Sally Obermeder - Never Stop Believing: Heartache, hope and some very high heels

Never
Stop
Believing

Heartache, hope and some
very high heels

SALLY OBERMEDER

The information in this book is intended as a guide only,
and should not substitute medical advice or care.
Always consult your doctor in the first instance.

First published in 2013

Copyright Sally Obermeder 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100
Email: info@allenandunwin.com
Web: www.allenandunwin.com

Cataloguing-in-Publication details are available
from the National Library of Australia
www.trove.nla.gov.au

ISBN 978 1 74331 219 3

EISBN 978 1 73343 028 6

Internal design by Alissa Dinallo
Set in 13.5/17 pt Granjon by Post Pre-press Group, Australia
Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To those who gave me life and those to whom I gave life.
Thank you for giving me the two greatest gifts possible.
I love you. This is for you, and as with everything,
I hope Ive done you proud.

I realised early on that success was tied to not giving up. Most people in this business gave up and went on to other things. If you simply didnt give up, you would outlast the people who came in on the bus with you.

Harrison Ford

You can have whatever you are willing to struggle for. You cant just sit and wait for people to give you that golden dream. Youve got to get out there and make it happen for yourself.

Diana Ross

I hated every minute of training, but I said Dont quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.

Muhammad Ali

You cant be brave if youve only had wonderful things happen to you.

Mary Tyler Moore

If youre going through hell, keep going.

Winston Churchill

Time passes. The things that terrify you now will someday be part of your past. Remember that, and you can stop beating yourself up, cause yourself a lot less grief and enjoy your life a little bit more.

Stevie Nicks

Contents

by Larry Emdur

by Larry Emdur

It was the night of Sallys fundraiser. The room was packed with hundreds of friends, family and Sallys mates from TV. Rarely would you see a gaggle of TV and entertainment types from opposing organisations in the one room at the same time... voluntarily. But this was a special occasion and we all wanted to help Sally in whatever way we could.

Sure, everyone in the room knew about Sals story, but to hear it in her words from her heart in her voice was, to put it simply, gut wrenching and earth shattering. From my position as MC on stage I could see everyonesome of the finest news gatherers, journalists, reporters, presenters and communicators in the country. Everyone was crying. Everyone. People who that week had reported on murders, fatal car accidents and deadly fires, custody battles and the tragedies of war were standing, openly weeping, as one of our own, a much-loved industry darling, told us everything we wanted to know and quite a few things we didnt. Some people were prepared with tissues; I could see others regularly lifting a sleeve or cuff to stop the tears. But there was no stopping the tears.

Crying for me wasnt an option up there on stage, I had to hold it together for Sal. We had pre-arranged some secret words and signals in case she wanted to stop the interview or change direction. I wanted to cry, just like everybody else.

As youll soon discover in this book, Sally has an incredible sense of humour and it co-exists with a delightful sense of the absurd. During her illness she found much strength in laughter. Her contagious and generous laugh often belied the severity of her condition, and while its a beautiful laugh, you also need to know it is louder than the acceptable Bondi-caf-laugh volume.

What occurred to me about halfway through our chat onstage that night at Sallys fundraiser was that it was her jokes or funny stories that made people cry the most. One minute we had her tearfully saying the doctors just didnt know if shed beat it or it would beat her, the next shed be telling a very funny story about her baby daughter Annabelle farting in a caf. There was something truly amazing about witnessing this woman tell her quirky stories with such verve and enthusiasm; she was in fact laughing in the face of death. All the while these stories, many of which youre about to read, were, I suppose, giving her the strength to live.

We use the word journey a lot in our game. But unlike a journey on some sort of reality show that lasts a few weeks, Sallys journey through work, life, near-death and back to fabulous is as uplifting as it is inspiring.

I continue to learn a lot from Sally; I treasure our friendship. In the synthetic world of television where not everything, or everyone, is as it or they seem, Sally shines as a truly remarkable, beautiful human being.

Treasure the things that bring you happiness, no matter how miniscule they are, and dont waste a moment of your life sweating the small stuff. Thats what Ive learnt from my friendship with Sally, and I feel sure thats what youll also get from this book.

Dear Reader,

You will notice that throughout the book there are some short contributions from a few of my nearest and dearest family and friends. Each one of the authors has played an enormously important part in my life, not only standing by me and selflessly supporting me in my battle with breast cancer, but also helping to make me the person I am today. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

When I woke up on 13 October 2011 I felt like my life was just about perfect. I had a great husband and a great job, my gorgeous Bondi apartment had just been renovated, and wed recently turned our second bedroom into a nursery. After years of trying, and failing, to get pregnant, wed succeeded through IVFon our very first cycle. Id had a wonderful year at work, filled with great stories and amazing travel, and I was really excited about the series of Celebrity Mum TV segments I was going to do while on maternity leave. I was 41 weeks pregnant, I had my hospital bag packed and ready to go, and I could not wait to give birth. Any day now I was finally going to meet my baby and begin the next wonderful phase of my life: becoming a mother. I didnt think things could get any better.

I can still remember exactly what I wore that day: a fitted electric blue dress with ruching on the side and metallic silver sandals, and I had my hair in a topknot. If you asked me what I wore yesterday, I wouldnt know. But everything about that day is etched in my memory. Because that was the day I left the house happy, full of new life, hope and joy, and came home with a death sentence.