben Nevis (Glen Nevis) at 08:30, here, there are toilets and the opportunity to fill up your water bottle. You start off in a farm field track amongst the mountain sheep which prepares you for the loose rocky path that continues for the duration of your climb. This route is called the Mountain Path or Tourist Path; it is considered easy/mild for novice climbers like us....

On the 9th to the 11th August myself and a large group of friends & family will be climbing Ben Nevis in aid of The Brain Tumour Charity: we want to find a cure, improve quality of life and raise awareness of Brain Tumours! All Brain Tumours are still currently incurable which is incredibly scary but especially when yours is inoperable too. There have been little to no advances in Brain Cancer Research since 1980, yet it is the biggest killer of all people under 40! Please help me find and fund a cure that can prolong my life and the lives of so many others too.  Having a Brain Tumour is just like embarking on a climb: it's an uphill battle with unexpected moments of intense fogginess. You're carrying heavy baggage throughout the journey and you're always wary for the next trip or fall; you just hope someone will be there to pick you up. As there is currently no cure, having a brain tumour is a lifelong journey with peaks and troughs just like a mountain. I was...

This is quite a personal post this week. I had a really severe panic attack in the middle of the night where I genuinely thought I was dying or about to have a seizure. It started with a headache that wasn't being controlled with any painkiller; including codeine and Amitriptyline. My brain tumour is something that frightens the life out of me anyway so when I can't control a headache I often jump to conclusions.  I realised I was on blood thinning injections that have been known to cause aneurysms in Brain Tumour patients so I basically concluded I was having one of these and was about to start seizing. Commence the rapid heart rate, high blood pressure and shortness of breath. It literally felt like my lungs had disconnected from their affinity for C02 and only my gasps would keep me ticking.  I was genuinely so frightened and it's bizarre to think that this all comes from the thoughts and fears in your head. My headache had already gone by this point and ...

First of all...I would like to apologise for my absence as I have been on bed rest for four weeks feeling quite different on codeine!  About 6 weeks ago I was at a party and intended to slide into the splits but instead my leg impaled the floor before I had the chance to show off my dramatic skillset: this resulted in a traumatic fracture to my knee and a patella dislocation. Ouch! For me this was really bad timing as it was the day before I was due to start my dream role on Harley Street! Luckily, they were really kind about the whole situation and unfortunately six weeks later I'm still on unpaid sick leave...but my job is waiting for me when I get back on my feet. I had reconstructive surgery four weeks ago to repair the damage and in true Chantal fashion: this is genuinely the second time in ten years that I've done this so I'm a bit of a professional now. I have found that I've been going slightly mad not knowing what to do with myself over the...

My sweet friend Christina, who also has a Brain Tumour, got in touch with me at Christmas to see if I had altered my skincare brands following my diagnosis. I responded with a resounding no as I'm quite stuck in my ways when it comes to my regime! This outreach of love from Christina got me thinking- if I'm spending so much time and effort into putting non-toxic, vitamin rich, organic food and supplements into my diet then why would I continue to cleanse, moisturise and pamper my body with chemical rich cosmetics? I'm not truly getting the 100% detox I'm after! She introduced me to Tropic Skincare , whose  formulations are supercharged with innovative ingredients, such as bio-retinol and plant ceramides, embracing the latest green technologies and 100% Vegan.   Christina sent me the Discovery Kit which you can see in the image above. It's a methodical starter kit to change your morning and evening cleansing routine with ease and she also threw i...

I remember feeling so isolated when I was first diagnosed, it was as though I was the only person going through this, and nobody could possibly understand how I felt. I was given a leaflet about my treatment course by my Clinical Nurse Specialist, Mary, who recommended I look up The Brain Tumour Charity, when I was ready to do so- AKA after the big tantrum I was about to have.   After a simple Google I was presented with everything I needed on the easy-to-use website. I downloaded my Information Pack for those who are newly diagnosed which you can find here . In this is all the information you need about your diagnosis, your rights as a patient and how the charity works with you and for you . It turns out there's a huge community of people willing to show their support to you even if they do not have a Brain Tumour. There's also a phenomenal amount of people in my exact shoes who I've been so lucky to be connected with. I truly have never needed to go anywh...

My journey began back in 2015 when I started University. I was studying a course called Operating Department Practice in London and was subsequently working 37.5 hours on a placement at Great Ormond Street. The hours really took a toll on my stress levels and I began to feel incredibly fatigued all of the time. I started to develop small one-sided headaches that stretched over my face. They didn't last long but they were very intense and I quickly put it down to dehydration and exhaustion: even Student Nurses sometimes don't get breaks. Regardless, I ignored it.  In my second and third year, the headaches became more of a frequent part of my life; but knowing Clinicians so well, I deduced a trip to the GP would result in me coming away with instructions to drink more water, de-stress and potentially try a migraine medication. It was around this time my gut instinct was first telling me what I really needed was an MRI.  By the time I had qualified, I was subconsc...