Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘Be kind’ message after illness
A NORTHERN Irish mum has spoken about how her cancer diagnosis at the age of 30 led her to embrace kindness and being more open when it comes to talking about mental health.
Podcaster and comedy producer Mairin Geddis had just hit the milestone birthday when she gave birth to her son. Just days later, she was diagnosed with having lymphoma in her chest.
Mairin is now, thankfully, in remission. Throughout that time, she has been sharing her journey on social media.
Ahead of this year’s Darkness Into Light 2021 – One Sunrise Together this Saturday, the organiser’s Pieta, supported by
Electric Ireland, are asking people to sign up and mark the event.
These activities, carried out within Covid guidelines, will help shine a light on suicide and self-harm.
Mairin has been talking about her own story. She said: “I was diagnosed with lymphoma just nine days after giving birth at the end of 2019, which came as a complete shock.”
Throughout this difficult time, Mairin hasn’t been afraid of linking with other people. She added: “The diagnosis helped me connect with people over the past year, mainly through Instagram really.”
Mairin’s positive take – as well as her openness in discussing it publicly alongside her husband, comedian Colin Geddis – was what led to her connecting with the Darkness Into Light campaign.
She added: “I was really emboldened by how much kindness I received from strangers.
“So to me, it opened my eyes to how being positive or kind can really help someone. You don’t know what people are going through when it comes to mental health, it can mean so much to be kind.”