Category: Our stories

  • This Is Why You Need To Get Your Smear Test Done

    Elliott Lowe from Milton Keynes is urging woman to have their smear tests done.

    Lowe wrote: Two years ago to date (22/12/2016) my beautiful wife, my best friend, the mother to our four beautiful children, my world, my soul mate in fact my everything was given a diagnosis by Milton Keynes Hospital that would devastate our lives and change it forever.

    My wife (donna Lowe) was diagnosed with cervical cancer three days before Christmas, it wasn’t until the 10th of January 2017 after further tests and scans (PET Scan) that my wife’s consultant at Northampton General Hospital dealt us a further devastating blow that the cancer had already spread to her Lymph nodes in her pelvic area and as a result the cancer had been diagnosed as stage 4b.

    Despite a very hard, but brutal fight against the cancer involving daily radiotherapy for six weeks and a chemotherapy session, a session which had to stop due to complications it was a diagnosis that was to claim her life.

    Regretfully, On the morning of Saturday the 5th of August 2017, my beautiful wife passed away in my arms surrounded by our four young children, her mother, brother and sisters aged just 32 at Willen Hospice, Milton Keynes.

    I am sharing this with you today two years after her diagnosis to encourage everyone reading this to make sure that we take it upon ourselves to ensure that the special women in our lives in fact all women in our lives be they relatives or friends to attend their Cervical Screening (once called smears) and not to either miss them or forget to re-arrange.

    My wonderful wife postponed her last Smear for reasons I can’t even remember, believe me I’ve tried to remember and there’s not a day goes by I wish I could swap places with her or wish I’d dragged her to the appointment and re-arranged it for her.

    Having already spoken to some of you here I know that some haven’t had a smear in a number of years, I think the longest was 20 years.

    Cervical screening (smear) takes only minutes, I am aware it’s not the most comfortable or dignified of experiences for women to go through but the consequences of missing one devastates life’s for everyone connected and will do for generations to come, I wake up every morning alone, bring my kids up alone.. yes I have family around me supporting me, and I’m truly thankful for that, but it’s never the same nor will it be.

    My wife missed her last Cervical Screen and paid the ultimate price she paid with her life. Let’s not let other families go through this immense pain we face daily let’s fight Cancer together as early detection saves lives I know this as I’m still in contact with women and their families who were being treated at the same time as my wife and who have been given the all clear.

    I’m so proud of how hard my wife fought against this devastating disease despite her knowing the awful truth that it would eventually claim her life.

    I know some of the pictures may distress you, i apologies if they do, but I needed to demonstrate how devastating Cancer is.

    Please share this post with your friends and ask them to do the same together we can beat cancer and save lives don’t let another family go through the pain we go through everyday thank you x

    This Is Why You Need To Get Your Smear Test Done
    This Is Why You Need To Get Your Smear Test Done
  • If You Don’t RSVP To Parties You Are A Dick

    If you don’t rsvp to parties you are a dick

    We live in a time when we are often busy, many of us drop off our children and rush off to work or running around after the toddler at home, I myself never seem to get a break and am forever running around after everyone else.

    So you collect your child from school after a hectic day and are handed a pile of school letters, leaflets and a party invite.

    Now what you should do is open the invite check the date and see if you and your child are available and fill out the reply slip or send a simple text to the worried party organising mum to let her know if your child will be able to attend.

    Personally I feel you should attend as many of these parties as possible, this child is hoping his or her friends will make their birthday special and would be devastated if no one attended and it’s been on social media and in the tabloids that a number of children have had the heart-break of no one turning up, can you imagine if that were your child and how that would make them feel.

    If for whatever reason you are unable to attend let them know as soon as you can, many parties require a deposit for each child invited, so if your son or daughter can’t go they may be able to fill the spot and invite another child.

    There is nothing worse than planning a party say at a zoo or play centre and having to pay for a child who doesn’t attend.

    I mean come on folks we live on our phones, how long does it really take to send a text, if you ignore the invite or just bin it and don’t rsvp then you my dear are a dick!

    You may like to read: http://mums-advice-old-copy.local/no-one-turned-up-to-his-birthday-party/

     

     

  • The 2 Year Funding Shouldn’t Be For The Unemployed

    I’m gonna rant and I will probably offend people but I honestly don’t give two hoots.

