Happy :)

“Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
(Because I'm happy)
Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do”

‘Happy’ by Pharell Williams

Today I am happy! It’s fair to say that I’m often happy, but today has been a particularly happy day.....

Family, close friends, and the resilient long term blog readers will know I spent more time in hospital a year after my initial diagnosis due to an unfortunate incidence of drug toxicity. This incident has probably left more, or certainly equally as many, mental scars as my original diagnosis and treatment has. My poor husband was dispatched to ‘prepare the family’ with the sobering news that I probably had about four days to live. Nobody knew why I’d suddenly taken such a turn for the worse. Oncology and Neurology couldn’t come up with any suggestions, but a Consultant in my local hospital kept trying. At her side was a Macmillan nurse. He kept working and trying to figure out what was going on. As I slipped in and out of consciousness, that nurse asked the question “Has anyone checked her phenytoin levels?” 

That question led to the discovery of phenytoin toxicity. 

That discovery saved my life. 

That nurse saved my life.

Last night in a ceremony in a posh hotel just outside Belfast, my nurse hero won the Patient’s Choice Award at the Royal College of Nursing Nurse of the Year Awards. This morning that sweet and humble man told me “This award was for you”. This award was most definitely not for me. This award was for a dedicated and special nurse who I will never be able to adequately thank. 

It takes very little time to help enter someone for an award or recognition of some type. As someone who’s received an honour and also had the honour of contributing to someone else’s nomination for an award, I can assure you that there is no feeling like it. Trust me, it’ll make you happy.

It doesn’t have to be as dramatic as saving someone’s life and it doesn’t have to be as grand as trophies or medals. A card, a letter or email to their boss, flowers, a book, a simple ‘thank you’ can be enough.

Honour those who do good things because there are many decent people in this world who could go unnoticed due to our busy schedules. 

Take some time today to show someone you appreciate them. It’ll make you happy too. Put on your dancing shoes and......

“Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth”!! Xx