I sometimes don’t know where to start when blogging as I have heaps to say, but I am not the best story teller in the world:( Lucky for me I can capture a moment that will tell many stories. I love that we can document peoples lives and these images are something that will last forever and when the grandkids and great great grandkids are looking at these portraits there will be a story:)

Maybe I am getting soppy as I get older but I do love meeting and getting to know people. Everyone has a story and to some degree we get to play a part in that by documenting it. We met Keryll & David a few years ago when Kris photographed their wedding. Since then they have had 3 babies, George and twins Piper and George which I have had the pleasure of photographing.

During this last shoot I learned that Keryll had survived breast cancer and I was moved by her story. With her permission she has given me her story to share as it is “one of triumph, hope and love”. Thank you for sharing;)

Here are a few photos from our recent shoot and some wedding photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Precious Gifts

My story is one of triumph, hope and love. The journey started back in February 2004 when I was 30 years old, single, successful in my profession, fit and enjoying life to the fullest.  Suddenly things changed; I discovered a very small lump, the size of a tiny ball bearing near my right armpit, the edge of my right breast.  At that time I was not overly concern but thought it best to get it checked out, so I went to a GP who examined it and told me “look don’t be worried, it is more likely to be nothing but make a non-urgent appointment at the Wesley Breast Clinic to be sure.”  A non-urgent appointment meant I had to wait 3 weeks and this was very reassuring that the lump would be just a sebaceous cyst (non-cancerous).

On 24^th March 2004 I visited the Wesley Breast Clinic, my boyfriend David came with me to keep me company.  We went to the waiting room, were I had to wear a lovely blue gown.  David was brilliant, sitting and waiting all day.  The ladies that volunteer at the clinic seemed to paying a little more attention to me then they were with the other ladies.  I had to keep going back into the examination rooms, and this was starting to concern me.  Eventually I saw a doctor at the clinic who told me that the ultra sound was suspicious and she would have to do a biopsy of the lump.  I went back into the ultra sound room, there was a radiologist and two doctors they put a needle into my right breast, and drew out some fluid, I think this hurt but I can’t remember the pain because I was so scared.  I walked out of the room to David and started to cry, I said “it doesn’t look good.”  I was told to call back at 4:45pm for the results.

David and I left the hospital, we were exhausted.  We went home and I feel asleep.  When I woke up at 4:30pm I had this feeling of relief, I was feeling positive that the results would be favourable.  I rang the clinic and was told the results weren’t back and that the doctor would call me back once the results were in.

At 4:50pm the phone rang and I answered it, I heard a female voice say “I have bad news, it is malignant!  You will need to contact your Doctor first thing in the morning.”  I hung up the phone and fell into a crying heap on the floor.  David and I just cried and I shook all over.

I rang my Mum and Dad immediately and my family rushed to my side.  That night I had little to no sleep that night – the next morning I woke up full of fear.  An appointment was made to see a surgeon that afternoon – Dr Barry Fryar. Mum and Dad took me to the appointment that afternoon, he was excellent but I was now very scared.  Family, friends and of course David rallied around to support me.  Over the next few days I had numerous chest x-rays and blood tests, Dr Fryar gave me sleeping tablets to help me rest.  Although my world felt like it was spinning out of control, I felt I had a level of power as I was in control of the decisions that were made about my body.  Dr Fryar discussed the option of having children in the future – it was unknown if I would be able to have children if I required chemotherapy and radium after surgery.  It is discussed at the time to partake in a trial of freezing a wedge of my ovaries, but it was only a trial and no certainty could be provided and it would delay my treatment for the cancer, so decided not to partake in the trial and leave it up to God.

I started to notice the concern and responses from the medical profession when they realised I was 30 years old with breast cancer and no family history.  I asked Dr Fryar why did it appear that others were concerned about my age.  The response flawed me “statistically you will not survive 5 years from breast cancer at your age!”  From that point I was determined to defy statistics.

After a lot of discussions I decided to have a lumpectomy on 30^th March 2004.  They removed a 1cm cancerous tumour and lymph nodes from my right armpit.  I only had one very neat scar and a drain to remove the fluid.  The doctors were very happy with the surgery – there were no cancerous nodes located out of 38 lymph nodes.  Although I was in a lot of physical pain I knew it would go away.

I was told that I would require chemotherapy, radium and hormone treatment.

Dr David Grimes was my oncologist.  I had chemotherapy every three weeks for four cycles.  This was so hard – I was so sick, I really thought I was going to die.  My hair fell out, I was bloated and I was sick of vomiting.   Between treatments I had three days of feeling quite good and spent some of them at the coast, sitting on the beach reflecting on the life I had, the life I wanted after the treatment, having children, and of course dying.

After the chemo, I had 28 treatments of radium to the right breast.  I had to have radium every day, it didn’t hurt – it was just like an x-ray, but the breast became very red, just like severe sunburn. The right breast became very firm and a little tender.  The radium was a breeze after doing the chemo.

