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26 September 2011

Alton Towers ahoy :)

Yay guess what, I am going to get to go to Alton Towers this week yay!  I've only been to Alton Towers a few times and I've never stayed in the hotel there, so I'm really excited that they have offered to let me go and sleep in the Chocolate room.  I'm going with my BFF Sammi and my cousin Rhys and I can't wait. I'm so glad that I get to do it and I'm even going to push myself to go on just one really scary ride lol and I might even buy the photograph to prove it.

Then, I'm back in Liverpool and as well as hospital things, I'm going to Andrew Collinge and I'm going to feel really special because I'm getting my wig and they're going to cut it into a style for me. I'll post a photo on here when I've got my new hair so you can see what it's like. My sister is going away to Scotland with her school so I get to choose a treat weekend and I said stay in Liverpool, because I only get to go there when I'm in hospital and it's a really nice city. Mum is going for a lesson in the Apple shop because she can't work anything and I'm going to look for a dress for the awards night which is the week after. At night time I want to eat pizza and then maybe listen to music somewhere. Oh and I want to go on the duck boat thing that I keep seeing. It's a yellow bus that drives around the city but then goes into the water as well. Sounds a bit mad but it looks fun.

A bit ago, we bumped into a girl who was out for a walk with an old lady from the care home across the road from us.  The lady said that she was really sad that she'd had to leave her dog and she fussed Bess and Mabel lots.  So Mum checked our insurance and we gave Mabel a really good wash because Labradors are always dirty and we went over (mum phoned first). It was so lovely and I was really glad that we went and most of the people were really pleased to see Mabel (they didn't really notice me or mum) and Mabel was very well behaved too. Lots of them told us about the dogs they'd had and their names and other stories.  When we came home, we both said that it felt really nice that we had done that and we've decided that we'll go over a few times a month and see everyone.  They were lovely people and all the staff were friendly and happy to have us there too. Plus Mabel got lots of hugs and some biscuits so she was very pleased too.

Before I go to London for the award night, I need another scan done. I don't like the scans because they're quite long and the machine is really noisy. We told them that we don't want to know the results before I go to London because it might spoil the weekend.  It might be bad luck to be planning two weekends but it does feel nice to be doing normal things and not thinking too much about hospital. Today, we saw our friends Phil and Diane, and Phil said to me and mum 'are you planning on being around at christmas' and we both started laughing.  Phil meant were we planning to go away or stay at home and we both thought he was asking if I was planning to be around.  So I laughed and said 'I hope so'!  I'm trying cos it's my 16th birthday the week before so that means I can ask to try archery.  I have done a bit of it but I'm not sure if anywhere does it around here so mum is going to find out and maybe I'll have a go at that too.  I might even add it to my list.

Keep telling everyone you know to join the bone marrow registers, don't stop and if you're going to send an 18th card, you could print out some information and put it in their card for me. Wouldn't it be good if every card company printed information about the register on the back of their 18th cards. Maybe that's a new mission for me!


20 September 2011

Dresses!

I am still looking for a dress to wear for the awards in a couple of weeks. I would laugh if I had other things to wear, but I've lost a lot of weight since I last went anywhere and they're all huge on me. I've also got loads of scars everywhere and I want to hide them. Oh and my legs aren't great either! I'm hoping that my wig will be ready before the awards, so I should at least have some hair. And I want to get it done in London on the day of the awards, because it's made of real hair and you can do anything with it.

On Saturday, I got to go to the Lantern Procession in Ulverston for the first time in 4 years and it was amazing.  My Mabel lantern was still wet at about 2pm and so mum had to use the hairdryer on it.  Loads of our friends had made lanterns as well, some from my bucket list and lots supporting Anthony Nolan and Bone Marrow Awareness.

Me with my Mabel lantern
The Bucket List Lantern
Today, I went to Apollo Cinemas in Barrow to watch 'I don't know how she does it'.  The Apollo have given our family an honorary lifetime membership and we laugh because when I go in, they just say 'Hi Alice, just go on through'! The film was really funny and if you get the chance to see it, go.  

Mum and me have been busy planning something very special.  I can't say what yet, but I will do soon.  But it will be amazing and it will help lots and lots of other people and I hope people will support us doing it!

I've had lots of lovely things sent to me and it's really difficult to write back to everyone but I want to say thank you so much for thinking of me. I love the bandanas, especially the ones from other countries and today I had Australia on my head!  I also got a cute Angry Birds T-shirt from Tracy in America, thank you.  A few schools have written to me, I got some really cute pictures drawn from Kenya and I'm enjoying a whole stack of letters and things from the International School in Alicante. 

The last thing but the most important is that mum found out that two more people who signed up through my recruitment clinics are going to donate their cells very soon.  I can't explain how happy it makes me to know that they've got a chance. I keep thinking about all the people that will be able to have a life because of the people like you who have listened. So thank you :)

Oh and you can still vote for me and Milly in the awards by clicking on the link at the top of this screen!

Updated video ...

