My experience with The Brain Tumour Charity

Seasons  greetings!  I was invited to write this blog to tell you more about the Brain Tumour Charity, so let me start by introducing myself:

My name is Helen and I have been working at Fingerpost Consulting for 19 months now, which has absolutely flown by. I have a background in secondary education, which I thoroughly enjoyed but it came to an end after I was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2012. The consultant immediately booked me in for life-saving surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible. After the operation, I was off work for a year and had to come to terms with complications from the tumour and surgery. I was left deaf in one ear, fatigued, unable to eat solid food or speak clearly.
 
Whilst I was recovering from my operation I felt isolated with nowhere to turn. I had to learn to eat and speak again, and worried about the impact this would have on my career. There was no way I could keep up with the fast pace of the classroom! Another common problem I found was that people cannot see ‘brain trauma’; on the outside I don’t look any different. Even now I worry that people think I’m being rude and ignoring them even though I’m doing my very best to do a simple task (e.g. listen to a conversation in a noisy environment) without mucking it up.
 
Thankfully, through an online search, I came across the Brain Tumour Charity and joined their Facebook support group. I was immediately relieved to find others in a similar position to myself.
 
As well as providing support and guidance, I was offered life coaching by the charity. If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure about the life coaching as I thought it would be a waste of time. However, I thought I’d give it a go. The coaching was a great help as it helped me to realise what changes I needed to make to live a more fulfilled life, and understand the ‘new me’. So, a few changes took place in my life and I had the courage to leave my job which I had been in for 10 years. And a few years later I ended up working behind the scenes at Fingerpost Consulting.
 
The Brain tumour charity has been there for me, and my family whenever we have needed them. I have run several fundraising events to raise valuable funds for the charity, and a few months ago I became an Ambassador for the charity.
 
Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the story and the tumour is still very much a part of my life. I am just coming to the end of a 6-week course of radiotherapy at Christies. Whilst undergoing treatment, my work at Fingerpost and for the charity has been put on hold, but I’m looking forward to getting back to it in 2018.
 
I’m extremely proud to say that Fingerpost Consulting has chosen the Brain Tumour Charity as the charity they wish to support. Along with the rest of the team at Fingerpost, I’d like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Eat lots of mince pies and goodies and worry about the waistline another time!

Helen Latham