A woman has revealed her shocking battle with seven life-threatening health issues – but says they’ve made her a happier person.
Shona Hirons has been on the brink of death more times than most people would believe.
To date, she’s suffered a mini-stroke, a hole in the heart, a near-fatal bike accident, cancer, covid, pneumonia and bacterial meningitis – and she’s only just turned 50 years old.
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But while most would be fearful of what life had in store next, she feels quite the opposite.
In fact, Shona currently feels the happiest she’s ever been; and says it’s all thanks to the “lesson of death”.
“I think these events have been the best things that have ever happened to me,” the behaviour, fitness and nutrition coach, from Portishead, told Need To Know.
“It’s completely changed my mindset.
“I’ve changed my career, I’m much more of a positive and confident person these days.
“It’s taught me to love life and be kind to myself everyday – something I truly struggled with before.”
Shona used to constantly have a negative outlook on life, especially due to her career as a lawyer, often working up to 80 hours per week.
She strived to be a perfectionist and was always very hard on herself, which in time, led to “extreme” stress and burnout.
Prior to this, she had suffered a mini-stroke at the age of 22, followed by discovering a hole in her heart at 32, in which she had to undergo open surgery to fix.
In a bid to ease some more positivity into her life, and to avoid any further health issues, she decided to take up cycling into work.
However, in February 2017, this almost caused her time on Earth to come to an end.
She said: “I was alone, cycling to work, minding my own business and trying to avoid my brain diverting to the worst case scenario.
“Rushing as usual when I came off my bike, my front wheel suddenly hit a puddle on the road.
“I went flying over the handle bars and my face landed on a broken piece of kerb.
“I fell unconscious and at hospital, I was placed into an induced coma due to swelling on my brain.
“When I woke up two weeks later, I thought I had just broken my finger, so I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about.
“But then I was told that I had a 20% chance of survival.
“I had to undergo major facial reconstructive surgery as I had broken all the bones around my left orbital area and completely smashed my cheekbone into pieces.
“Alongside that, my jaw was fractured and so was the base of my skull.
“Doctors were concerned I wouldn’t be able to see out of my left eye again.
“It was utter hell.”
Determined to fight for her life, Shona, who had also lost the ability to hear from her left ear, started to reflect on the choices she had made leading up to the accident.
She said: “I had a big wake up call.
“I asked myself: ‘If today had been the last day of my life, would I be happy with what I had achieved?’ and the answer was absolutely not.
“It made me reflect and I realised I had been given another chance at life.
“I was going to start finally living it and focusing on what I wanted, not what everybody else expected of me.”
For the next few months, there were intense sessions of rehabilitation to help her walk again and to strengthen her neck muscles.
She also had further surgery to restore her sight and hearing.
With a new outlook on life, she was ready to take on the world again.
But in July 2019, Shona suffered another blow, when she was diagnosed with uterine cancer.
Though, she didn’t let the news hold her back.
She said: “My mindset was in a good place and despite being told I had cancer, I knew it wasn’t going to kill me.
“I took one day at a time, underwent treatment and surgery and was lucky I got the all-clear eight months later.”
Finally out of the woods, she and her family prayed for a long period of respite – but that wasn’t what the universe had waiting.
In July 2024, the mum-of-one faced yet another battle for her life.
Shona said: “I had a sore throat, low energy and a loss of taste.
“Later that week, I got very unwell and a few days later, I collapsed.
“After some tests, it was discovered that I had not only covid, but also pneumonia and bacterial meningitis.
“I was placed into isolation for the next week, but I remember feeling so sick.
“But again, I took everything in my stride and pushed for recovery so I could get back to normality.
“I didn’t feel like life was punishing me, I actually thought it was quite funny.
“For once, I was no longer in victim mode wondering why so many bad things were happening to me.
“It was just life taking its course.”
Shona ultimately decided to leave her successful career as a lawyer and started studying nutrition, before starting her own wellbeing company.
Now, she’s living in a bubble of happiness each day – and isn’t fearful of what might happen next.
She added: “The worst part of all of this was being unsure of the outcomes each time.
“But I have a healthy set of boundaries now and have learned to say ‘no’ when I want.
“I actually quite like myself these days.
“I chose to get back up and it was a good choice to make.
“I’m not fearful of anything anymore.
“My family joke about wrapping me in bubble wrap, but I’m determined to keep living my best life and make the most of it, as none of us know when our time is up.
“Talk to someone you trust – whether that’s a friend, colleague or family member – if you’re struggling.
“I bottled my thoughts and feelings for far too long; and look where I ended up.
“I am so grateful for all of these experiences, as without them, I don’t think I would’ve changed into the person I am today.”
TIMELINE:
22 years old: mini-stroke
32 years old: hole in heart discovered, open surgery
February 2017: near-fatal bike accident
July 2019: uterine cancer diagnosis
July 2024: covid, pneumonia and bacterial meningitis battle
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