Her Hero Of The Week Is…

Read Yvonne’s most recent post here in full:

‘C Day’

Okay so I had gotten the worse news of my life but before I go into that and how I reacted, I should tell you first about how it all came to be.

I had taken up running a few months previous to this thanks to my good friend John, I had lost about 1/2 stone and I was in the fittest shape of my life since I was a teenager, even my boobs had shrunk and I was delighted!!!  I took part in the Galway 5k Series and had run my first 10k in the Kinvara Rock & Road.
I was in pretty good shape and I was working on getting my body into bikini shape for a cruise that we had booked later that year.

I had noticed a small bump when I was in the shower, to be honest I forgot about it, but a week later it was still there. I thought it was a muscle that I had built up from the running.So when I noticed it again I said to myself, I better get it checked out, so I called the Consultants office and asked if they could arrange for a Breast MRI, which they did.
I had the MRI on a Monday and the following day the Consultants office rang me to arrange an appointment to see the Consultant himself. We went through the results of the MRI scan, he said that something showed up but to be on the safe side we’ll do a biopsy. I told him that was perfect, lets get this out of the way, make sure I’m fine and then lets see about doing the preventive surgery.

Off I trotted to get the biopsy done, the Doctor that did it was very nice, it was a little sore and the only way I can describe it was like a little stapler going off inside you. I had a mammogram before and after the biopsy and I nearly fainted again!!! This time, I had to be brought into a room to lie down and was given a Bourbon biscuit and a cup of tea. They wouldn’t let me leave until they were sure I was okay. I was going to go back to work afterwards but then the Doctor that had done the biopsy came back to me and asked if I was okay. I told her I was fine and was heading back to work, she looked at me and told me to go home, “you’ve been through a lot today” it was only then that I realised, that something was wrong. I was in on Monday for MRI Scan, then the results on Tuesday, met the Consultant on the Wednesday and biopsy and 2 mammograms done. It was all too quick and really I knew what that meant.

I drove home in quite an amount of pain from the biopsy and it seemed to take forever to get home. It was going to be a week before the results of the biopsy came back so we (my husband – Gordon) decided to carry on as normal.
Fast forward to the following week, I had an appointment with the Consultant again for the biopsy results. I had already convinced myself that it was bad news but I wasn’t going to take it lying down. So what does a girl do in crisis, I got myself dolled up to the nines that morning. Did the GHD on the hair, put on a Fabulous dress and gold studded Topshop shoes. Well I wasn’t going to look bad after getting bad news now was I!!!

We waited in the Consultants rooms and people went in and out and it seemed that we were left until last. I told Gordon, “OMG, they are leaving us until last, you know why that is don’t you”. I had him up in a heap until eventually my name was called.
My heart was in my mouth, I could feel it pounding in my chest, the Consultant put out his hand and shook mine and said, “Yvonne, I’m sorry but you have Breast Cancer”, before he finished his sentence, I had burst out crying, ruining my freshly applied make up and said, “Yes, I knew it was bad news”. The rest of the time in that room was a bit of a blur, Gordon asked most of the questions. I asked one question that I can clearly remember. “Am I going to be alright?” he answered saying “I hope so”. That’s when it really hit me, Jesus this is serious, I might die from this. We left his room and went into another room with the Breast Care nurse, she gave me a booklet on Breast Cancer (which I still haven’t read) and her phone number, she was very nice to us both. We made some small talk and she walked us out, she admired my shoes and we left. We didn’t know what to do, we got out of there and headed for home, we rang our friends and family, well Gordon did most of it as I was too upset. We got home, I opened the fridge and took out a bottle of wine and poured myself a glass, it was early only about 4 o’clock but I needed a drink.
Some friends of ours came out to see me that night, Alan & Deirdre, Breda & Pauline. They all brought wine bless them. One of them (I won’t mention who) brought back 3 bottles of wine, a bag of ice and a pack of Xanax! We drank, we laughed, we cried and smoked way too many cigarettes. It was that night where Deirdre after a few glasses of wine had said to Gordon that you have to get her a cat with a squashed face (cause I LOVE cats!). Breda stayed that night with us, when I went to bed I broke down. Gordon ran up to the kitchen and got the Xanax and hugged me until I had calmed down. I slept that night due to wine and Xanax. (I am not condoning this!!!)

Things didn’t seem as bad the next day, I rang the travel agent to cancel our cruise and some sensible things like that. Gordon brought me into town shopping to take my mind off things, well what else can a girl do in a crisis. Things were bad but not that bad where I can’t shop!!!! I bought a few bits and pieces and when I got home I started my search for a cat with a squashed face!

____________________________

Check out Yvonne’s blog Feck My Boobs Tried To Kill Me for more witty posts.

A huge thanks to National Breast Cancer Research Institute’s Laura O’ Dea for sending this our way.

Do you know a HERO?

Ladies, every week we will select one complete gentleman to be Her Hero, not without your help of course…

How can you help? Send an image of someone you think is an absolute hero, and if we agree, your entry will get a very deserving and coveted place.

He doesn’t have to be fast, he doesn’t necessarily have to be brave, or have ever been involved in a fight in his life… but it may help.

The picture can be anything, a nice gesture from your boyfriend (providing you have one), a text from your Dad or friend, or even someone lovely you happen to meet on the street. Surprise us!

Send your potential Her Heroes to [email protected] or use the #HerHeroOfTheWeek on Twitter.

Until next week…