And then everything changed!
My oncologist smiled. ‘There’s no trace of cancer left,’ he said. Like me, he was amazed. I hadn’t expected to be in remission at all, never mind this quickly.
I’d need to finish the course of chemo – another five months of hell – but this news kept me going.
And to top it off, on Christmas
Eve, my partner proposed.
By April 2014, I’d finished chemo, and scans were still looking good.
The treatment meant I’d lost a whopping 4st, too.
‘I’ve been given a second chance,’ I told my fella. ‘I have to make the most of it.’
And that meant making healthier choices.
I moved back in with my man, restarted my job as a retail manager, started saving for the wedding.
Then, in April 2016,
I was tucking into lunch with a colleague when I noticed an awful taste in my mouth.
‘This sandwich tastes like metal,’ I shuddered.
‘That’s a sign of pregnancy,’ she said. It canÕt be... Scans at the end of my treatment had confirmed all my eggs had been destroyed.
Even so, I nipped to the chemist to grab a pregnancy test. And, sitting in the loo at work, I was stunned by two blue lines.
I called Mum, my partner. We were all delighted. I loved being pregnant, bewildered that I was growing a new life when I thought I’d be dead.
When Leo was born in January 2017, at 7lb 12oz, I felt like the luckiest woman alive.
But life as a mum wasn’t perfect. Doctors diagnosed me with postnatal depression, and I turned back to food for comfort.
By the time my fella and I married that June,
I was back to my biggest, squeezing into a size-22 wedding dress.
Looking at the photos, I felt sick.
I’d been given a second chance, a miracle baby boy
– yet I was squandering it all.
It was time to change.
A few days later, I signed up to WW (formerly Weight Watchers).
After years struggling, its plan really clicked with me. The weight started dropping off – and by April 2018, I had shed 5st.
Just in time for a mate’s hen do in Marbella.
Lounging in my size-14 cossie, I felt confident for the first time in years.
I’d lost another 4st by last November, taking me down to 9st 1lb.
Sadly, my marriage broke down and we’ve since split. I’m with a new partner, Darren, now – and while it’s early days, I’m happier than ever.
I’m maintaining my size-8 figure, have my beautiful little boy, 2, to dote on, and I’m healthy.
I won’t take life for granted again.
A second chance... I had to make the most of it