Human Kindness #20: A Sisterly Solidarity

Welcome back to Human Kindness! If you haven’t already, please check out Human Kindness: Introduction for the background to this blog series! These stories are NOT all my own, they have been submitted to me for the purpose of this series and are a collection from some of the kindest people I know or who have contacted me to share their story.

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for kindness stories, so please do get in touch if you have one, there is a chance for you to submit yours at the end of this post (and I will always keep them anonymous). As always, if you’d like to receive these stories directly to your inbox every Monday morning, sign up to the mailing list at the end of this post.

This week’s story made me cry, and I have so much compassion for this week’s poster and so many others like them, the turmoil they face and continue to face through gruelling cancer treatment and diagnoses, and the kindness and compassion they still show to others. Thank you for being YOU.

“I recently had to undergo an operation at the wonderful Wythenshawe hospital, for Breast Cancer.

I got to the Admissions suite where quite a few ladies were, like me, having PCR tests beforehand. It seemed a bit of a downbeat atmosphere despite the cheery nurses, and I thought “this is going to be a long day if nobody is talking”. We all seemed to be wrapped in our own worries and concerns of what we were about to go through.

I couldn’t stand the quiet and threw some quip into the room and it seemed to break the ice. Three of the ladies found out they were from the same area and had friends in common, and I think we all shared similar concerns about what was happening to us. A sisterly solidarity was born.

As I had already had a procedure in the unit, I was able to advise the others what would happen and how I’d had such a positive experience so far. It seemed we were all having similar operations with the same surgeon!

The day was long and most of us ended the day on the same recovery ward. Some went home the same day and some stayed overnight. I’m now linked on Facebook with one lady and we are still sharing notes on how we are doing post-op. One other lady who stayed overnight thanked me for being so chatty (I think normally I’m a bit annoying), and said if I’d not been with her, she would have spent the entire time on the ward wallowing in her own self-pity. She was quite upbeat as she was discharged.

I think the moral is, we can help each other when we share and confide that we are not all coping as well with life’s challenges. So even if you are on the quiet side, it is sometimes best to push yourself to speak up. Sisters can do it for themselves.”

***PLEASE NOTE – it seems there are some issues with the below form and stories not being submitted. For some reason you have to go through the process TWICE, you will receive a confirmation when your message has been sent. If you still can’t submit your story, please email it to hello@reflectandintrospect.com***

Have you experienced an act of kindness recently? Maybe you have done something for somebody that you haven’t yet shared for fear of being judged to be “bragging” or you have been on the receiving end of a kindness that somebody has shown you. My inbox is ALWAYS open for your kindness stories so please submit them!

Stories will be treated with discretion and published anonymously at all times, and I will share as much or as little information as you wish. Message me using the form below and I’ll be sure to feature your story in an upcoming post.

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