‘Unbeaten run goes on important’
Paul Dobson, editor of SAFC fanzine A Love Supreme said the most important thing with the Wembley win was it keeps the ‘unbeaten run going’.
"The new owner [Kyril Louis-Dreyfus] was there and he will be looking at that and thinking it's the first little step,” he said.
"It's not the FA Cup, it's where we are now. It's what we are in with a chance of winningandwehavewonit.
"He can look at that as the first foundation stone in his projects.
"He couldn't have wanted a better start, he's got to winanother14gamesinthe league and then if they go to plan the second step will have been achieved.
"People say it's not the biggest trophy in the world and it isn't, but if any club in the world was in a final of any cup competition they would want to win it and we wanted to win that one."
A 26-year-old mum has opened up about her excruciating battle with endometriosis in a bid to raise awareness of the condition.
It has taken Jessica Brady three years to finally get a diagnosis of endometriosis – a long-term condition where tissue similar to the lining of thewombgrowsinotherplaces, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.
The condition has caused the mum-of-two to suffer from heavy and painful periods, with pain in her back, legs and pelvis, among other symptoms.
From the age of 23, Jessica, from Wheatley Hill, County Durham, has been in and out of hospital multiple times to try and find out the cause of her suffering – with her pain being so debilitating she has often passed out.
“I knew something wasn’t right as the pain I was experiencingwaslikeIwashavinglabourcontractionseverysingle month,” she said.
"I would wake my partner up early in the early hours of the morning due to the pain and he has had me pass out on him many times because I couldn’t handle it.”
Jessica, a nursery nurse at Nesham Private Nursery, Houghton, continued: “My journey has seen me back and forthfromthedoctorsforafull threeyears–onceortwiceevery single month.
"I have been referred to three different consultants and have had to go to A&E more than six times where I was put on an instant morphine
drip.
"Each time I was referred to hospital or went to the doctors I was told that it was ‘severe IBS’ and I was discharged withahandfulofmedication.”
The turning point came in January 2020 when Jessica was referred to a gynaecologist where she learned for the first time what endometriosis was.
To get a diagnosis, Jessica had to undergo an operation called ‘laparoscopy’ on September 25, 2020.
During the surgery, doctors
found that Jessica did haveendometriosisanditwas cut away from her right ovary and bladder.
ButbyNovember2020Jessica’s symptoms came back and she made the decision to have an induced menopause in a bid to relieve the pain.
Jessica, who is mum to Ellie, eight, and Mason, four, said: “Shutting my ovaries off at the age of 26 was a scary thoughtbutitwasmyoptionto get some sort of relief.
“I am very grateful to have a daughter and son, although
I was very young, as that could possibly have been my only chance of having children.”
But Jessica, who competes in pageants, says the treatment hasn’t stopped her pain entirely and says it is a condition she will have to live with forever.
"Having endometriosis has had a massive impact on my life,” she said.
“I can have events planned but may have to cancel at the last minute because a ‘flareup’ can come on anytime.
"I am due to get married in July which will be the biggest day of my life, but I always think; ‘what if?’
"It is a condition that I have to live with every day.”
To mark Endometriosis Awareness Month, Jessica is cycling for 30 minutes every day during March to raise awareness and funds for EndometriosisUK,acharitythat providessupportservicesand informationforthoseaffected by the condition.
To donate visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jbrady-endo
Sunderland's new household waste and recycling centre is living up to its name – by using recycled materials in its construction.
Work on the £4million site – on the former Rolls Royce site at Pallion – began in December and is due to be completed in the autumn.
With work almost complete on breaking up and removing existing concrete floor slabs from the former buildings – the material being removed is being crushed, graded and recycled for reuse in the construction process.
The new facility will replace the current Beach Street site and construction is being carried out "in house” by Sunderland City Council.
Its design will allow users to drop waste into skips which are below the level of the access roads.
Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: "I'm delighted we've been able to demonstrate our green credentials by reusing the concrete from the old Rolls Royce buildings in the construction of the new Household Waste and Recycling Centre.
"The reuse of materials from the former site is very much in keeping with the purpose of the new centre."
The council say the new centre will offer greatly improved facilities and better access than the current Beach Street site.
It will also have an onsite recycle and re-use shop – allowing people to bring along things they no longer want and leave them to be upcycled and repurposed.
It will also have a walk-in option which is something residents have asked for.
Cllr Miller said: "Residents told us that they wanted to see better household waste and recycling facilities and that's something we have taken on board.
"The new HWRC should provide for the city's bulky waste and recycling needs well into the future as Sunderland continues to grow, including any future recycling opportunities."
The current Beach Street site is open seven days a week and gets around 40,000 visits a year, collecting around 17,000 tonnes of plastic, wood, rubble, garden waste and electrical appliances.
About 60% of all the waste is recycled, the remainder being sent to an energy from a waste facility on Teesside.