Gillian Collins
Hi my name is Gillian, myself and my husband Kev arrived in Alcoutim in 2021, strangers to the town we were going to call home. We were out one beautiful sunny afternoon and happened to come across a young man named Sam who told us about the Sunday evening party at Miragem bar where we would get meet a lot of the local expats. We decided that we would go
Sunday evening arrived we turned up to see everyone sitting outside enjoying the sunshine with music blasting. I danced up, Sam spotted us and introduced us to everyone very quickly we all became friends.We danced we laughed and we had a few drinks. One thing that stuck in my mind was a gentleman named Louie who called me aside and asked me not to tell anyone about our beautiful Alcoutim. Louie has since passed and I’ve
kept my word not to tell a soul.
Time is passing and we have friends from all over the world. Kev has himself a handy little job, life is great until an unexpected flood washes our car down the river. Before long, with a little help we have another car. Happy days. Kev is working and I’m happy up on my mountain with my dogs and listening to my music a simple but peaceful life.
Two years have passed and happy as I’ve ever been, but something is not right with me. Very bad cramps in my stomach so off we go to the health centre and they checked my stomach and said there was a lot of swelling they insisted we go from there straight to Faro hospital.
We arrived at the hospital and my name is called almost immediatly. While the doctors are examining me I told them that I was on blood thinners. I explained that I had a mechanical mitral valve in my heart plus I had suffered a massive stroke at the age of thirteen. Panic hit the room and they said that you have a complicated medical history, I said yes I’m also pacemaker dependent. I asked them what do they think could be going on with my
stomach? They said that I would have to be admitted, that they feel a mass in my stomach and that they would have to do a CT scan. They sent us back down stairs to wait for a bed.
Down stairs we go, hand in hand clueless as to what we are facing. We’re sitting in the waiting room and a doctor calls me to ask would I mind if he examined me. I said of course not. He told me he was a cardiologist and That he was from Alcoutim and the conversation turned to how beautiful Alcoutim is. He gently sat me up and told me my heart rate was just fine but that I was in for a long time in hospital. Unfortunately I didn’t get his name only his wife is the vet in Alcoutim. He told me to stay calm and all would be fine. Back I go to the waiting room. Hours passed and I resigned to the fact that I’m staying in the hospital.
It’s now 3am and I tell Kev to go home and that I’m fine. They put me in a room in a big comfy chair and within an hour I was brought over to the surgical ward where I managed to get some sleep before doctors were back telling me I was going for a CT scan so off we go. With the scan done, they said they would have the results ASAP. I’m fine but I need sleep.
Kev arrived in to see me and I updated him about the scan and that the results were requested as urgent.
The following day doctors arrived to tell me that I was going for emergency surgery. My intestines were under extreme pressure. I ask when and they tell me first thing tomorrow morning. That’s ok, I’m not new to having surgery. I started to get myself ready mentally. I’m going to be just fine.
Night time comes and the nurse arrives with meds and I ask can I please have something to help me sleep. She goes to ask the doctor and comes back with a sleeping tablet.
Morning Comes, I’m up quickly getting prepared and then I’m off.
My eyes open and I see Kev sitting in the chair beside me, he gave me a soft kiss and said its all over and it went well. I’m groggy and sore. I had a colostomy bag fitted to my stomach while nurses are running around making sure that I was comfortable.
Days are flying past and eventually the doctors are in to see me. They are talking to me and explaing I’ll need some biopsies. I’m going with the flow, whatever they have to do.
Before long, results are back. I’m sitting on the side of my bed and in they arrived with serious faces and I’m smiling. Out it comes, Gillian you have stage 4 colon cancer. I said OK, so how do we fix that? Confused with my reaction they ask me do you understand what we’ve just told you?
Again i said yes now how do we fix it? This time they say to me you’re very positive. I told them that yes, I’ve always had to be.
Now I really need a cigarette off I go. Instead of walking down four flights of stairs I took the lift. I’m sitting there dreading the thought of calling Kev. When he answered the phone I asked him to sit down and please don’t cry I’m fine, but they’ve just given me all the biopsy results and it’s stage 4 colon cancer. My next words to him are it’s OK we can fix it I can have treatment with alot of monitoring and I’m fine with that.
Another week passed and I get a wonderful surprise visit from Ali Patrick, Sam’s wonderful mum, who flew over from England to see me. It was great to see her as doctors had told me it was too soon to inform my own family back home in Ireland.
