After eleven days in Sheffield, Elodie was transported by ambulance back to a hospital in Leicester. And Paul drove home. It was almost strange to have him there, after what had seemed like such a long absence. Once we’d confirmed that Elodie had arrived, we drove to the hospital to visit her. She was in... Continue Reading →

As Elodie turned one week old and there was no sign of her or Paul returning from Sheffield, my mum stepped in to accompany me to my first chemotherapy session. It was a big day for our family. I had to be at the hospital for 8.30am and could expect to be there for most... Continue Reading →

Monday No day should start at 3am with the onset of labour and end twenty-two hours later with you being wheeled down a corridor to say goodbye to your newborn daughter, who is being transferred by ambulance to an intensive care unit at another hospital. But last Monday did, for me. It feels like a... Continue Reading →

Last Sunday morning, Paul drove me to the hospital for the induction of my labour. I was 34 and a half weeks pregnant, and everyone was in agreement that my baby girl was big enough to come into the world. My oncologist was hoping to start my chemotherapy treatment a few days after delivery. I... Continue Reading →

After a bit of a break from all the appointments following the surgery, things started to pick up again. We met with an oncologist, a colleague of my surgeon (because she’s now on maternity leave) and the genetics nurse. We were given a lot of information, most of it pretty complicated. The best news was... Continue Reading →

I don’t have a straightforward relationship with breastfeeding. Does anyone? Back in 2013, when I was pregnant for the first time, I knew I wanted to give it a go. And then Joseph was born, three weeks early, and we had to stay in hospital for eight days because my blood pressure was high. The... Continue Reading →

Let me preface this post with an apology to anyone with the slightest grasp of biology. For all the mistakes I’m about to make, I’m sorry. So, because thirty-five is quite young to develop breast cancer and because my mum has also had breast cancer, my surgeon referred me to a genetics team. A few... Continue Reading →

I had a pretty easy time of it after the surgery. Joseph was at nursery for three days, and my parents were staying with us, and Paul and Rachel were around too. Because I had more help than I needed, Mum and Dad painted our nursery. The next day, they went to Rachel’s house and... Continue Reading →

We had to be at the hospital for 7am, which meant leaving the house before Joseph woke up. My parents were staying with us to look after him, and they got up to say goodbye. I was feeling a bit shaky, and Mum and I both started crying when we hugged, so I stepped out... Continue Reading →

The week before my surgery, the appointments really went into overdrive. Monday We saw our obstetrician. This appointment pre-dated the cancer. My pregnancy was being monitored quite closely because I had high blood pressure and eventually developed pre-eclampsia while I was pregnant with Joseph. But so far, my blood pressure had been fine, and things... Continue Reading →