"I’m sad to share the very upsetting news that Twiga passed away on Saturday morning following a two and a half year battle with cancer. She was with the people she loved most in the world: her husband, her dad and her dogs.
She was a wonderfully kind and joyous person who embraced life and was determined to live each day to the full. She fitted more into her 28 years on this earth than many will in a lifetime and touched so many people in different ways, including many of you on here. Her passing so young is just a cruel and devastating waste. She leaves behind family and friends whose lives will never be whole ever again.
She was private about her illness much of the time but this is a vital opportunity to remind you all of the importance of cancer screening. Her death may well have been preventable had she been screened earlier and I know that she felt very strongly that her case should be held up as an example to highlight that nothing concerned with health is worth delaying for any reason whatsoever. Lives have been utterly shattered beyond repair and I would hate for that to happen to any of you or your loved ones.
I am sure that she has left her mark on this place like she has with all the places she visited (mainly due to her ludicrous clumsiness), and that her memory can live on here. Thank you for the kind messages you have sent me in recent days, to see how much she was loved by your community is truly a comfort.
Mr Twiga xx
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A footnote from Footlong: Over the past year, we have all been privileged to share time with Twiga. She filled our community with laughter and happiness, and not a small amount of sheer craziness. Even when her own battles were difficult, she showed compassion and kindness to those who needed it. The girl behind the giraffe was as beautiful, as funny and as vibrant in real life as she was here, and the loss to those who loved her is unimaginable. To Mr Twiga and the rest of her cherished family, I send my very best ((hug)).
In all this, there is a message that absolutely cannot be lost or ignored. However, it is not my message to give, it is Twiga’s.
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Twiga/Thu Mar ****:38
#nomakeup selfies
*sensitive, but very important*
My whole cancer journey started with my first routine smear test that I had in 2011 when I was 25. I just had a letter from the GP drop through my letterbox and went along totally carefree. Needless to say the results that came back were just awful and I had two years of treatment/operations as a result of them. I had a blissful cancer-free period last year that I shall be eternally grateful for. However as of Jan 2014 the f*cker seems to have decided to spread upwards and outwards and I will not ever be able to say I am cancer free again.
I'm not saying this for the love (please don't actually - I feel the love already and I love you all back). I'm saying this out of a sense of duty that no one should have to deal with this and the thought that there are people out there who are not showing up for smear tests and the like really upsets me. I got 'called' at 25 and it should have been much earlier. I wish I had been 'called' at 23. I wish I had been 'called' at 19. Fark, I wish I had a friggin smear test everyday. So any Otters or lurkers reading this - get off your arses now (or at least first thing tomorrow) and please PLEASE get yourself booked in for a smear. And feel your boobs too,
Right, my Otter Rock and I shall now get off our soapbox and return to the party thread.
