Heather's Fight For Life

Iv decided to set up a gofundme page to help raise funds for the bravest, most inspirational woman i know, who i have the honour of calling my friend. After unsuccessfully trying for a baby, heather and her husband were left devasted when they were told the chances of them having a baby were second to none. However, through IVF in 2013 baby Logan was born and like every new parent mum and dad were smitten with their little miracle. Tragically, 10 days later they were left heartbroken when they found that their boy had died of cot death. No one should ever have to go through this but Heather remained strong and made everyone proud with her strength. With so much love and affection to offer, Heather and her husband longed for another baby. Amazingly, they were given another chance when Heathers nana kindly offered to give them the funds of £4500 for another round of IVF and in January 2015 they were blessed with another little boy, Kian. With their new bundle of joy it seemed that Heather was finally getting her long awaited happiness and life was finally in her favour. However when Kian was 7 months old, Heather was diagnosed with stage 3 larynx cancer. A huge blow to the family who had suffered enough, Heather promised to overcome this and began treatments consisting of daily radiotherapy and weekly chemotherapy. What should of been time with her precious family was time spent in hospital but Heathers determination paid off and she was given the all clear. Again, Heather picked herself up and wore a smile whilst carrying on and being an amazing mummy to her boy but her joy was short-lived when at a routine appointment doctors had confirmed that the cancer had returned. As brave as ever, Heather once again vowed to beat what lay ahead and underwent more treatment. Eventually, the family finally got the news they’d been waiting for after doctors had told Heather the cancer had gone. Not wanting the disease to determine who she was, Heather wanted to move on from her experience and focus on being the best mum and wife she could be but this was set to be more difficult than expected when a month after Heathers all clear, she began feeling unwell, with familiar pains in her neck. After 5 months of being told the pains were normal side effects of recent treatment and heather pushing for a biopsy, doctors finally agreed and less than a week later they were forced to perform a laryngectomy (removal of voice box) on Heather. 5 months prior to this she was told she was cancer free, she had honestly believed that her life was about to go her way and that her only worry now would be those that are so minor they’re practically none existent. Now she was back in hospital, her larynx removed, and being told that in actual fact the cancer had never gone and if the biopsy and laryngectomy had not gone ahead, heather wouldn’t of made it to Christmas. The removal of Heathers voice box was followed by a lengthy hospital stay, which meant more time away from her family and missing out on quality time with her precious son. Heather knew her battle would be ongoing when she needed surgery a further 2 times due to complications, and is still suffering badly with side effects from such drastic measures. Initially, Heathers hospital stay was estimated to be 10 days. However, 7 weeks later and still no sign of going home, Heather is understandably heartbroken by the amount of time she has spent away from her family. Small things that we do every day and take for granted are the things that Heather is hoping she can one day do herself. To you and I, singing in the shower or talking to ourselves would be classed as a bad habit. But, to Heather those are luxuries that she would love to experience just one last time. Whilst Heather has been in hospital she has also had to deal with her dad passing away. The devasting news has left Heather distraught but she still has the strength in her to be a pillar of support for those who need her, and has pushed her own problems aside to be there for her family. A lot of people idolise celebrities or other reputable people. But I can honestly say there is no one I look up too more than Heather herself. Throughout her whole journey she has continued to show endless amounts of courage and determination and even now she has the same fighting attitude she had with her first diagnosis. She has missed out on so much when it comes to being with her little boy and that’s why iv decided to start fundraising. As it stands, Heathers options are very limited. However clinics in America can offer more treatment and even the possibility of a voicebox transplant. Unfortunatley it will come at a massive expense and raising the funds will be another issue for Heather and her family to worry about.