Italian wishes come true for Mandie

I was flying with my friend Tracy – this destination was on both of our bucket lists and back in 2016 we decided we would go. Deep down I always panicked thinking my health might have deteriorated by this trip.

Tracy, who is very organised, planned the full trip, all I had to do was pack my case and wait for her to pick me up. Little did I know our friend Debbie had also booked and they were both keeping this as a massive surprise.

I have never been in so much shock when I jumped into Tracy’s car to head to the airport and Debbie was sitting in the car too.

READ MANDIE’S JUNE COLUMN HERE

I cracked my head off the car roof, it is the one time I have been speechless. I did joke that had I known Debbie was coming I wouldn’t have bothered ironing all my clothes, as I know she would have done this for me since she likes to mother me.

My friends really are the best and it touched my heart that it was important to them to make this trip so special.

Rome was jam-packed with sightseeing and wine pit stops. I just wanted to press a pause button and allow the weekend to last forever. Thank you my special ladies, we laughed hysterically from the word go to the end of our trip.

We had the pleasure of a tour around the Vatican and its sister church. The Colosseum was amazing, and I still find it difficult to believe the gladiatorial contests and public spectacles that took place there. We hunted high and low for Rome’s very first ice cream parlour, Giolitti, where they even add a lump of fresh cream on top of the cone. The famous Spanish Steps were our favourite where we indulged a bottle of rosie blush chilling on a roof top terrace. Finally we had a few of my favourite drinks an aperol spritz looking onto the Trevi fountain. At the fountain the famous thing to do is to throw a coin over your right shoulder into the water and it represents going back to visit Rome. I however made a wish that my next CT scan would be stable.

My wish was granted and the scan results I received last week were in fact stable, meaning a few more months of normality. I plan my life no further than scan to scan and it was such a relief to have good news to share with my family and friends.

READ MANDIE’S MAY COLUMN HERE

Nothing makes me more excited than being able to call my parents and make them smile. My body and mind are giving cancer the fight of its life.

What a summer it has been so far, six weeks of continuous sunshine on our door step. This is something we certainly do not take for granted in Scotland. Never in my life can I remember having a Scottish heatwave.

My friend Laura and I made some spur of the moment plans last weekend and decided to climb Dunmyat. It was lovely having a good chat, putting the world to rights and some exercise at the same time. What are the chances of randomly bumping into Laura’s big brother and his girlfriend at the top of Dunmyat. We spent an hour at the top blethering and enjoying the views of Stirling, the only thing that was missing was a picnic. It has given me the hill climbing bug so I have planned to take on the challenge of climbing Ben Nevis at the end of July, weather permitting.