What Did I Learn This Week?
Sorry, I know I am falling into your inbox on Sunday but better later than never.
This was a whirl wind of a week that started with feelings of post-virus fatigue and pre-hospital nevres.
Tonight I am looking forward to the week ahead which involves going on a college tour with my elder son, picking up my new car tomorrow as was well as working in a range projects for clients before heading to Birmingham late Saturday to attend the Pharmcary Show – if you are going, let me know.
However, back to this week, what did I learn?
We Can Achieve Great Things
Forget hard things, this week I learned that we can achieve great things. As the parent of a child with a chronic condition, when that diagnosis is given, life really is never the same.
For 13 years hip dysplasia has been a part of our lives, often dominating it, trying to ruin it and testing us in more ways than I think anyone can imagine.
However, my beautiful boy has been amazing, resilient and brave even on long nights post-op when the med’s wore off and the pain was off the scale, catheters were on the horizon (that cost me an X-box One) and he hasn’t been able to walk. He had had more x-rays than I can remember, he has had some truly horrific operations, including one that involved breaking his pelvis and bolting it back together, and spent endless months in casts, harnesses and in wheelchairs.
Today he was told, his surgeon is amazing, and she talks to him directly which is great, that he has pretty much perfect hips. She doesn’t want to him for two years and he his free to go and live his life, one for him that means loads of football, rugby (ouch but he loves it), tennis and swimming.
I can’t tell you what this feels like because I can’t actually quite believe I would ever hear those words.
But wow that’s what we have and it feels slightly like closure but I’ll always worry a little.
I know for some my campaigning for awareness, PR drives and book publicity, has been annoying (one person told me they’d had met women like me before trying to change the world) but with our surgeon telling me today that she keeps a stock of my books in her office to give parents who are given that crappy diagnosis, and knowing there is a FB community of close to 6000 people around the world who know have connection and support, I feel like in some small way while our world was blown apart, we have helped change it a little bit. It also means people won’t feel as alone as I did and if that’s one person, it’s worth it.
Lucas is the bravest kid I know, his brother is a superstar and tonight Oliver and I are thrilled, if not exhausted to know that those hips we worked so hard for, fought over (hospital life is really hard work) and eventually moved to Devon because of, are world class, so thanks for sticking around and supporting us.
Yes, we can do hard things, but I really hope we don’t have to deal with this again because it broke my sweet baby, and it broke me too, but we did it and now for a new chapter.
Well done my boy, well done.
I Miss Coaching, Mentoring and Training
As we put memes on social media mocking masks being worn before the reality of Covid set in, I went to London, sans mask, to embark on a seven-month journey to becoming a coach.
None of this $7 and one afternoon and you are done, this was the real deal, and I am today a fully qualified ICF accredited coach who this month alone was quoted in Yahoo, Stylist, The Independent and Metro speaking as a coach; one of the perks of also being a PR means I am often in the press.
And there is the twist, I love being able to combine coaching and mentoring with PR and I had somehow forgotten that.
My PR career spans 25 years but before I dropped into the media world, I was an English teacher in Tokyo, and I wrote a PR book that teaches people to do their own PR.
So, to bring this altogether I am going to be launching a new membership before the end of the year.
There. I have said it.
This was an idea I had earlier in the year, but I had a lot of great done for you PR work to do as well as some personal stuff going on with my father that meant I couldn’t do it all.
While things are still tough on that side, we have healthy hips and I feel like I want to bring back an element of my business that brings people together, creates community and allows people to grow their business through greater visibility and been seen in the media.
It has been on my mind but being asked to speak at two events in November and I know that have a range of ways for people to come and work with me was needed, and this is it along with one to one sessions as well as VIP half and whole days.
If you are interested in how PR could help elevate you and your business, as well as boosting your confidence and building your connections WHAT THIS SPACE because the PR Sanctuary will be for you - https://dtpr.uk/the-pr-sanctuary-membership/
Classic FM is Good for the Soul
Last week I happened upon Classic FM and it’s stayed on my car radio. While I love driving along singing myself back to 1992, there is something so soothing about listening to classic music. It feels like it’s a calmer way to drive, and let’s face it given the d%%%s out there trying to cut you up and take you out, you need that on the roads. I love the morning show, always thinking I will remember to research the question of the day, I don’t, but I love how the music eases your worries, takes you on journey – a lot like words – and has you starting your day on a high note.
And that’s it from me for this week.
Thank you for reading, if you have any comments, send them my way and if you would like to know more about the PR Sanctuary, let me know and I would love to tell you more.
Have a fabulous week.
Natalie