    So a 2-year-old can now get free early education and childcare if they live in England and get one of the qualifying benefits like income support, and tax credits and they have an annual income of under £16,190 before tax.

    So let’s get this straight if you don’t work and sit at home all day watching Jeremy Kyle, and scrolling through Facebook you can get free childcare, awesome you clearly deserve a break from your exhausting life 😡wouldn’t be so bad if they used this time to actively seek out work.

    My husband works damn hard to provide for me and our 2-year-old son, we just about make ends meet but every month is a struggle, we have to budget just to put food on the table and clothes on our backs, luxuries are a distant memory, no fancy holidays or nice new cars for us, we class putting the heating on as a huge luxury.

    I would love to return to work but we would not be able to get any form of financial help to pay for the extremely high child care costs, I would have to be earning £17 an hour just to make it financially viable.

    So yet again those who choose not to work and don’t wish to better themselves (not all I know many have genuine reasons) get extra support and help to have an easier life.

    It sickens me that if I were to leave my hard-working loving husband I would be financially better off, I could live off benefits or return to work and my son would get free childcare, my child would then be able to go on nice holidays and have named brand clothing, he wouldn’t have hand me down toys and only be able to go on free or cheap trips out.

    When will the government realise that it’s the people working that are struggling, they are the ones who should get extra help, 2 year funding for all or for no one, this country is unfair and it’s breaking people, those who are unemployed by choice don’t deserve anything, let the people who want to better themselves have help or a slight leg up, don’t penalize us for earning and working our butts off.

     

     

  • Football Mums Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way

    If your child is currently in or has even been in a football team you may relate.

    I have two sons Harrison 11 and Elijah 7 both who are in football teams.

    My weekends are no longer my own, we have training on a Friday night and I know some poor parents in other teams train bright and early on a Saturday morning.

    Every Sunday during the coldest months of the year I am forced to get both my boys to matches some being a great distance apart, I often have to plead with other parents to take one for me and then feel immense guilt that I missed their match.

    Now I forgot to mention I have a younger child who hates football, so on a cold Sunday morning I stand in the middle of a muddy field with my daughter moaning she is cold and bored and now been forced to get her expensive horse riding lessons as compensation.

    My boys NEED not want but need the latest football boots, there are subs to pay, coffees to buy and the perk of some venues selling bacon butties, and yearly signing on fees so it can cost a fair bit, sometimes they need sponsors for new kits or want you to help with bake sales or fundraising events.

    Football Mums Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
    Football Mums Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way

    Now I’m painting a negative picture here, we love it (ok not my daughter) but I have no interest in football at all but seeing my eldest scoring the winning goal or my middle son making a cracking save is a huge adrenaline rush.

    I become fierce mama at the side of that small football pitch cheering my boys on and root for the entire team, it is a huge commitment but one that is worth while.

    You become a unit, the children become firm friends and the parents support each other and their children.

    So yes it’s cold, yes it’s expensive and takes over your weekends but any proud football mum wouldn’t have it any other way, so if you’re thinking of signing your child up for football be prepared to get cold and wet but feel happy and proud at the same time.

     

     

     

  • Why I Banned Peppa Pig From My House

    Why I banned peppa pig from my house

    Peppa pig aka rude little brat is banned from my house and for good reason.

    Now I’m not against my children Amelia 4 and Caleb 2 watching television at all, in fact sometimes it’s the only piece and quiet I get.

    Now I’m sure every parent has seen Peppa pig but if not I’ll explain it.

    Peppa lives in a large house with mummy pig daddy pig and her little brother George (who is the only bloody character whose name doesn’t rhyme) George carries a dinosaur around with him.

    Every episode is just as wrong and annoying as the last.

    Peppa has hardly any manners, is never disciplined, is rude to her friends even hangs up the phone on them when they can do something she can’t erm how bloody rude..

    Peppa speaks for her brother and bosses him around this is probably why he is such a cry baby and constantly gets his own way, great life lesson cry and scream and get what you want.

    Peppas parents give into their children and clearly the pigs are not supervised properly.

    Peppa is a spoilt brat we all know that but that is not the only reason I’ve banned Peppa from my house.

    The program is bloody annoying “a bing bong” song is one of the reasons that I can’t stand this awful show.

    My daughter became obsessed with bloody puddles and stopped saying spaghetti we now have peegetti, arghhh chop her up and turn her into bacon.