At the same time that I started the radium I had to start to have Zoladex Injections once a month.  This was a drug similar to Tamoxifen.  One of the side effects was it placed me into menopause.  The doctors advised me that there was a likelihood that I would not revert back to pre-menopause after I finished the treatment.  I was required to stay on Zoladex for two years.  I fought through the hot flushes, mood swings and thirst but enjoyed the no periods (as every woman would).  Although it was a constant scary reminder that I may never have children.

In September 2006 I had my final Zoladex Injection, by the end of October 2006 my menstrual cycle had returned – it was a miracle.

My beautiful boyfriend David proposed to me in December 2007.  We both wanted children but although my periods had returned it was unknown if I could conceive, but we agreed that we would wait to be married and hope that God would bless us with a precious gift.

In January 2009 we married and with God’s help we conceived immediately.  Shocked and over joyed we endured the pregnancy.  I always wanted to breast feed but was unsure if I would be able to due to my previous treatment.  I tried to find as much on the subject as I could, but was unable to find any as there was no documented information.  It was just a wait and see.  I was told by a lot of professionals that I would be able to successfully feed from one breast even if the right breast did not function.

On 22^nd October 2009 a precious gift, George Jack 8lb 15oz was born – he was the most beautiful little boy I have ever seen.  The following days I noticed that the left breast appeared to be getting a lot larger and producing colostrum and milk but the right breast made no change.  We continued to feed from the left breast only – George was very content and was putting on weight slowly.

Six weeks after the birth I returned to regular exercise and commenced my personal training business, trying to encourage others to be healthy and happy.

My brilliant lactation consultant, Jan Halliday, suggested I look at the herbal supplement, Fenugreek.  She also suggested that if my milk supply didn’t improvement speak to my GP about Motilium.  I was determined to give George to the best go at breast feeding so I took Fenugreek and one Motilium three times a day for one month.  My milk increased and George put on excellent weight.  I had one breast which is a size D and one that is a B, but this is all worth it.

I continued to be monitored and had regular check-ups in relation to my ongoing breast care.

In August 2010 we tested positive to being pregnant for the second time, we were so excited to be pregnant with our planned second child.  To our surprise at our 8 week scan our obstetrician said “there are two healthy Joeys”, my response was “what” – he said “yes two”.  Needless to say I didn’t sleep for 48 hours – I was so shocked but excited.

One of my first thoughts was how am I going to breast feed two babies with one lactating breast.  I again started to research books and the net for other women in a similar situation – but was unable to find any information.  I started to come to terms with the fact that I would not be able to feed them both without supplementing them with formula.  Even though this did not sit easy with me, I had to do what was best for my children.

I started to prepare for the birth like all mothers, I bought nappies when they were on sale, and I bought a couple of tins of formula.  During the pregnancy I noticed that my left breast (non-affected) was increasing but I also noticed this time the right increased slightly.

On the 14^th March 2011 our beautiful little twins Charles & Piper arrived at 35 weeks and 6 days, and were taken straight to special care.  We spent 6 days in hospital – expressed and feed every 3 hours.  My husband and I worked tireless to express 3-5mls every time and gave our little twins the liquid gold – colostrum.  One of the lactation consults came in and saw me in the special care nursery and said “why don’t we give the right side a go?”  So we started to stimulate the right and to our surprise it started to express a little colostrum.

The right breast to our surprise was functioning, slowly.  It was very tender and a lot less than the left breast.  I found that the twins were feeding well from the left and Piper was happy to feed and stimulate the right, but this was very time consuming.

We came home from the hospital after 6 days with our twins to commence a very hectic life.  I feed the twins every three to four hours – both taking 20 – 30 minutes each.  I made the decision to just feed from the left breast very early on, as the right was too time consuming and they were gaining weight from the one breast.

For the first 10 weeks I continued feeding the twins every 3-4 hours – waking them to ensure they were growing and also to ensure my milk supply increased.  This was a full time effort, feeding the twins, running around after a toddler and trying to keep the house running.  Thank goodness I have the most wonderful and supportive husband and family.  They all appreciated that breast feeding the twins was very important to me, and always did everything they could to help out and emotionally support me and the children.

Unlike a lot of stories I have heard, I was not one of those women who had so much milk I could feed a small village – with effort, confidence, support and willingness to try, I managed to feed both my twins from one breast.  This process has not been without moments of doubt and concern – there was many a night I would sit and cry and wonder if I was providing enough for my twins and family.  But always in the cold light of day I would know that I was doing the right thing.  The overriding factors which gave me this confidence was my husband, family, friends and most of all my regular support from my brilliant lactation consultant.

As I write this, I have two smiling, crying and healthy 4 month old twins, a beautiful healthy 21 month old son and the most wonderful family.  Life is always full of challenges but when we work through them we are rewarded to the best gifts.