Demi Gough

Demi’s Story

On the 8th of October 2019 I found out I was expecting my second child. Less than two weeks later I was rushed in for an emergency surgery for appendicitis and two weeks after the surgery I was diagnosed with a NET inside my removed appendix which needed further surgery (a right hemicoloectomy).

We were told to either terminate our baby or be fully prepared to loose it as the surgery wasn’t compatible with sustaining an unborn baby.

During all of this I was also suffering severe hypermesis gravidarum (severe morning sickness). After my larger surgery a combination of a reaction to codine and the HG caused my body to start shutting down.

Somehow against all odds our baby and I survived. They then told us there was no possibility of our baby being born healthy. Again, she beat impossible odds and we found out at 20 weeks she was a girl and perfectly healthy.

She arrived early but healthy at 38 weeks gestation on the 5th of June .

I still need a PET scan and a colonoscopy in the coming weeks to check they definitely got all of the cancer but we are both doing well.

Any advice you might give to newly diagnosed patients?

As a Christian family, my only real advice is to trust God even when it feels like he’s not there.

“Here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Don’t give up; don’t be impatient; be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope. Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you!”
Psalms 27:14