Tomorrow marks three months beyond my battle with cancer, 8 hours of surgery and 5 days in hospital and a further 2 weeks of all sorts of tubes and drains seems now a distant memory.
Thanks to the support of everyone around me, the journey has been tough but possible. Yes I no longer have a bottom, and thanks to irrigation I poo just once a day, which I have to dedicate 1 hour a day to, that is 7 hours a week, my new bum is a hole in my tummy which is covered with a patch allowing me to get on with life and back to doing the job I love.
All this said I am lucky, I went early to the doctor after noticing I felt the need to go to the toilet more often, my doctor identified a lump which was telling my brain that I needed to go to the toilet even though I didn’t. Quick referral and a fantastic service through both The Alexandra Hospital and Worcester Hospital left me feeling nothing but admiration for an NHS service of which we should be very proud of.
I am also lucky as my histology results concluded that all of the cancer had been successfully removed and I did not have to have chemotherapy, on the 28th of May 2017 Sue and I will be married which for both of us will mark the beginning of an exciting future in our lives together on the farm.
On the 20th October we are attending the British Farming Awards, having been shortlisted as Digital Innovators through growing our Farm Stay Business using social media, being recognised at this level is amazing though secretly winning would be the icing on the cake.
Today we collect our sausages after taking our pig in last Monday, so life is back to some level of normality, with sheep getting stuck in the wire and guest change overs all adding to the variety. This weekend we will be attending the Inkberow Young Farmers Harvest Supper, marking the end of another growing season and new beginnings of what I know will be a fantastic year to come.
Oaks Barn Farm 
Advice we should all live by. Good luck with the future.
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