The one lesson I’ve learned from life
SINGER Limahl rose to fame in the 1980s as lead singer of pop group Kajagoogoo before launching his solo career. Now 61, he lives with Steve, his partner of 26 years, in Hertfordshire.
PLAN FOR THE WORST; HOPE FOR THE BEST
‘MAKE sure you’re prepared’ has become my motto in life, partly because I’ve learnt from experience.
As a young, naive twentysomething, I was guilty of not reading the small print on contracts and of splashing the cash instead of saving for a rainy day.
But, as I’ve got older, being prepared has taken on greater importance. Nothing proves that more vividly than the living nightmare I endured in 2004 while 5,000 miles from home.
In September 2003, I lost my 69-yearold father to liver cancer. It hit Mum extremely hard. I’m very close with my mother and wanted to help her move on from the grieving process.
Part of that included a trip to Las Vegas the following August. Mum, who was in her mid-60s, was excited because I’d arranged for us to see Celine Dion in concert, visit the Grand Canyon and stay in one of Vegas’s best hotels, The Mirage. But on the second day she woke up experiencing a tightness across her chest.
At the hospital, a cardiologist said she had suffered an aortic stenosis [narrowing of the opening of the heart’s aortic valve] and required open-heart surgery. His first question was: ‘Is your mum covered by medical insurance?’
Thankfully, she was. As part of the preparations for the trip, I’d bought a policy. It’s just as well, because the €100 fee paid for $155,000 (€139,000) of emergency medical treatment!
The trip quickly turned into a full-time ‘Save Mum’ project, with me liaising with, among others, Virgin Atlantic, Mum’s GP back home, the insurance company and family members.
It was incredibly stressful. But the operation was a complete success. She had a new valve installed and recovered in hospital. Our two-week trip turned into a month-long ordeal.
Mum is now 82 and doing well. It’s a happy ending to an incredibly traumatic episode. For me, the big realisation was that it’s crucial to be prepared.