Local cancer survivor hopes to inspire others with her story

Thirty-four-year-old Louise Abrahams hopes her story of resilience not only inspires but motivates others to better care for themselves by prioritising stress management and mental health awareness.

The former Edenvale mother of three shared her courageous journey through illness and adversity when she was addressing the members of Probus Bedfordview on July 2.

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In 2016 she developed a functional neurological disorder, a condition that left her grappling with sudden and unpredictable physical impairments.

After three years battling with the disorder, she was diagnosed with stage four cancer given only a year to live.

“At the time my daughter was about eight months old, I had what I thought was a stroke, I had this rage of a headache. Then suddenly I could not move nor speak, my side went numb.

“I couldn’t stand nor could I communicate to my husband that something was wrong,” she said.

Doctors could not tell what was wrong with her, leaving her to endure years of uncertainty and paralysing symptoms which affected her ability to work and care for her young children.

“Doctors gave me pain medication as nothing else was able to calm me down. I was told that I was fine and to go about my life though I still experienced episodes where I could not walk properly.

“It was like a part of my brain would switch off and my walking went haywire. I was a teacher at that point,” shared Abrahams.

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After her third child was born she was diagnosed with stage four cancer.

“I was told that I had about one year to live which humbled me. When I was diagnosed with cancer I thought my neurological disorder was because my body was trying to tell me that I had cancer cells.

“Initially I figured when the cancer stops that too would come to an end,” she said.

Following intensive treatments and a determined fight against cancer, Abrahams found herself in remission by the end of 2019.

This enabled her to go back to her career as a teacher but it wasn’t long until her neurological challenges started.
It highlighted her complex relationship between stress and physical health.

After almost four years she was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder, a condition characterised by the abnormal functioning of the nervous system.

“I find it important to discuss how we are managing stress without the doctor telling us not to stress because that is very unhelpful. It’s not about avoiding stress but rather understanding how it affects us physically and mentally,” she added.

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Her journey has inspired her to study psychology. She is now certified in tension and trauma release techniques.

Her mission is to educate others about the profound impact of stress on health and advocating for a holistic approach to well-being.

“We can’t always eliminate stress but we can change how we respond to it,” said Abrahams.