AN ADVENTURE WITH MRS. HCB

Hello Lovely Blippers,

As I have been out on a lovely adventure with Mrs. HCB, it’s my turn to write the journal entry for today - I may not be as good at it as JH Ted, but I will have a jolly good try.

You may remember back in October, actually on the 9th, when it was Silly Saturday, that I joined JH Ted and friends for my very first SS Blip on that day - but Mrs. HCB actually bought me in a shop in Reeth, a couple of days before that, hence my name, because my lovely pink colour appealed to her and of course, it also happened to be Breast Cancer Awareness Month.   

Today I got to have my first adventure with Mrs. HCB all on my own.  I knew that she was due to go and have a mammogram where they - oh I won’t go into what they do but I do know that a lot of squeezing goes on - and I also understand that it is a good idea for all ladies to have one of these at least every three years as well as checking their breasts for lumps or anything unusual every month.  

However, so Mrs. HCB told me, once you get to 71 years of age, you have to request a mammogram, because  you don’t get called automatically, and Mrs. HCB very wisely did this.  Well done, Mrs. HCB!

When I heard where Mrs. HCB was going, I made sure I had my Blip badge on, which as you can see is pink, my BCAM ribbon and of course, I also made sure that my hair ribbon and my face mask were both pink and then I jumped into her bag.  Mr. HCB laughed when he saw me in there and I think Mrs. HCB was quite surprised too.  Anyway, I digress - Mr. HCB drove Mrs. HCB to the nearby hospital - she could have driven herself, but the parking fees are exorbitant, so he drove her and dropped her off, and said he would come back later to pick us both up.

No sooner had she got into the hospital and checked in than she was greeted by a lady who whisked her away to the special room where the mammograms are done.  If you have never had one, then I won’t tell you what happens, I will let it be a surprise, but PLEASE do make sure that you attend the appointment if you are called and if you are over 71, do ring your doctor and arrange to have one every three years.  It is very wise to do this so that if there is anything wrong, then it can be detected early.  

The mammogram was all over in about five minutes, and as there was nowhere to take a photograph, Mrs. HCB popped into the nearby toilet - and sat me on a little thingummy, which just happened to be underneath a poster about Brighter Futures, a charity that raises funds for Great Western Hospital and community health services across Wiltshire and as you can see, it supports the work of the Breast Centre at the Hospital.

I think that’s about all I need to say today - I hope you like my pink “get up” and DO PLEASE do what Mrs. HCB did and go for that mammogram and also remember to check your breasts every month.  

With love to you all,

Reeth xxx

P.S.  Mr. HCB had only just got home when Mrs. HCB rang him and asked him to come back to collect her - but he was happy to do that.  He is a lovely man!