'FAMILY HELPED ME HEAL'

Natalie's recovery from brain surgery was made easier thanks to her loved ones

- Emma Babbington

Being a hard-working single mum and having your own mother look after you for a while sounds like a dream come true. But for Natalie Barkoczy, having mum Mandy stay at her Hobart house, cooking the family meals and doing the washing and cleaning was a reminder that after having major brain surgery, she still wasn’t strong enough to go it alone.

So, after several months, Natalie decided it was time for her to try. “I had a good talk to myself and my mum,” she tells Woman’s Day. “I said, ‘I’m getting better and I can’t let myself be pampered all the time!’ But I have to admit, I quite liked being looked after.”

Natalie, 45, had undergone surgery to remove a tumour the size of a peach from the base of her skull after years of neck pain culminated in some worrying symptoms, including face numbness that her GP thought could indicate a stroke.