{"id":24198,"date":"2023-11-06T11:27:58","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T11:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=24198"},"modified":"2023-11-06T11:27:58","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T11:27:58","slug":"im-excited-for-the-next-chapter-says-cancer-survivor-and-proud-graduate-charlie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/student-stories\/im-excited-for-the-next-chapter-says-cancer-survivor-and-proud-graduate-charlie\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I’m excited for the next chapter’ says cancer survivor and proud graduate Charlie"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having played competitive sports for many years Charlie, 58, faced the biggest battle of his life to overcome a critical illness during his Open University (OU) Sport, Fitness and Coaching<\/a> degree. Charlie describes how digging deep and making the most of the OU’s support, gave him the strength to cross the finish line. He’s now looking forward to an exciting new career as a sports teacher.<\/p>\n

From a young age, sport was a lifeline for Charlie and something he was always good at.<\/p>\n

\u201cSchool was a challenging time for me. I found the academic side difficult, but I was lucky enough to have a fantastic sports teacher who noticed my potential,\u201d Charlie remembers. \u201cHe encouraged me to join all the school sports teams and helped me write about my experiences, which really helped me with other subjects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking coaching to the next level<\/strong><\/p>\n

While working as a physical training instructor for the Metropolitan Police Service, Charlie was approaching a milestone birthday and wanted to do something special to mark it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d been coaching football in the community for years, it\u2019s a real passion of mine,\u201d Charlie says. \u201cSo I decided to take a couple of months off work and coach football in America.<\/p>\n

After receiving amazing feedback on his coaching ability and style, Charlie found the confidence to \u00a0embark on the OU\u2019s Sport, Fitness and Coaching<\/a> degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a bit daunted at first, but I was ready to give it my all. I was also setting up my own community soccer school at the time, so everything was falling into place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devastating news<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since returning from America, Charlie had been struggling with hip pain. After consulting his doctor he was told he needed a hip replacement, which led to a devastating discovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went for my pre-op checks and several tests and scans later, the doctors discovered tumours on my lungs,\u201d Charlie explains. \u201cTo cut a long story short, I had a rare form of cancer, which needed extremely aggressive treatment. It was a horrible time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unsure of his survival chances, Charlie was rushed for treatment but he recovered well and eventually got the new hip he badly needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you can imagine with all that treatment, multiple operations and then a hip replacement, I had a lot of recovery time on my hands,\u201d Charlie recalls. \u201cI thought I\u2019d make the most of all that time and picked up my studies again, which I’d had to pause when I was really ill.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n

Surviving the scariest experience of his life made Charlie even more determined to succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing out of something like that gives you a whole new perspective,\u201d Charlie reflects. \u201cI felt I could do anything I set my mind to \u2013 including this degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he progressed through his degree, Charlie surprised himself by carving out time for study after a hard day at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked the adrenaline of reaching a submission deadline, I even miss that now. It was like training for a marathon and getting to race day,\u201d says Charlie.<\/p>\n

Digging deep<\/strong><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t always plain sailing for Charlie. After failing two tutor marked assignments, his self-confidence took a blow and he started to doubt whether he would ever graduate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t just miss out on a few marks, I failed badly,\u201d Charlie admits. \u201cI was finding the level of the work in that last year tough, and I was on the verge of giving up. But I\u2019d come so far, I just had to pick myself back up.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Charlie embraced the different avenues of support on offer at the OU.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d recommend the Student Support Service to anyone who\u2019s struggling. The support they gave me was absolutely brilliant,\u201d says Charlie. \u201cI also contacted my tutor, who was really patient and explained where I\u2019d gone wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using visualisation techniques he\u2019d honed through sport, Charlie dug deep and took his tutor\u2019s advice on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cI imagined myself crossing the stage at my graduation ceremony whenever I was doubting myself, then I absolutely smashed my final assignment,\u201d Charlie recounts. \u201cI was gobsmacked at the mark I got, and I couldn\u2019t have done it without the support I had from the OU.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning about himself<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only did Charlie exceed his academic expectations after completing his degree, but he also surprised himself in other ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy OU experience was amazing. I learned a lot about myself. I found another gear I never knew was there. I had this strong drive to do better. And for someone who was never on time, I got really good at time management!\u201d<\/p>\n

Determined to make the most of his achievements and the skills he developed along the way, Charlie has exciting plans for the future.<\/p>\n

\"Charlie

Charlie on graduation day.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 58 now, so I want to make the most of this degree,\u201d Charlie begins. \u201cI\u2019m planning to enrol for teacher training, so I can teach sports in secondary school. What better way to end my career? I know I can make a difference to young people and give back what my sports teacher gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie, who celebrated at his degree ceremony in Brighton last month, reflects on what it means to achieve his degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting this degree is the best thing I\u2019ve ever done. I can\u2019t wait for the next stage of my journey, and it\u2019s all thanks to the OU.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having played competitive sports for many years Charlie, 58, faced the biggest battle of his life to overcome a critical illness during his Open University (OU) Sport, Fitness and Coaching degree. Charlie describes how digging deep and making the most of the OU’s support, gave him the strength to cross the finish line. He’s now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":24202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1525,1643,2142],"class_list":["post-24198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-stories","tag-news-home","tag-ou-news","tag-student-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}