Super Mum "Nicola Gifford"

HAPPY MONDAY to all my beautiful COTC friends AND a huge welcome to my new and exciting blog and website! It is still a work in progress with lots of things planned for it…..but as with everything, it’s one step at a time…..As I sit here typing on it for the first time it is a little daunting and I am hoping this post actually turns out “in the right spot” ….. he he ha ha ….. I will soon see…..So it has been a busy few days here in the world of COTC, I had a stand at the recent Gluten Free Expo in Sydney which was hectic, fun and interesting all rolled into one……but more on that later…..today its MONDAY which means its time for my weekly SUPER MUM INTERVIEW POST. Today I have a truly touching story from a very close friend of mine. We came to work in the same finance company many years ago and although we are so different in many ways we are also so very similar and clicked instantly. She moved overseas for a while which made us closer as we wrote (old fashioned “snail mail”) constantly and learnt a lot about each other. She is my Birthday buddy, same day and even same year, I think she is just a few hours older???….and hubby and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary on her Wedding Day! As I journey along with being a Mum of 4 I was so thrilled when she became a Mum of 1!

……..here she is, my gorgeous friend and a true inpsiring SUPER MUM……

“Nicola”

• Tell us a little bit about you and your family?

Hi. My name’s Nicola Gifford. I’m 34 years old and live with my darling hubby, Brayden, and beautiful daughter, Suzannah. Before having Suzannah, I worked as a Communications Executive for a global company in Sydney. I had a very busy, fast-paced and stressful life. Now I work one day a week locally while I get my writing and editing business up and running, and take great joy in looking after our long-awaited first baby. We’re a relatively healthy bunch in my family. I have no allergies at all but my husband has eczema/psoriasis. To keep it under control, he avoids eating capsicum and takes Evening Primrose Oil. We try to ensure we get enough oily fish in our diets but in truth, we don’t, so the next best thing is a supplement and Chia seeds on everything! I have inherited my interest in health from my mum, who, much to our chagrin as kids, gave us carob Easter eggs and sent us to school with ‘black’ bread. Despite feeling different and deprived as kids, I now appreciate how much effort mum made in ensuring we ate well. It created a foundation that has given me knowledge about, and a taste for, healthy foods, and means I have also improved my husband’s diet and will give my daughter the best health start I can.

 

• What one ingredient can you not live without and why?

There really isn’t one ingredient! I love food and believe we need a varied diet to stay healthy.

 

• If you had half an hour to cook dinner and realized you didn’t have anything planned, what would you cook?

These days I can whip up anything in half an hour in my Thermomix (a kitchen appliance that almost does it all). BT (Before Thermomix) I’d make an Asian soup with whatever I had in the cupboard. I’d put some water on to boil and chuck vegies, stock, Asian sauces such as Soy, Oyster, Fish, Sweet Chilli, and any Asian herbs in. I’d dice up some chicken if I had it and possibly add some two-minute noodles.

 

• What is once piece of advice you can pass on to other busy mums?                                                                     Get off Facebook! (Except to read the Cut Out The Crap page ;o))

 

• If you could have dinner with any 3 people in the world, who would it be and why?                               My friend, Skye, who lives in Coffs Harbour. I never have enough time with her, and she’s one of the most inspiring Supermums I know, then James Mercer to listen to and Chris Lilley to laugh at.

 

• You were diagnosed with Epilepsy as an adult, how has this changed your life? Would you share this personal journey with us?

I was diagnosed with late-onset Epilepsy about four years ago. Initially I really didn’t believe I had it. I’d only had one seizure and I just didn’t feel like the sort of person who would have a “condition.” Even the first neurologist I saw gave me the all-clear after a series of scans. Unfortunately, about a week later, I had a seizure while driving and hit a tree. I wrote my car off but walked away unscathed. A more in-depth test revealed I did have Epilepsy and I was put on huge amounts of strong medicine which resulted in hair loss, tremor and weight gain. Aside from this, I felt epilepsy hadn’t affected my life at all.

I saw a new neurologist when my husband and I decided it was time to go off contraception. The medicine I was on was considered highly dangerous to a foetus so I changed medication and soon fell pregnant. I was monitored weekly in the last trimester of my pregnancy to ensure my medication levels were in keeping with my increasing blood volume. I had a very healthy pregnancy but I was hugely stressed at work.

As my parental leave approached, my work pressures increased. On the Wednesday of my last week of work I rose early after a sleepless night worrying about what I needed to complete by the Friday. With stress and sleep-deprivation known triggers for seizures, it should have come as no surprise that I had a seizure that morning.

I can’t describe how my husband and I felt as we drove along Parramatta Road to the hospital in peak hour traffic. Our normally active baby was frighteningly still. We didn’t know if I had fallen when I had the seizure as my husband was still asleep, and we didn’t know if the convulsions had affected her. Once in the hospital we cried when we heard Suzannah’s heartbeat. Our baby was alive.

Twenty-one hours after the seizure, my waters broke and 18 hours after that, Suzannah entered the world. We were so grateful she was a perfectly healthy baby despite coming 15 days early.

One week later I had another seizure. When I regained consciousness I didn’t know I’d already given birth. It was a truly distressing feeling. Over the next two-and-a-half months I had four more seizures so I was only able to hold Suzannah if I was sitting in bed. It broke my heart as I’d dreamt of  being the type of mother who carried her baby close to her everywhere. It seemed like a cruel irony that many mothers wouldn’t have had such a long-held idea of how they wanted to parent, but here I was, feeling like I couldn’t be as good a mother as I would have, had I not had Epilepsy. When my doctor suggested I may have to cease breastfeeding I feel I was very close to having Post-Natal Depression. Despite being horrifically painful, and having five bouts of mastitis, I felt breastfeeding Suzannah was the only thing I had to offer her. I knew I had to ignore my doctor’s advice, for my own sanity, for Suzannah and I to bond, and for Suzannah’s health. As my medication was increased, the seizures dissipated.

I have now been seizure-free for over six months (touch wood) and am able to carry Suzannah and take her outside. I don’t need to be supervised constantly and breastfeeding has become a breeze.

My frightening experiences with the seizures have made me feel so lucky that Suzannah is here, un-harmed. Having Epilepsy has taught me how important it is to listen to your body, look after your mental state and be thankful for all you have. There are always others who have far worse circumstances to deal with.

 

 

Wow! Another touching story! I can’t even imagine not being able to carry my baby whenever I wanted to, let alone what Nicola had to go through. I know for a fact she is such a strong person and it shows in the beautiful smile that is always on her face.

I hope this finds you all happy and healthy and I wish you a wonderful week ahead……

Take Care of You,

Collette x

Super Mum "Nicola Gifford"