Sue Hanham
Nearly ten years ago, Sue Hanham underwent a 12 hour operation in London to remove a squamous cell carcinoma from her tongue… in Sue’s words “all very ironic for someone who had spent three decades as a modern languages teacher.”
She recalls: “Coping with the after effects of surgery and the inevitable scars was very traumatic and my confidence and sunny disposition all but disappeared.”
However, on returning to Dorset for radiotherapy and speech therapy at Poole Hospital, Sue met Mavis Dale (a former patient) for whose “inspiration and ‘no nonsense’ advice” Sue says she will always be grateful. More about Mavis (who is a Trustee) in a future ‘post’.
After taking early retirement, Sue became involved with the charity, helping to organise raffles, coffee mornings, skittles evenings, harbour cruises, quiz nights etc…. and as she ‘befriended’ several others who faced similar surgery her life “soon became meaningful again”.
Nick Hanham
Sue’s husband, Nick also became very involved in fund raising and “has never looked back”! Family members joined in, with niece Rebecca making a donation from her 2009 London Marathon run, and cousin Cynthia helping create the About Face Centre’s garden.
Nick’s brother, Chris, contributed generously to Nick’s Dorset 5 Peaks Challenge (which involved climbing the highest hills in the county in a single day) raising a tidy sum! Another of Nick’s triumphs was to decorate their house with a mass of Christmas lights for several years running, attracting quite a crowd including the Mayor and Mayoress of Poole who turned on the lights in 2007.
Nick at Swanage Railway
One of Nick’s life-long hobbies has been the Swanage Steam Railway http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/ and when he is invited to give talks on his experiences as an engine driver, Nick always asks for a donation for About Face, of which he is now a Trustee. In fact, Nick’s own new railway website is now ‘online’ - http://www.5929.co.uk/ (this actually covers many forms of transportation but I wanted to get the ‘on line’ joke in!
Sue and Nick Hanham
