Bald, Brave, and Bloody Beautiful

It was one of those days that stays with you for the rest of your life: 1 November, 2018, the day I found a small lump in my left breast. I'll never forget that moment. I was filled with dread, fear, and worry about what the future held. I had already seen several family members in the past few months be diagnosed with breast cancer, that dreaded disease. The next day, I was attending a dinner at St. George's Hall, Liverpool, an iconic ceremonial building known throughout the world and the first building visitors see as they exit Lime Street station. It's so iconic that it has been used as a backdrop for film locations for numerous international movies in recent years. I was attending this dinner because I had been nominated for two awards: Employee of the year, a massive honour, and Innovator of the year. These were two extremely prestigious awards within my place of work, Aintree University Hospital. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement but I was truly over the moon for reasons I will go into later in my story.