My Name is Lucy Lodge and I was diagnosed with Cancer of the Vocal Chords in August 2011 at 25 years old.
I had 36 sessions of radiotherapy but unfortunately it angered the cancer rather than cured it. The radiotherapy was brutal and I had sever burns around my neck and was in constant pain. If I sneezed, yawned or coughed I cried in agony. I lived on mainly yogurts, ice lollies and foods with lots of sauce or gravy for a while. I wish it was all worth it but it wasn’t meant to be for me.
On 1st February 2012 at 26 I had a total laryngectomy making me cancer free. When I went for my surgery I was unaware of if I was having laser surgery or a total laryngectomy. I said to my consultant ‘do what you need to do and I will deal with it when I wake up.’ I remember waking to my mum at the bottom of my hospital bed and I was looking at her and pointing at my neck as I had no idea what had happened. She looked at me crying and said ‘Oh Lucy, they had to do it.’ And that is how I found out I had had a Total laryngectomy. I spent 17 days in hospital to recover which all seems like a blur now. I think my way of dealing with things is by blocking them out and I think that is exactly what I did. I remember refusing to look at myself in the mirror and it wasn’t until 2 friends come to see me in hospital and we had a photo taken that I saw myself for the first time. I hated everything about what they had done to me but knew they had to or I would never have survived. I absolutely hated my new voice when I was learning to talk again and said I sounded like a ‘gremlin’. Not long after my surgery I went through a messy breakup and moved back in with my parents and brothers to recover properly. I thought I would never find anyone that would be interested in me again and started to build my life back together. I went back to work, I dressed up and went out with my friends and family and enjoyed myself.
Since my laryngectomy I have had multiple surgeries, 1 of having my gall bladder removed, 2 fat transfers where fat was taken from my stomach and injected into my neck (due to radiotherapy damage) and 1 Caesarean. 2 ½ years after my Laryngectomy I had my son Keagan who was born via Caesarean section weighing 9lb 5 ( little chunk). I took to life as a mum well, I did sometimes feel like I didn’t have enough hands and sometimes I still feel like that as one hand is always being used to press my button to talk. My relationship with Keagan’s dad broke down when he was 4 ½ years old and me and Keagan moved into our own little house. I then met my partner Simon and we have now bought a house together and we are expecting our
first child together due Feb 2024. He is extremely supportive of both me and Keagan and we are very
excited for what is yet to come (sleepless night and dirty nappies).
All of this is proof that life can be very testing at times and its not all plain sailing but I am still here, I am happy with my life and I will continue to jump over any hurdles that are put in front of me.
