So I haven’t done a blog post for a while. It’s coming up to the end of a very difficult, busy year and I’m snowed under with things to do: I’ve been working really hard to get organised at work, CRUK Ambassador work, Christmas shopping, trying to find time to spend with my family. It’s been chaos! I’m going to have to dedicate more time to this blog as I really do love writing it.
I thought it was about time I did my tribute post for the two aunts and uncle that I have lost to Cancer. It was twelve years on Tuesday since we lost my Auntie Eleni so they’ve been on my mind even more then usual this week.
Firstly I wanted to start with my Uncle/Godfather Sotiris Christophe. Unfortunately he died when I was a baby so I don’t remember much about him but I do know he loved me very much. Dada (Godfather in Greek) was not only my dad’s big brother but he was also his best friend. He was chosen to be my godfather and I know for a fact he excelled at the job. I have a video of him looking after me during a heat wave and I was so hot that he got out the hairdryer and used the cool setting to cool me down. I also have a very cute pink fur coat that he bought me when I was about one. He was the first member of my family to die of cancer and although I don’t remember him clearly, I do miss him a lot and I do love him so much. I feel sad for my dad because he has lost such an important person and I feel sad that my sisters and my brother never got to meet him. I showed Leo and his mum a video of Nikki and me when we were little and you can tell what time period it is by what my yiayia is wearing. In my very early videos you see her in vibrant pinks and yellows but in the later videos she is in head to toe black. She wore black everyday after my Dada died. His death changed our family forever and is one of the saddest things to ever have happened to me.
My auntie Gina was also my godmother (Nouna in Greek). She was married to my Uncle/Dada Pan and was mum to my cousins Despo and Georgie. Again, she died when I was quite young so my memories of her are quite vague. I do remember she was very affectionate, I remember she absolutely adored Despo and Georgie (as well as Nik and me!) and I remember that she called us Cheeky Monkey’s a lot. Nouna died very suddenly when Despo was nine and Georgie was a little baby. I remember parts of what happened, I remember her funeral was on my mum’s birthday and that we stayed with Despo and Georgie a lot to make sure they were ok. I hope wherever Nouna is now, she has been reunited with Georgie and I hope she can see what an amazing young woman Despo has become.
Auntie Eleni was my dad’s sister. The baby of the family. She was amazing. She loved Nik and me loads and would spoil us rotten. When we were little, dad took us to museums all the time and Auntie Eleni would sometimes come with us. I remember once we went somewhere and queued for ages to get in. As soon as we stepped foot inside Nik and I started asking for Macdonalds and dad wanted to see a bit of the museum first. Auntie Eleni wouldn’t have any of it and off we went to Macdonalds just as we wanted! I was about 10 when Auntie Eleni got sick. I remember she didn’t lose any of her hair, which was good because I always want to remember her with her big curly hair and big smile. I’ve managed to block out a lot of her illness and death, I just remember her as I want to remember her: my beautiful, kind auntie. I have a lot of her clothes and jewellery in a box tucked safely away to remember her by and I treasure them.
Losing my aunts and uncles is horrific and always will be some of the saddest events in my life. Not only did I lose them, but I also lost the possibility of more cousins and friends. Our family could have been bigger and more vibrant. It’s horribly heartbreaking. I’m not sure how my dad and Despo have coped with losing such people, it’s been hard enough for me. They were amazing aunts and uncles to me and I miss them everyday. All my charity work is for them, I don’t want them to have died for nothing. I hope they can see me and what I do and know that I loved them all very much and think of them everyday.
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