In December 2006 our beautiful Kyla-Bee was born. The pregnancy and birth went relatively well and she was born naturally within a few hours. We were so happy and excited to become parents and couldn't wait to go home and start family life.

Within days of being at home I started to develop headaches which at first were manageable with paracetamol but after a while became excruciating. I started to develop blurred vision with them too. I was also getting a pain in one of my legs which made walking up the stairs agony and the chesty cough I had started to get worse. I felt dreadful but assumed that this was how you felt after giving birth. I was struggling to breastfeed little Kyla. Just holding her was difficult. Eventually my midwife referred me to our local hospital where I saw numerous doctors on different occasions. All of them checked me over and said I had migraines and exhaustion. As the weeks went by I was getting worse and didn't know how much more I could take. Every doctor I saw said the same thing. By now none of the medication I was prescribed was doing anything. Then one night after we had gone to bed I woke with a start at about midnight. I felt like I was falling fast. The room was spinning and my eyes were blurred again. I managed to wake Ivan and told him something was wrong. He rushed round to my side and tried to pull me up but blackness had set in now and I could feel myself sinking into unconciousness. The last thing I remember is hearing Ivan screaming to my mum for help.

When I woke up though I didn’t know it at the time I was in intensive care in Charing Cross Hospital in London. I was put on a ventilator and had already been given emergency chemotherapy. I stayed in there for a few weeks over Christmas and New Year and it was touch and go for a while. My oxygen levels had become very low. I was fighting to stay alive. It was the scariest time of my life. I couldn't believe it was happening to me now when I had a tiny little baby who needed me. I had to win.

I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Choriocarcinoma. This is when the placenta becomes malignant (cancerous) and spreads throughout the body. In my case it had spread to my uterus, liver, pancreas, lungs and part of the brain. It can occur in about 1 in 50,000 pregnancies. I would need emergency chemotherapy treatment which by then had already started and would then need to continue chemo until my HCG level was normal. Normal being under 5. Mine was 127,000. Surprisingly and to my relief it doesn't affect the baby though we decided to have Kyla tested to put my mind at ease. Thankfully she was fine.

For the next five months I had chemotherapy. Anyone who's had this treatment knows how grueling and unforgiving it is. At first I had weekly overnight treatments but had to have a few blood transfusions as my blood cells were being destroyed. It was then done every two weeks to allow my body to recover in between treatments. I was also given chemotherapy directly into my spine via a needle which was the hardest to take of all. My hair fell out and the sickness was relentless at times. The symptoms were endless but having to stay in Charing Cross Hospital for a few days every week at first, away from my baby was the hardest thing of all. My HCG levels slowly came down until eventually they were normal. The treatment had worked. I had my last chemotherapy treatment on 30 April 2007. Five years on and I am fully recovered and enjoying life as a full time mummy, so much so that in April last year, almost exactly 3 years since I finished Chemo, we welcomed our second daughter, Mia-Kim into the world. I was closely monitored and looked after during the pregnancy and birth and everything went really well.

I would not be here today if it were not for the amazing team at Charing Cross Hospital. I can’t thank them enough for everything they did for me and my family so I’ve decided to do this 10k run to help raise money for their charity The Cancer Treatment and Research Trust. So please please dig deep and sponsor me.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.