Jenny Downham

177
I used to watch Richard Green present the local news at lunchtime.
One of the nurses in the hospital used to fancy him. Now I know why hes
been relegated to radio.
OK, he says. Here we go. Be as natural as you can. Itll be very
informal. He turns to the microphone. And now Im honoured to have as
my guest in the studio today a very brave young lady called Tessa Scott.
My heart beats fast as he says my name. Will Adam be listening? Or
Zoey? She might be lying on her bed with the radio on. Feeling nauseous.
Half asleep.
Tessas been living with leukaemia for the last four years and shes
come here today with her dad to talk to us about the whole experience.
Dad leans forward and Richard, perhaps recognizing his willingness,
asks him the first question.
Tell us about when you first realized Tessa was ill, Richard says.
Dad loves that. He talks about the flu-like illness which lasted for
weeks and didnt ever seem to go away. He tells of how our GP didnt
routinely pick up the cause because leukaemia is so rare.
We noticed bruises, he says. Small bleeds on Tessas back, caused
by a reduction of platelets.
Dads a hero. He talks about having to give up his job as a financial
adviser, of the way our lives disappeared into hospitals and treatment.
Cancers not a local illness, he says, but a disease of the whole body.
Once Tess made the decision to stop the more aggressive treatments, we
decided to manage in a holistic way at home. Shes on a special diet. Its
expensive to maintain, but I firmly believe its not the food in your life that
brings health, but the life in your food that really counts.