10 SALLY OBERMEDER YEARS OF HAPPINESS!
The TV star is celebrating a significant milestone thanks to her darling daughter
Inspirational TV star and mum-of-two Sally Obermeder found out she had breast cancer the day before her daughter was born. Now, she’s sharing the absolute joy of celebrating a decade since her diagnosis and Annabelle’s birth.
“Today marks 10 years since my life changed forever with cancer,” Sally wrote on Instagram last week in an emotional post.
“I dreamed of today for so long. And now it’s here, it’s all about her. Annabelle.”
The day marked her daughter’s 10th birthday, a moment Sally, 48, feared she might not live to see after learning just before she went into labour that she had stage 3 cancer. Even her doctors couldn’t promise the presenter would survive, after surgery revealed a tennis ball-sized tumour in her right breast.
TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY
The joy she felt at finally becoming pregnant after years of fertility treatments was overshadowed with sheer terror after a mammogram found that instead of a blocked milk duct she had advanced breast cancer.
“This beautiful baby who came into the world in unusual circumstances,” the former co-host of Seven’s The Daily Edition
wrote alongside a beautiful photograph of her and Annabelle triumphantly punching the air.
“She came with me to places babies shouldn’t go, and saw things babies shouldn’t see. She tolerated night after night of my tears falling onto her head as I held her, wondering what would become of me and what would become of her.
“Would she know how much I loved her? I prayed my ‘I love you’ whispers would seep into her soul, so that should the worst happen, her heart would know, it was always in my heart.
“And so today is for her. My heart beats outside me, a soul that shines so bright, I’m sure she was sent from the heavens.”
“We made it my darling girl.”
TEARS OF HAPPINESS
Sally and her husband of 20 years, Marcus, celebrated Annabelle’s special birthday with a Mexican feast before a long-awaited picnic in the park with Sally’s mum, who she hadn’t seen since June because of lockdown restrictions.
The brave star, who underwent a double mastectomy and 16 rounds of chemotherapy, also has a second daughter Elyssa, four, who was born via a US surrogate from the last embryo the couple had left after years of IVF treatment.
The inspiring post reduced many to tears with hundreds of family and friends flooding Sally with heartfelt congratulations, including one from close friend and former workmate Chezzi Denyer.
“BEAUTIFUL. This post. Your face. Annabelle’s beautiful little smile. So much love and respect and all the feels. You made it!!!!! Can’t believe it’s been 10 years.
I’ll never forget the day I found out. I cried and cried and cried. It was not long after we spoke about our soon to be born babies. Blew me away. Your strength. What you’d been dealt. Felt so unfair. How far you’ve come babe. Very, very proud of you!!” Grant Denyer’s wife wrote.
The Morning Show host Kylie Gillies posted a love heart emoji and the simple message “this 10 x 10 x 10 x infinity xxx” while Studio 10 co-host Angela Bishop simply posted four love heart emojis.
But there were thousands of other messages from mums touched by Sally’s journey.
“She’s so blessed to have you. Thank you for sharing so openly and being such an amazing role model and inspiration for many,” posted Mary-anne Maio. “This gave me goosebumps,” admitted Meagan Stone.
“How lucky are your precious girls to have such an outstanding role model as you. May all women that have gone through such an ordeal have your strength, your light and courage,” wrote Pen Kyria. Sally, who has gone from strength to strength since her cancer ordeal, writing her biography and launching her own wellness website, continues to inspire millions of women.
“You owe it to yourself to become everything you’ve ever dreamed of,” she says.
‘She tolerated night after night of my tears falling onto her head’