"A journey in life in a different direction"

I met Joe who works for Friends of the Cancer Centre as a Physical Activity Coach in the Physiotherapy Department at the Belfast City Hospital.

I found Joe was very easy to communicate with and he guided me through the process to undertake physical activity with himself and other cancer patients via a virtual group session when I was discharged home.

I was quite debilitated at the beginning of these sessions but Joe pitched each session to include everyone wherever they were in the process to wellness again.

I enjoyed each session and as time went on I began to feel better and I gained more confidence to complete the workout each week.  I found myself acknowledging that my capacity to undertake physical activity was improving and therefore I was rewarded by taking part and moving further in my quest to attain better mobility.

There were times at the beginning where I felt debilitated but I made the effort to join each weekly session and towards the end of the programme I felt a little sad but I realised how far I had come and recently I was able to go and play badminton which I felt I could never do again at the outset of this journey!  

We are all on a journey in a different direction in life but the weekly exercise sessions pushed me to return to a measure of my former activity level.

Thanks to Joe and the Team at Friends of the Cancer Centre as your help, support and enthusiasm kept me energised when I did not feel like it but at the end of each session I felt better, less fatigued and the engagement with others provided a measure of feeling less isolated.