Interview with Hannah @eggainst_the_odds

Today Zoe speaks to Hannah from the Instagram account @eggainst_the_odds. Hannah tells her incredible story against the odds, how she beat cancer twice and then had her baby girl last year. A true happy ending.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Hannah had been suffering with chronic knee pain and after seeing many Drs she got diagnosed with cancer, at the age of 26. One of the first questions Hannah asked her oncologist before undergoing chemo was about her fertility. She was told she could have egg collection before starting chemo but had a really shocking experience with the NHS so went private in order to preserve her fertility. Hannah had chemotherapy and also limb salvage surgery, it was successful but she had to have chest xrays continuously afterwards to ensure it hadn’t spread. Devastatingly 18 months later two tumours were found in her lungs. She had further surgery and the tumours were successfully removed. It has now been 12 years since her relapse but she continues to have regular scans. Hannah met her current partner Rick online, it was a slow start but they have always had a lot of fun together and they got married in 2017. They decided to start trying for a baby, lots of cancelled appointments and tests later they finally found out that Hannah’s AMH was very low and that IVF would be their best chance of having a baby. They started the process of IVF with a private clinic and miraculously whilst getting ready for an egg transfer Hannah found out that she was pregnant, but sadly it ended in a miscarriage. It was devastating for them and took them some time to recover. It was at this time the IVF and fertility Instagram community really helped Hannah. Just talking and connecting with people who understood what she was going through was what she needed. When Hannah and Rick were happy to try again they weren’t given very positive news and their consultant advised they will probably have to look at egg donation or surrogacy. Hannah had her AMH re-tested and incredibly it was high enough for the clinic to try another IVF cycle – which was successful! They then had their beautiful daughter Raffy!     BEST MOMENTS   “This diagnosis shattered my world”   “Everyone in hospital that had lung m--- had died”   “I decided I wasn’t happy and hadn’t been happy for a long time, I realised that you have one life and I couldn’t afford to waste any more time”   VALUABLE RESOURCES   www.petalscharity.org www.tommys.org www.arc-uk.org www.sands.org.uk   Hannah’s Instagram: @eggainst_the_odds.   Instagram Mentions: @carefertility. @lyndsey_hookway @thegentlemama.       ABOUT THE GUEST Hannah Instagram: @eggainst_the_odds.   Instagram Mentions: @carefertility. @lyndsey_hookway @thegentlemama.     ABOUT THE HOST Zoe Cresswell Devoted mother of two (and a big hairy dog), UK trained midwife, doula and personal trainer, specialising in pre and postnatal fitness. Zoe was born in the UK and before moving to Dubai in 2013 and worked as a midwife in central London, both in a birth centre and a very busy NHS hospital. Although late to the scene, Zoe is an aspiring athlete having won numerous triathlons and representing Great Britain where she placed within the top 10 on the world stage. With her husband James, the couple will soon be launching their cloth nappy company, Bop & Bee, where they hope to inspire families to swap a few disposable nappies a day for the more planet friendly option of cloth. Zoe’s goal is to share her knowledge and experience, tell real life stories, manage expectations and open up those often difficult conversations. Zoe’s own motherhood journey has been full of twists and turns as she put everything on hold and went through numerous miscarriages and rounds of IVF.   CONTACT DETAILS Instagram : @zoecresswell_me Facebook: Zoe Cresswell LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-cresswell