Tag: Chronic illness

How ridiculous – The certainty of Cancer is 10x easier than the possibility of Corona Virus!

By C. Pontes-Kicks
The certainty of Cancer is easier than the possibility of Corona Virus. What a bold statement, could that really be? Here is why it felt that way to me! Receiving a cancer diagnosis from a Dr. I worked with was simply devastating, it probably would have felt equally devastating even if I did not know him! What did it do? It removed questions about – could he have made a mistake? Is he experienced, should I seek a second opinion? I knew his professionalism so it was a weirdly reassuring drop in the sea of turmoil. With all the questions […]

NHS – Hate it, Love it, take it or leave it!

By C. Pontes-Kicks
The NHS gives blood, sweat and tears to ensure people shed less tears over loved ones. Love it or hate it, we need it. I love the NHS and believe in it with all my being. I work for it and have been privileged to work for Trusts where optimal is the norm and expected. But does it have problems? Yes. I have devoted my life to the NHS, so I never expected having to fight tooth, nail and grit for my own personal basic care.  The beginning of my crazy journey was spent septic in various hospitals in Portugal […]

Bad choices that lead to healthy choices

By C. Pontes-Kicks
Epiphany moments can be amazing – we reassess our priorities, but can also be harrowing, we realise the mountains we have to climb and they often involve change. Through the years there have been many decisions and changes that were made for many reasons that in the end were meant to align with better health! Some did and many didn’t yet, as my 7 year old coined yesterday FAIL – in Fail all is learning. I have learnt more from the “failures” then from the achievements. I chose to chemically process my hair at the age of 15, not because […]

Managing Life’s Interruptions Part Two

By C. Pontes-Kicks
(Strong emotions alert) I remember growing up hearing how cancer affects one in three people and somehow despite how tragic it sounded not let it touch me in the slightest. As an adult I became intrigued about it, curious and somehow thought I could study it and care for people with cancer. This was the first time Cancer became one of my life’s interruptions. How wrong was I! I thought that being a nurse would be coming in and saving the day! Then there I was on a cancer ward, on my final year of nursing only to find I […]

Little knowledge and blinding ambition can be dangerous

By C. Pontes-Kicks
Little knowledge beware – proceed at your own risk! As a teenager with no clue on how to lose weight except put less in and burn more meant I would not eat enough calories, and exercised with abandon. I felt like I was on top of the world, unstoppable, a feeling commonly known to teenagers. Soon, for the first time in my life I was losing weight. I started to feel hopeful, I could soon be accepted, people were congratulating me on the changes. Until one day…. I had to re-evaluate what I was doing and what I was willing […]

Catia’s Story

By C. Pontes-Kicks
Catia’s story Name: Catia Nickname: Katee (family) Married with 2 children Profession: Healthcare professional, Entrepreneur, Coach/mentor, Marketer. Been there done that: abusive relationship, divorce, single mum, cancer. Catia has struggled with weight her whole life. First for the lack of knowledge and guidance and later for the lack of belief. As a child, she was often home alone in charge of chores like cooking the meals for herself and her brother. And children will cook what children want to eat! Hardly the healthiest choices, as you can imagine. As a result Catia grew up overweight, insecure, feeling unworthy and not […]