By SHAUNA ANDERSON
In 2010 Bridget was hard at work leading a team in Senator Mark Arbib’s office. It was election time and she was working 6 days a week. Bridget was beyond busy in her job.
“The kind of days when you’re on the phone as you’re getting out of bed and putting your make up on in the morning, and if you could continue the call in the shower, you would. But I liked what I was doing and believed in it so it was ok. I was young. It wasn’t always going to be like this. There’d be time to relax and get a normal life later. “
So, as she says, it was a rare day off that took her to the GP with some random symptoms
We’ve all been there; so busy with a career, study, our kids, so busy that it’s just damn hard to get to the docs. But she knew something didn’t feel quite right, quite normal.
“For a while I’d been getting these pains in my belly. Not all the time but every so often. I couldn’t see a pattern.”
Little did she know she’d be soon having an ultrasound and then soon referred to another doctor.
The seriousness of what was going on didn’t sink in. She didn’t have time to think about it, until she finally went to the specialist .
“As I’m walking along the corridor I finally see the name plate for his office. And underneath his name are these words: Gynecological Oncologist. “
There was surgery, there was hospital. There were, as she says, many many tears.
“Out I go. Clearly I’m dazed. I remember getting in the car and bursting into tears.“
Top Comments
Thanks for sharing as it is am important topic. I am currently going through the process of waiting to have a laparoscopy as an ultrasound found a mass on my ovary. An early diagnosis is critical......it has now been 6 month since I went to my GP. I had to wait nearly 2 months for an ultrasound (private) then a couple of weeks for the Gyno (private) and have now been on the hospital waiting list for 3 months (public) as I don't have private health insurance. 3 months is a ridiculous amount of time to wait and worry about what is going on in your body. I ring the hospital each week hoping that it will be soon. So much for public awareness when our medical system is so clogged. The specialist cannot put you as an urgent case without a cancer diagnosis. I can't get a diagnosis without the surgery. Catch 22...and so I wait. I would've just paid for it if it was $1000 or $2000 even but it is a least $4000 to go private. The specialist thinks that it probably isn't cancer which I guess is why I just haven't taken a lian and done it privately but the fact remains that when early diagnosis is critical. ..our health system needs to come to the party.
Beautifully written about a remarkable person.
"We were related, maybe not by blood but by Irish music and laughter", so true.