Most of you who know me, know my mum, and know my mum's story, but for those of you who don't i thought i would share it with you.

In August 2011 my 45 year old mum was diagnosed with T4 Cancer of the Nose & Mouth.  Her survival rate was very slim, with only a 20% chance of cure.  My mum was a very very pretty lady and was told in order for her to be in with a chance of surviving that she would need to have her nose removed. 

In September 2011 She endured 24 hour sessions of chemotherapy on a daily basis for 3 weeks, then went on to have a 20 hour operation in November 2011 to remove the cancer / tumor.  During the operation they removed her nose, her upper lip, the roof of her mouth, her upper gum and removed bone from her shoulder and placed it into her skull.  Mum survived the operation and was left with a disfigured face, had a tracheostomy put in place in order for her to be able to breathe.  She also had a feeding peg fitted to her stomach as she is no longer able to eat orally.  She has been unable to eat orally since this operation, and still 4 years on still cannot eat, and has to feed herself each night via the feeding peg in her stomach.

She was due to have 30 sessions of daily radiotherapy starting in January 2012, but towards the 20th session, she started to bleed uncontrollably from her mouth, and so was admitted to the Christie Hospital to continue her treatment.  Following the 26th session of radiotherapy, due to the swelling that radiotherapy can cause, and having no nose, and only a small airway in her mouth to breathe, on the 13th February, she unfortunately suffered a cardiac arrest and her heart stopped for a total of 5 minutes.  Surviving a cardiac arrest is slim, and those that do are likely to be somewhat brain damaged.  The hospital telephoned me to inform me of the situation and that we needed to get up to the hospital immediately as it didn't look good.  Upon arrival i was told, as her next of kin, that she was in intensive care, on life support, and in a coma.  If she was to pull through and survive then she would more than likely be severely brain damaged due to the length of time her heart stopped. 

After a few days of being on life support, mum started to show signs of waking up, so they reduced her coma and let her come round.  When she came round, she showed no signs of brain damage, and they deemed it a Miracle!!!! She just had no recollection of the previous days events, including stopping breathing which was a godsend really.

Due to the cardiac arrest her reconstruction had to be put on hold due to scar tissue on the heart due to the cardiac arrest, but once the 12 months was up she was able to start facial reconstruction.

She has had numerous reconstructive operations and now has a prosthetic nose and looks fabulous! She still has many reconstructive operations to undergo and she still has a long way to go until she feels comfortable in her own skin, and is able to go out of the house without feeling people are staring at her, but she is doing brilliantly! 

She amazes me every single day, and i thank the lord that she is still here with us.  She is an inspiration to all and shows that beating Cancer is possible.  She has 16 months to go before she gets the 'All Clear' but i have every faith in her. 

She is, in my eyes super human, a living miracle, and i couldn't be more proud of her.  People who stare need to think before doing so, as they have no idea of her story and what she has been through, she is a hundred times the human being that they ever will be! Beauty is on the inside!

Mum, your inner light shines when you are at peace with yourself and the world around you, let go of the struggle and feel the beauty inside you.  Allow all to just be, and just be you.

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