Overcoming my fear of surgery
After seven months of chemotherapy the doctors decided on surgery to remove the remainder of the cancer. Before getting cancer I was terrified of surgery and wanted nothing to do with needles or knives. When the time for the surgery arrived, I wasn’t afraid at all.
The experience of chemotherapy had toughened me up and I wouldn’t allow any negative thoughts to affect me. I was no longer afraid. I felt mentally and emotionally resilient. I still had emotions, but I was able to control them better.
On July 3 I had a six hour operation. I woke up the same day and, as expected, I couldn’t move or talk much. I woke up to my Mum there beside me.
As the pain killers wore off I started to feel pain. Even though the pain was severe, being surrounded and chatting to family and friends helped so much. It’s important not to focus on the bad things in life – it clouds you from seeing all the beautiful and positive things.
I was expected to be bedridden for a while, but within the first week I forced myself up and was walking around and doing press-ups. Being strong physically has little to do with making it through. It’s about forcing yourself through mentally first and you realise that your body will follow. If you feel like you can’t do something physically then do it mentally first, then doing it physically will be the least of your issues.
