Faithful readers of this blog know my appreciation for courage. Well, a very brave mom has died:
A woman who once decided to decline medical treatment for cancer while she was pregnant with her daughter, has died.
Gemma Nuttall, 29, of the United Kingdom, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2014 when she was 16 weeks pregnant, according to a GoFundMe set up by her mother, Helen Sproates. While doctors offered Nuttall the option to terminate the pregnancy in order to remove the tumor, she chose to decline surgery and delay chemotherapy until after she gave birth.
As the pregnancy progressed, so did Nuttall’s tumor, which grew so large that at 36 weeks gestation in March 2014, it was decided doctors would cut out the tumor and perform a caesarean section to deliver her daughter, Penelope, all at once, according to the GoFundMe.
“They kept her awake so she could see her own beautiful but small, daughter, Penelope, arrive into the world,” wrote Sproates on the donation page, “Only to be put to sleep and have the cancer removed.”
As Penelope spent the next few weeks recovering in the intensive care unit, Nuttall underwent chemotherapy and radiation. Another scan revealed she had developed cervical cancer, according to the page. Doctors were able to remove the tumor, and Nuttall remained cancer-free for the next two years until April 2016, when she was diagnosed with both cancer of the brain and lung.
Go here to read the rest. May her brave soul now be experiencing the Beatific Vision. It has been truly said that it is a sad thing to be a Man, but it is a proud thing too. People like Gemma Nuttall supply the proud part.
May God grant us all such courage and love.
Rest in peace, ma’am.