    My heart aches for poor Miss.Rabbit who has at least 10 jobs, there is a bloody potato, yes a potato, yet they eat chips, a hamster vet who treats other creatures.

    What the actual hell are the producers on? Acid?

    This show makes my brain hurt and my ears bleed, if Peppa was real I’d make her road kill.

    We are now loyal fans of a child who is allowed to roam the jungle unattended with a creepy talking monkey called Boots and a bunch of puppies on a mission. Fml roll on the teen years.

     

     

  • My Son Will Only Sleep With Poo In His Hand

    My son will only sleep with poo in his hands

    My son is five years old he is happy and kind and of average intelligence, he loves Pokemon and riding his scooter and has lots of little friends at school and in our local area, he is doing well at school, his teacher says he his helpful and popular within the school.

    To look at you would think he was perfectly normal happy little boy, but my son has one very weird obsession.

    My son is obsessed with his own fecal matter, he loves the smell, texture and taste of his poo.

    He will spend ages wiping it on his bedroom wall, just so he can slowly lick it once it had dried, we’ve asked him a million times why he does it but he doesn’t know and says he just can’t stop.

    My son will not fall asleep without a tic tac size piece of poo in his hand, which he rolls around between his thumb and fore finger, it’s a comfort for him.

    His father and I have tried replacing the poo with play doh, even making homemade playdoh which is brown and added scents to it to resemble poo, but it did not work.

    We have seen Doctors, therapists and spoke with the school and everyone has tried to find ways to change our son’s behaviour but as of yet no one has found a tactic or treatment to prevent it.

    At one appointment it was suggested to place a belt with a lock on around his pyjamas so he could not access his poo, my son did not sleep for two days and screamed and cried, he could not cope without his poo comfort, my happy boy was sad, tired and hated everyone, we had no choice but to remove the belt.

    Relatives have said we should just put the belt back on and let him suffer a little longer until he finds another way to comfort himself, but they don’t see the hurt in his eyes and the hate he had for us for doing it to him.

    Not only is it disgusting and unhygienic we are extremely worried for his health, he often gets stys and stomach infections but we can’t put him through the pain of taking the one thing he loves away, once he is asleep we disinfect his hands and room, we ensure we clean all his walls daily and are always on the look out for other techniques and therapies but for now we are hoping he grows out of it on his own.

     

  • This New Social Media Challenge Could Turn Deadly!

    Teens have been taking part in a new social media challenge and it could soon turn deadly!

    Many attention seeking teen have been eating laundry pods, filming themselves and uploading their reactions to social media for likes and comments. 

    Online trolls have jokingly called the pods tasty also in some cases referring to them as a forbidden fruit! 

    The internet is full with memes featuring photos showing the laundry pods as a pizza topping or as breakfast cereal.

    A spokes person for Tide made this statement about the deadly challenge:
    “Our laundry pacs are a highly concentrated detergent meant to clean clothes, and they’re used safely in millions of households every day. They should be only used to clean clothes and kept up, closed and away from children.” 

    “We have seen no indication of an increase of cases seeking medical treatment amongst infants and teenagers associated with the recent uptick in social media conversation or in consumer calls.”

    This ridiculous challenge needs to end now before someone gets seriously ill.

  • Dads Are Important To- Keep Your Rants To Yourself

    Dads get such a bad press on social media and by multiple mums and woman around the globe but dads are important to (depending on his behaviour). .

    There are some terrible fathers out there, some total losers, some wasters and some abusers but what about the wonderful dads?

    One scroll through a Facebook mum group and you will see dads being slated left right and centre, especially on Father’s Day or at Christmas, but is it necessary to blame all men for one mans wrong doing or even to rant on social media on dads special days, surely on the likes of Fathers day we could keep our opinions to ourselves.

    There are dads out there begging to be a part of their children’s lives and often there is no good reason why they can’t be apart of their children’s lives other than the mum is bitter about the break up and is denying the father his rights to see his off spring.

    The second a mum rants about her partner or her ex most replies are “leave him” or he’s a waster you’re better off without him and a lot worse, sometimes we all need to hear the whole story to be able to make a judgement, just as not all men are bad not all woman are innocent and nice.

    Dads Are Important To Keep Your Rants To Yourself
    Dads Are Important To Keep Your Rants To Yourself

    Woman across the world are tarring all men with the same brush.

