Sarah Gaffney-Lang has documented the three most turbulent years of her life in a series of moving pictures.
A mum against all odds – after treatment for a brain tumour was thought likely to leave her infertile- has told her incredible story in a moving photo diary, beginning right before the seizure that prompted her devastating diagnosis and ending in happy snaps of her with her miracle baby boy.
The picture of sophisticated glamour, posing in a chic black dress arm in arm with her now husband Matt Lang, 34, Sarah Gaffney-Lang, 32, looked radiant as she enjoyed a day out at York races in August 2016.
But just hours after the picture was taken, she suffered a terrifying seizure in her sleep, with doctors finding a low grade brain tumour two months later and warning her that the chemotherapy and radiotherapy needed to treat it would leave her infertile.
With just enough time for one round of egg freezing before treatment began, the freelance copywriter, of Manchester, grabbed the chance, figuring it would be her only shot at becoming a mum.
Incredibly, however, she fell pregnant naturally and, on 8 March, 2019, welcomed her miracle son Dylan into the world at Saint Mary’s Hospital, Manchester, weighing 7lb 5oz.
Now her rollercoaster journey is there for all to see in an astonishing photo diary, charting the highs and lows of three of the most turbulent years of her life.
She said: “These past few years have been so surreal. In March last year, I had only just finished chemo and now, a year on, I have Dylan.
“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster, but the best thing has come out of it – my little boy.
“While I was going through it all, it was a case of head down and get on with it. It’s only now when I look back that I can appreciate how crazy it has all been.”
Sarah, who was having treatment when she married commercial director Matt in March 2017, said there were absolutely no warning signs of the tumour that had been silently growing on her brain.
Happy at work and at home, she had been eating healthily, exercising regularly and feeling on top of the world before she was ill.
Everything changed in August 2016, when she had a seizure in her sleep, coming round to find her hotel room, where she had stayed with Matt after the day at the races, swarming with paramedics, before she was whisked to a local hospital, examined and referred on to a neurologist at Salford Royal Hospital, closer to her home.
Brain tumours are the biggest killers of those under 40 yet the money put into research doesn't reflect this. We stand with those affected & call on the government for change. To understand what life is like, here's Sarahs story: https://t.co/PoUfDnE6Jx #braintumourawarenessweek
— Trekstock (@trekstock) October 25, 2018
There, she had a number of tests, including an MRI, which shockingly confirmed in October 2016 that she had a grade two glioma – one of the most common types of brain tumour – in her right frontal lobe, which controls cognitive skills and movement in the left side of the body.
She recalled: “I was really fit and active, so the thought of cancer – let alone a brain tumour – never crossed my mind. It was a complete bombshell.”
Next, in December 2016, she had an awake craniotomy – where a disc of bone is removed from the skull to allow access to the underlying brain – while she was conscious, which she marked with another candid photo.
According to the NHS, this is the preferred technique to remove tumours close to, or on, important areas of the brain, as it allows doctors to test the patient’s function continuously, particularly before removing anything.
Still possessing a clear memory of the procedure, she said: “I was put to sleep while surgeons made the incision, then woken back up. They needed me to be awake and alert, so they could do tests and work out what would be affected if they removed certain areas.
“I was chatting away about really normal things – my holidays, what I was having for dinner – while a huge team operated on me.”
During surgery, medics discovered Sarah’s tumour was more diffuse than originally thought, meaning it had threadlike tendrils, which made it very difficult to completely remove.
Realising its precarious position posed too great a risk of paralysis to operate, doctors made the decision to abandon surgery.
After three weeks in hospital recovering, Sarah was briefly allowed home before beginning chemotherapy and radiotherapy in February 2017, and marrying Matt the following month.
There was also just enough time before treatment started for one round of egg freezing in an attempt to preserve her chances of becoming a mum as, according to cancer charity Macmillan, chemo can reduce the number of eggs stored in the ovaries and even cause permanent infertility or bring on an early menopause.
On top of that, as Sarah would be having radiotherapy to her brain, there was a high risk of her pituitary gland, which releases the hormones that stimulate ovaries, being affected.
“With everything going on, my fertility hadn’t even entered my mind, so I’m really glad the doctors bought it up with me,” she said. “I’d always wanted kids, so it would have been tough if I’d lost my chance altogether.”
Treatment then finished in March 2018 and miraculously, Sarah fell pregnant naturally just three months later.
At first, she was worried about how her body would cope, but her anxieties eventually melted away, allowing her to enjoy her final trimester.
“I actually relaxed and started to enjoy being pregnant. My fears about my body coping had started to fade away, and I allowed myself to feel excited,” she said.
In January 2019, Sarah agreed with doctors that the safest course of action would be a caesarean delivery and, as the countdown to her due date commenced, she posted regular updates and photos of her growing bump to her blog, Upper Story Club.
Finally, on 8 March, it was time for Sarah to give birth at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Manchester.
Not one to miss a photo opportunity, she and Matt even managed to take a snap together minutes before she headed down to theatre – a memory she will now cherish forever.
Recalling the moment her son arrived into the world, Sarah said: “The actual delivery was very quick. We’d asked for the drape to be dropped so we could see the moment Dylan was born.
“We hadn’t known he was a boy until the birth either, as we wanted it to be a surprise.
“Doctors delivered him and Matt got to cut the umbilical cord, which was very special. Then, Dylan was brought over and placed into my arms. I cried so many happy tears. It was surreal that he was finally here.”
But Sarah’s joy was short-lived as, later that night, Dylan’s breathing became erratic and laboured.
Leaping into action, doctors raced the newborn to the resuscitation ward, where she could not join him, as she was still recovering herself.
“That was really upsetting, being away from him,” she said.
Eventually stabilising him, medics realised Dylan had two collapsed lungs, the cause of which is still unknown.
From there, he was taken to neonatal intensive care and kept in an incubator, where he had a chest drain and was given medication to strengthen his lungs.
Sarah explained: “It was all such a shock, particularly as he had been fine when he was first born. At one point, we weren’t even sure he’d make it, so we held on to those few hours where we’d been able to hold and cuddle him before he got poorly.”
She continued: “While he was in intensive care, we could only touch him through an incubator.
“But then, one morning after a few days, we got onto the ward and he was on a CPAP machine to help him breathe, rather than the ventilator he had been on.
“It turned out he had pulled his own tube out during the night, so doctors thought they’d give him a chance to try and breathe without his ventilator.”
Thankfully, Dylan began to rally and on 17 March, was allowed home.
Since then, Sarah, who captured all the milestone moments, like leaving hospital and registering the birth on camera, said her brave boy has gone from strength to strength.
Happily, she is also doing well, with her most recent scan results in May 2019 showing that the tumour remains stable and there is no sign of further growth.
Now, she is sharing her story to help others and also to thank Trekstock and Brain Tumour Research, two charities that have supported her tirelessly throughout her journey.
She said: “To anybody else out there, I would say there is always hope. Try to look for the positives wherever you can.
“It’s hard to see a way through when you’re in the situation, but I have managed to come out the other side, and not only get back to normality, but also have my amazing little boy.”
For information, visit www.trekstock.com and www.braintumourresearch.org