After five weeks in hospital I’m going home and as I’m walking out it hit me, I’m not leaving this hospital well. I’m very sick and I have to bring it home with me. In the meantime I have contacted my family back in Ireland, absolute panic. I ask them please don’t come rushing over here, I can’t deal with all the fuss. I arrived into Alcoutim after a couple of days and it was like all my friends had become family always asking about me it was amazing.
Now back on my mountain with my dogs and my music, I tell Kev go back to work. I cope better on my own. The healing process is going so well some day’s I’d forgotten I’d even had surgery, although most of my time was spent on the phone with my family pleading with them not to come over until the time was right for me. Whilst all the time I’m awaiting for that one dreaded phone call from my oncologist about starting chemotherapy, that phone call comes I’m panicking, I’m crying, I’m shaking. I ring my brother, I need you now. He calms me down and I explain I have a meeting with my oncologist, I can’t do it .
He gets the dates off of me and he meets me in Faro before the hospital appointment, and he reminds me of who I am and how strong I am. We get to the hospital and they will only let one person in with me, my brother tells Kev to go with me he hugs me and kisses me and said don’t forget your strength. We go in I put my smile on and we talk. My treatment will start around the beginning of May and because of my heart complications I would only receive 70%of chemotherapy. I would loose my hair and they would control all other side effects along the way. I was feeling very positive about all this now went back out to my brother and smiled and said I can do this.
Now we must find a house while I go through treatment, I must leave my beautiful mountain behind. Everyone in and around Alcoutim is searching but nothing was available as summer is upon us. Then some friends invite us for a visit one hour drive from Alcoutim so off we go and a discussion starts about trying to get a little house there and low and behold a couple of weeks pass and we get a phone call there’s a little traditional
Portuguese house available. At this stage I’m started my chemotherapy so with not much strength I’m just basically telling Kev what clothes to bring for me and as its summer time just pack all my summer stuff.
Off we go May 2023 to our new home. It’s small in a little Portuguese village and just one and a half hour drive from the hospital. Perfect. Within a week my hair is gone, I’m heartbroken and feeling awful but determined. I can do it every week there’s new medication for me to take to help with side effects even some to prevent side effects. Now I’m bald I make the decision to get out every day, even on bad days. Within days the local
people were no longer strangers but friends and they made me feel good about myself again hair or not, they accepted as a friend. Such wonderful people.
Time is passing quickly and my heart is aching for my mountain back in Alcoutim. Then I get the news that my daughter Cheyenne is comming over to visit me so we book the hotel in Alcoutim. It just so happened that there was a big party Happening at the beach bar the night we were to be staying.
I’m so excited that I forget about being sick and bald. I’m going home, even if its just for a weekend. We go to Faro Airport to collect my girl, we arrive back to river beach in Alcoutim and so many people there. All my friends, who by now had become more like family, were there. The love and support was overwhelming. My daughter just felt like she’d known all these people for Years. We danced, we laughed and I was once again back in my happy place the beautiful Alcoutim. I’m home just a weekend the sadness was gone.
My girl must return to her busy life and work and we leave Alcoutim once again. Barley five minutes in the car and the aching is back. The weather is hot and going to get hotter. Soon we are back in our little house and back into routine. Kev walking the dogs while I’m laid back relaxing watching TV.
Every Friday is hospital day, so it’s up at 6am, Kev is in making the coffee while I’m deciding what to wear and which head dress. We are in the car by 7am and on the road.
My chemotherapy is coming to an end and all I can think about is going home to my mountain and seeing all the Alcoutim crew. Even the news from my oncologist was good. My scan results were in and the news was wonderful. The treatment was working well, tumors reduced thirty percent.
Now my mountain is calling me, my heart is aching. I need to get back to Alcoutim. I’d pushed myself so hard to make it through chemotherapy. The oncologist has told us the next treatment won’t be as harsh and will be only once a month. Ok I can do that from Alcoutim. Eventually we’re packing up and we’re going home. No longer strangers but part 0f the community in Alcoutim.
Now well settled back into life on my mountain with my dogs happy again and running free. I started to notice that people that I only knew in passing were coming directly to me and asking me how I was, especially the Portuguese people and I guess in a way it made me feel more and more at home. My journey continues now but my heart no longer aching, but smiling again.
Alcoutim, my home with friends friends as close as family and my journey continues and so does the love.
Gillian Collins
Thank you for reading. Lucky are the few who have no regrets. Luckily for me, I am one of the few.