    Let’s remember ladies there are dads out there raising children alone, men who support their ex’s financially, mentally and even help with diy around their ex’s home, who spoil the kids and attend every school play, special event and remain civil and respect the mother of their child.

    There are men raising children which aren’t theirs and doing an amazing job to.

    There are fathers who are fantastic, who are hard-working, who are supportive, so come on ladies let’s show the good strong amazing dads some credit.

    Don’t label all men the same, find out the facts before we all judge and remember good dads, step fathers, partners and male relatives can provide a huge positive impact on your child’s well-being.

    Share this with an amazing father.

     

     

  • After the Tragic Loss of her Son this Women Truly Discovered the Kindness of Strangers

    Valerie Watts experienced every parent’s worst fear.  When she was 9 months pregnant she very sadly received the heart breaking news that her baby son Noah had passed away.

    Understandably, Valerie was beyond devastated and having her home filled with her baby’s crib, clothes and baby toys didn’t help her grief.

    Valerie from Cokata, Minnesota, told Fox9 news:
    “All week I knew, he wasn’t moving as much. I was very nervous.”

    Valerie was so heartbroken by the traumatic experience of giving birth to her stillborn son that she didn’t touch Noah’s nursery for a year.

    However, once Valerie felt she was ready she decided to hold a garage sale to sell Noah’s belongings and furniture.

    An older man by the name of Gerald took a liking to the baby crib.  Gerald restores old furniture in his spare time and thought he could make use of the crib.

    “She was kind of hesitant, I knew that maybe she didn’t want to sell it. Yet she did,” Gerald told Fox9.

    Gerald didn’t realise the real reason behind the garage sale.  He had seen Valerie selling baby things assuming her child was older and had outgrown these things.

    Once Gerald was home he discovered his wife had been chatting to Valerie and found out the real reason for the garage sale.

    So moved by the story they knew this crib must have meant so much to her and why she seemed so hesitant to sell it.

    They discussed taking the crib back, but Gerald decided he needed to do something special for Valerie.

    Knowing how painful it must have been to have it in the shape of a crib – he decided to transform it into a beautiful bench as a memorial for baby Noah. 

    After a week, Gerald and his wife returned to Valerie’s house with the gift.  The unused crib was now a beautiful bench which would sit in her home as a memory of her Noah.

    Valerie was left in tears by the amazing act of kindness and generosity from a stranger.

    “It’s amazing, and there’s good people out there, there’s proof,” she tells Fox9.

  • Child Maintenance Service Is It Failing

    Child Maintenance Service Is It Failing

    The child support agency (csa) has nearly completely changed to the child maintenance service (cms).

    There was promises of huge changes and improvements with this service, but many parents feel nothing has improved and they are still very much out-of-pocket.

    One mum said

    “Really starting to give up 😢why are they letting these dads not face there responsibilities it’s so wrong and not fair on us mums!😠”

    Another mum took to social media to rant about the injustice of the whole system and how the non-resident parent can lie and get away with it.

    “Got a letter in the post today. Yearly review. Kids so-called dad has finally declared an income to HMRC £32.40 a week. WOW I mean WOW. What’s that like just over 4hrs a week at minimum wage he is getting away with declaring? He is self-employed and earning way more than that but can still buck the system. Let’s see if January 18th he makes the 1st payment I’m guessing I will never see a penny in my life from him”

    The child maintenance service can work if the non-resident parent is employer or honest, if he is employed the service can take money directly from his wages or bank account.

    Mums and dads who are self-employed are however fiddling the system and claiming they earn less than they do.

    One mum we spoke to said her ex is a self-employed taxi driver the mum knows he works a minimum of 60 hours a week but he claims he only earns £65.60 a week, which is impossible and is even more infuriating when he has had a full sleeve tattoo done, been on three holidays last year and manages to go out drinking at least 4 times a month, yet she only receives £7 a week in payments for two children and cms takes a percentage of that for themselves.

    Not only are they dodging their financial parental responsibilities but screwing over the tax man, little seems to be done about this though and parents are left feeling frustrated and helpless.

    When parents have contacted the cms they are told there is nothing they can do their ends and the parent is to prove that their ex is earning more, many people have complained about the child maintenance service and feel that many of the employees are incompetent and lack the resources to actually deal with their claim.

    Have you had a bad experience with the csa or cms? We would love to hear from you