{"id":2542,"date":"2025-05-03T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=2542"},"modified":"2025-05-07T21:35:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T21:35:43","slug":"i-was-11-when-my-parents-were-told-to-plan-my-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/03\/i-was-11-when-my-parents-were-told-to-plan-my-funeral\/","title":{"rendered":"I was 11 when my parents were told to plan my funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Milly\t<\/div>
I began getting poorly with severe nosebleeds, a swollen belly and yellowing of my skin and eyes (Picture: Southern News & Pictures (SNAP))<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cancer. Two liver transplants. Sepsis. A pulmonary haemorrhage. Multiple organ failure. A tracheotomy. Three months in an induced coma. A stroke and four mini strokes.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the condensed list of what I\u2019ve been through.<\/p>\n

At 22, I know that I am very young to have experienced all that and it all feels quite unbelievable when you write it down.<\/p>\n

It all started when I was two and I began getting poorly with severe nosebleeds, a swollen belly and yellowing of my skin and eyes.<\/p>\n

My parents took me to hospital and I was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a type of liver cancer<\/a>. It must have been so scary for them knowing their first child was so ill \u2013 I can\u2019t imagine how they must have felt.<\/p>\n

I had chemotherapy initially, and was eventually given a liver transplant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But after eight years, my body rejected the organ. All my symptoms came back, and I was put into an induced coma<\/a> for nearly three months and given an adult liver instead.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the transplant, I went into multiple organ failure as I caught a virus. My body was shutting down and I was put on support including dialysis and life support machines.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Milly\t<\/div>
I was rushed back to hospital where they said the stroke had been caused by high blood pressure (Picture: Milly Hadden)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During those three months, I also developed sepsis<\/a>, which caused severe bleeding in the mouth. My parents were told on four separate occasions that they should start planning my funeral.<\/p>\n

I came out of the coma and it was a long slow recovery over several months, and I was eventually allowed to go home in 2014, aged 11 but just after getting back, I had a stroke.<\/p>\n

I was rushed back to hospital where they said the stroke had been caused by high blood pressure<\/a> due to the ongoing treatment.<\/p>\n

I was put back on the machines to monitor everything and I didn\u2019t leave the hospital for 18 months and then the rehabilitation centre for another six months \u2013 this took me from age 11 to 13. <\/p>\n

My sisters were brought out of school and my whole family lived near the hospital during that time \u2013 my dad was going to and from work from there.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Young\t<\/div>
I was put back on the machines to monitor everything and I didn\u2019t leave the hospital for 18 months (Picture: Milly Hadden)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I needed to be in intensive care to give me the support I needed; during that time, my family were told I might not be able to walk or talk again.<\/p>\n

I had to re-learn how to do everything \u2013 and I couldn\u2019t remember anything at all.<\/p>\n

In fact, I still don\u2019t remember anything from before the stroke. I don\u2019t have any memories from before age 11.<\/p>\n

For that reason, I think, my memories from that time in hospital are especially clear \u2013 and they\u2019re not all happy. Far from it.<\/p>\n

I do remember the first taste I had of an ice lolly, which was an amazing sensation, but so many other things were tough.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Young\t<\/div>
I had to re-learn how to do everything \u2013 and I couldn\u2019t remember anything at all (Picture: Milly Hadden)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was such a painful process, physically and mentally, learning to walk again<\/a>. <\/p>\n

I missed so much school too, and being away for so long affected all my friendships. I still find I get on with people who are several decades older than me better than I do with people my own age, because I got so used to adult company.<\/p>\n

Eventually, in Jan 2016, I was able to walk out of the rehabilitation centre \u2013 an amazing feeling \u2013 and I began to go back to school.<\/p>\n

I was 13, so I went into Year 9. It was a shock to the system, but I made a good group of friends and I really enjoyed being there after everything I had been through. I was still in and out of hospital but I tried to make my life as normal as I could.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t plain sailing. Until I was aged 16, I had mini strokes, one of which caused epilepsy and that I\u2019m on life-long medication for now.<\/p>\n

I hated the seizures<\/a>. I would get symptoms three days before, going light-headed and dizzy, and really tired. After the seizure had happened, it was like my body was resetting and I would still be tired and I couldn\u2019t get my words out.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Milly\t<\/div>
As I might not have been able to have children, the girls feel even more special (Picture: Milly Hadden)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back then, I needed a lot of care; but I\u2019m at a point where I haven\u2019t had a seizure since I was 16.<\/p>\n

Now, I am as healthy as I possibly can be after all I have been through \u2013 although my hip and knee are damaged, because my stroke happened when I was growing and it affected my development, so I need joint replacements, which will happen at some point in the future.<\/p>\n

My parents were always told the chemo had affected my chances of having a child so, when I fell pregnant at 18, it was certainly a surprise.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d also always known that, if it did happen, I would be a high-risk pregnancy.<\/p>\n

After I did the pregnancy test<\/a>, I actually told my nurse at the hospital before I told my mum as I wanted to get their advice first. <\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tSupport Race for Life\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

Milly is supporting Cancer Research UK\u2019s Race for Life, in partnership with Standard Life. For more information, visit raceforlife.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

I was worried to tell Mum, more because of how young I was than because of any health concerns, but I did. She was shocked at first, but she is a brilliant grandmother.<\/p>\n

Thankfully everything was OK with me and I gave birth to a healthy baby daughter, before falling pregnant again just six months later. Tallulah is two now and Otillie is one \u2013 they are my world.<\/p>\n

In November, I will be seizure-free for six years and I have the go-ahead for a driving licence so I am in the process of getting that, which is really exciting.<\/p>\n

I still have to take my seizure and transplant medication every day at 8am to keep my liver working and stop seizures, and then I take the seizure medication at 8pm in the evening too, but this is my daily routine and I don\u2019t know anything different. It\u2019s not something I really think about, especially as I am now so busy just being a mum.<\/p>\n

As I might not have been able to have children, the girls feel even more special. My daughters and I live by ourselves and I have help from my family and my neighbours, who are brilliant. I think I have done pretty well and, even at the peak of tiredness as a mum, I still feel so lucky.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a privilege to be my daughters\u2019 mum. They can be mischievous at times, but I wouldn\u2019t change them for the world.<\/p>\n

Everyone calls me a walking miracle \u2013 and now I have two amazing daughters. We\u2019re three miracles together.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story you\u2019d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Share your views in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I began getting poorly with severe nosebleeds, a swollen belly and yellowing of my skin and eyes (Picture: Southern News & Pictures (SNAP)) Cancer. Two liver transplants. Sepsis. A pulmonary haemorrhage. Multiple organ failure. A tracheotomy. Three months in an induced coma. A stroke and four mini strokes. And that\u2019s the condensed list of what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2542"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2542"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2550,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2542\/revisions\/2550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}