A few months ago, Abigail Breslin and Cassidy Reiff wrote and recorded a song for me with their band 'CABB' ... it now has an updated video which shows some of my bucket list wishes coming true.  I love this song, just figuring out how to save it to play on my iPod

Raymond & Sebo sing for me!

"2 The Universe" with their song dedicated to Alice




15 September 2011

VOTE HERE

Thank you for all of your emails helping me do this ...

VOTE FOR ALICE & MILLY HERE x

Sarna, wigs and lanterns

I eventually escaped from Alder Hey on Friday and I was really pleased to be back home as I had a Mabel lantern to make. I started off well but then didn't do any more until late last night, but it's nearly done now. I'm in Liverpool again now but I'll finish the legs on Friday (it has only got 2 legs so far)! Every year, our town Ulverston, has a lantern procession through the cobbled streets and loads of people make lanterns from willow and once it's dark we light them and do the walk. This year the theme is Vikings but we're ignoring that and doing a mix of bone marrow awareness lanterns and bucket list lanterns. We have cinema ticket lanterns, sharks, a big camera, my Emma Bridgewater mug and of course Mabel. They are all things from my bucket list! I can't wait because I've always been in hospital and I've missed the last 3 years. I will put some photos on here next week. We had Merseyside Police in the hospital today telling us all how to be safe. We can remember someone from the dog unit sent us a message saying that I could go and see them training and meet some of the dogs. But then we couldn't find the email and Mum said we'd look stupid just randomly phoning police stations so I never got to go. Anyway, because they were there today, they gave us all the details again and now I'm hoping to go one day. I also went to the Andrew Collinge salon in Liverpool which was amazing. Not for my own hair, I'm getting a real hair wig! I had a really nice time and I picked a nice long style in quite a warm reddish brown. I can't wait for it to come cos then I get to go back and they will cut and style it on my head! I think that mum is going to try and book an appointment at the same time. My skin has been really horrid for years because ive had so much treatment. After i started my blog, an American company called ISClinical sent me a box of creams and things. The serum is making my scars fade and get softer and I love the body complex as well, ive decided that it smells happy!. One of the things you get with Hodgkin's is itching and it's not as bad as it used to be but it does still annoy me. Well we've found something for that as well and it works. It's called Sarna and my mums American friend gave it to me try and now I'm in love with it. It makes it all cold and tingly! I have a Lush bath and then I put Sarna on and it feels really nice. A few people have been busy nominating me for an award thing and they let us know that I've been shortlisted and we get to go to London for the night, as long as I'm well enough. What is really nice, is that Milly has been nominated too, for all her fundraising and charity things. But it is all down to the votes we get. So if you would like to vote for me and Milly, please do. I'm looking forward to the night but it feels a bit like school was when they picked two teams and you were terrified of been the last one picked. The link is www.inspirationawards.co.uk but I still don't know how to put a proper link on here. Will ask mum tomorrow. I'm in the second category and Milly is in the last one. I had three tweets today from people who have just signed up to be a BM donor. Hearing that makes me really happy, thank you and keep spreading the word and posting on Twitter and Facebook for me. I'll put pictures up when I'm home on my proper computer. I don't think I can do it on this.

7 September 2011

#GET10

It's either very late or quite early depending on how you look at it, but as I'm awake, I wanted to end the day with a message to all of my followers. This afternoon, I was busy tweeting and I was really shocked to find out that just 107 of a possible 650 MPs have taken up John Woodcock's challenge to #GET10, the campaign to recruit 10 fit, young men to the Anthony Nolan bone marrow registry. That means that, em a heck of a lot haven't signed to do it. So please tweet, email and Facebook YOUR MP, don't assume someone else will do it. There is a letter template here at http://www.anthonynolan.org/What-you-can-do/Grow-the-register/GET10/Contact-your-MP.aspx - please do this for me, it's really important! The link might not work, as I've had to nip back into Alder Hey and am using myipad, so I can't attach it the same way as normal. I realise that we all have busy lives - I had that too. But cancer doesn't stop for board meetings, lunches, dinner dates or shopping trips. It's there all the time and we've had to change our lives. But that doesn't bother me anymore because I've found out what's important and I've found a way to make a difference to lots and lots of people around the world. Spread the word and gather those donors up! I remember when we were looking for a donor for me for my second transplant, and mum kept visiting the supermarket looking for men and saying, "he's quite young and fit, I wonder if he's on the register?" and out would come the Anthony Nolan leaflet. Make a promise to ask someone new tomorrow and contact your MP. The truth is that someone, somewhere NEEDS YOU to try and save their live. Please repost / tweet and message ... we must make people aware.

1 September 2011

Thanks Tesco :)

Wow, guess what?  Tesco have phoned my mum and I'm getting to choose a new phone and they are getting me connected again and I shouldn't be without a phone for too much longer. Thanks for all the tweets, i'm getting to be a big twitter fan, it's cool once you get used to it. So if you don't tweet yet, go and try it lol :)