Audrey’s Blog on living well with disability and breast cancer

Yesterday I switched off my work emails until June! The advice to take a few days off before I have surgery next week ringing in my ears. The pre-op at the beginning of the week made it all seem very real. And so the next few days are about getting organised, time with friends and family and of course relaxing.  And it's started well, with a concert by Karine Polwart in Greyfriars Church in Old Edinburgh. An atmospheric setting and beautiful as well as thought provoking concert. I recommend her work if you like fine voices and thoughtful lyrics. It was uplifting and just what I needed after what was an emotional day. And today a walk through the botanic gardens in the sunshine , lunch in the Russian Cafe then a massage leaves me feeling absolutely spoiled. Certainly it's restoring and better than rushing around and working up to wire as I did last year. So I am learning. Every days a school day you see...  Thoughts of the surgery are to be avoided really but I have been t

I have had a busy week, visiting our London office and contributing to senior leadership team meetings, seeing friends and making new ones , chairing several meetings back in Scotland, time with my own team in Scotland ....oh and attending the final of the Institute of Directors dinner in Scotland  as a finalist. I admit I probably spent more in the hairdressers than most of the men there but as the category I was a finalist in was female director of the year , it made me reflect on how else are we different. And it's still very evident that more men are senior leaders and the more you go up the hierarchy the more that is true. It felt a fairly male event, yes the women were there but we were well outnumbered not just as guests but as finalists too.  Recently I read a Harvard review that peer assessment of men and women in successful organisations showed that that in most categories women demonstrated more of the effective leadership behaviours than men. And they weren't just

I have been back to work a few busy days and then off to London on Monday. It's my last visit before my surgery so I considered going down on the Sunday evening to allow me to make the most of the trip. But I realised just in time..that it's Mothers day. Close shave! My own Mum is over 80 and has been widowed for 17 years so these days are important.  But Mothers day can be such a time for mixed and powerful emotions. If your own Mum has survived breast cancer ( or indeed any other life threatening condition) then this could be your real opportunity to celebrate with her. And at Breakthrough we developed a lovely way to help you do just that. http://mothersday.breakthrough.org.uk/step1.html So go on spoil her any way you want to. And then there are the Mums like me who are reminded of how precious time with their families is , because the worst fear for me on diagnosis was what if I wasn't going to be there to see them grow up. I lay awake at night and calculated how many

I had a little break from blogging having just enjoyed a much needed break in the sun. I got away from the demands of work, the iPad, blogging and twitter too! Quite the achievement really. What I didn't get away from however were boobs. A week in the sun they are everywhere. There were big ones, small ones, pert ones, pink, white and brown ones...and yes you are right that was just the men! So I figured my asymmetrical ones were not going to be noticed by anyone .... I therefore relaxed and stopped fretting. So i haven't had time for a long blog so  I wrote a wee poem....ahem! So the snowbirds land  Flying low across resting volcanoes To the land of black rocks  And glistening sea To the cacti of comedic shapes And palms providing a green break from the ash They are young and old Attracted by the sun and light For promises of happiness Some of it measured in hours Their relationships restored by time For storytelling and creation of new shared memories And so they stay Some

A week is a long time in a charity and I embraced Monday tentatively. Less well than I wanted to be but determined to reclaim my life...but now its Friday I am feeling more human. More of those antibiotics have helped and the relief of a negative chest x-ray allowed me to let go of a growing burden of worry. I really hope it's all behind me now. It's been great to get back into the cut and thrust and also to be able to make plans for when I'm  off for my planned surgery. I realise I am going to have to tell people why I am off. With my history the suggestion of sick leave leaves people speculating on my demise. So no don't worry, not that but my attempt to restore symmetry and put all of this behind me. And one friend asked me in typically direct style..so are you getting big ones? Answer that... No is the honest answer but if pert is an option that's my hand up!  I had to pull out of some meetings around the constitutional debate this week due to workload deman