“Sue Kirkland”
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Tell
us a little bit about you and your family?
“Super Mum” is not a title that I feel
comfortable using to describe myself, I see myself more as an average person
journeying through life while juggling the demands of being a working mum. I
live with my hubby of 20 years and my 3 children (14, 11 and 9 yrs) and I work
part time as an Occupational Therapist (OT) as well as teaching casually within
the industry. As an OT, I assist people with their rehabilitation needs
following an injury or disability and I enjoy assisting these people work
through barriers to improve their independence, quality of life and achieve
their goals.
No one has food allergies in our house,
(although some have claimed to be allergic to green vegetables in the past!).
We’ve always tried to eat a variety of fresh food made from the home kitchen,
but have enjoyed trying new recipes from Cut out the Crap books despite not
having to due to allergies.
·
What
one ingredient can you not live without and why?
Is dark chocolate an ingredient? Good
quality dark chocolate has to be the best treat.
·
If
you had half an hour to cook dinner and realized you didn’t have anything
planned, what would you cook?
If I had chicken breast, it would be a
baked crumbed chicken with whatever vegetables were on hand. If nothing in the
freezer, then I usually keep a tin of salmon in the pantry and I would cook
salmon rissoles or a frittata.
·
What
is once piece of advice you can pass on to other busy mums?
Each season in our lives brings
different challenges and things to keep us busy. I had the 3 kids at home for 1
year when they were little and it felt super busy, but now that they are grown
up some more, life can still be busy but with different challenges. As others
have written before me, take the time out for yourself as well as with your
family frequently to recharge and enjoy the season you’re in. It doesn’t need
to be a whole day out all the time, it can be as easy as the cup of tea in the
sunny corner, or exploring the different coloured shells on the beach together.
I think it can be the modern day trap to have our own and our family’s week
fully booked up with activities and things to do all the time. I must confess I
need to take my own advice!
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| Sue enjoying a moment a cuppa in her "sunny corner" |
·
If
you could have dinner with any 3 people in the world, who would it be and why?
I’m not a big celebrity follower,
so I would be more inclined to have 3 friends that I can laugh with and enjoy
great conversation and great food.
But I would have someone to cook
the meal for us, nothing too fancy but with great taste, maybe someone like
Curtis Stone. I’m presently enjoying laughing at Hamish and Andy with my eldest
as they are very silly; I think they would be fun to have for dinner. I would
balance this out with someone inspirational in their Christian faith and life, such
as Dr Catherine Hamlin would has worked for the obstetric health of women in Ethiopia.
·
The
last few years you have been confronted with significant health challenges.
Would you mind sharing your story with others?
In 2009 (the year I turned 40) I discovered
a lump in my breast. Initially I was concerned but not terrified as I had no
family history of cancer and I had a reasonably healthy diet and was exercising
more than I had in several years – it would be OK. My husband had just finished
4 years of part time university study, while working full time and we had a
short holiday already booked up the coast, so we went and enjoyed it. On my
return I went to my GP and she thought it may be just a cyst but sent me off
for the tests to be sure. After the scans and a biopsy, it was confirmed as
breast cancer. Even at this stage I was still feeling pragmatic about it (OK,
tell me what I need to do and let’s get rid of it). I had the lump removed soon
after, but then received the results that it had spread into the lymph node
which meant another lot of surgery and chemotherapy treatment. At this point I
think the seriousness of it all hit home to me and the family and I moved past
the denial stage. I have a strong Christian faith and believed that no matter
what I was to face on this journey that God was there with me to provide me
with the strength and support to get through it, but that’s not to say that
there weren’t still plenty of tears and struggles.
So 2010 was spent having 6 months of
chemotherapy followed by a course of radiation therapy. I felt unwell and tired
a lot of the time but I had wonderful support from family, friends and others I
didn’t really know so well and we made it through. As a parent you don’t want
your kids to be anxious about your own health, so we tried to put the treatment
into a positive light to the kids and aimed to keep their lives as normal as we
could. They had to get used to my appearance being different and we talked
through their own feelings and concerns as well. Sometimes awful things just
happen, but with cancer an increasing disease it does make you question the
effect of our modern day lifestyles and diet can have on our overall health.
I’m almost 3 years post diagnosis and I’m
still adjusting to the changes my body has as a result of the treatment, but
I’m still here and living well. I don’t find myself dwelling on the “What if it
comes back” question, as I can’t fully control this and my life and my family’s
lives are in God’s hands. Some people turn their lives around after cancer and
take a whole new direction, but for me life has returned to the juggle of a
working mum caring for the family, aiming to eat healthy, exercise regularly
but taking the time to enjoy life’s big and small moments more and trying not
to worry over the small stuff.
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| Relay for life walk. Sue and her team of Carers. |
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| Sue and her hubby Russell |
Please don't forget to leave a comment, send me an email (info@cutoutthecrap.com.au) or pop by and say HI on Facebook (www.facebook.com/cutoutthecrap) and let Sue know just how amazing she is!
Wishing you a truly fantastic week....
Take Care of You,
Collette x
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