‘I was told I had a week to live’
Nicola Poole, 50, is a specialist family lawyer and managing director of law firm Hedges law. She lives in oxford with her husband, Wayne, and four teenagers.
I was nearly 40 when I started losing weight and experiencing night sweats. I’d wake up wringing wet, as if somebody had poured a bucket of water over me. I had a blood test, but was so busy with two boys under two, I didn’t think any more of it.
Then my GP rang saying, “You need to go to hospital now and pack an overnight bag.”
It turned out my blood count was on the floor. At first the doctors thought it was leukaemia, then lymphoma. They tested for TB, Lyme disease, Weil’s disease and AIDS, but couldn’t find the cause.
My symptoms continued to get worse. I had a fever and shook so hard that my teeth rattled. I felt sick and my weight dropped to below 6st.
On New Year’s Eve, it was my son’s first birthday. I didn’t smell or look like Mummy and he was clawing to get away from me. It broke my heart.
After 10 weeks, I was transferred to a cancer ward and told I had a week to live. It was crucifying thinking about leaving my children.
I cried and cried, but eventually
I had to accept I wasn’t going to make it, and felt absolute calm.
The doctors decided to start chemotherapy the following day. Late that night, the door opened and two consultants came running in saying, “We have amazing news! You don’t have cancer, you have Leishmaniasis disease. It’s a potentially fatal but treatable disease caused by a parasite.”
I couldn’t take it in. It turned out I’d contracted it from a sandfly bite on holiday in Greece.
When it sank in that I wasn’t going to die, it was as if someone had removed a steel band from around my chest.
The relief was indescribable.
Within hours, I was hooked up to a drip and treated. Chemotherapy would have killed me. It was only because a junior doctor identified my illness that I survived.
I was in hospital for over four months and was a different person when
I came out – less compliant or worried about what anyone thought. I vowed never to stress about work, shout at my children or sweat the small stuff again.
I felt so, so lucky and had a burning desire to give back. I ran five marathons, cycled 500km across India in five days, and climbed Kilimanjaro. I raised around £50,000 for charity.
Sadly, my marriage didn’t survive. Our connection became too fragile and I felt I had to put my happiness first, but we’re still great pals and have both since remarried.
Coming back from a near-death experience definitely gave me a
“can do” attitude. I know how precious life is. Now I’ve been given a second chance, I want to live it. >>
‘It was crucifying thinking about leaving my children’