Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 118, May 2019 | Page 41

MULTISPORT
Reason to
Keep
Tri-ing
The old saying goes, “When life hands you lemons, make
lemonade.” Well, the journey I have walked in recent years saw
life throw so much more than ‘lemons’ at me, and turning to
triathlons helped me get through it all. – BY ROBYN LOUW
T
here I was, 26 years old, been married for
three years, and all was generally good. Chris
was always the sporty one in our relationship,
with me only dipping my proverbial toe in the waters
now and then. He had been a top cricket, rugby
and hockey player throughout high school, and an
exceptional swimmer, too. I was a dancer all my
life, and I loved playing netball, but hated any form
of athletics. I even went on to study B.Com Dance
Teaching at the Tshwane University of Technology,
and graduated with a Cum Laude.
I had been ready to have kids since the day we got
married in November 2009, but we decided to enjoy
our married life for a couple of years before becoming
parents. That is the natural progression of life, right?
You get married, have some fun together, and then
have kids. That’s what society tells us is “normal.”
After trying to fall pregnant for eight months, I couldn’t
stand the uncertainty any longer. I was told you could
only get an appointment at the fertility clinic if you
had been unsuccessful at falling pregnant for at least
one year. One whole, long year! So I did what any
desperate woman would do when that ‘baby-making’
process has started... I lied.
doctor explained that my ovaries were abnormal
in size, and that any form of pregnancy would be
absolutely impossible unless they were removed.
They measured 22cm and 25cm respectively. Okay,
we thought, a speedbump in our road, but nothing we
can’t handle.
The doctor pulled a few strings and got me in to
see a specialist in Pretoria the following Monday. I
was directed to a very well respected surgeon who
is a gynaecological oncologist and also teaches at
the universities. He examined me and immediately
insisted upon surgery the very next day. At this point
we didn’t know what the reason for the enlarged
ovaries was, and with the risk of them exploding to
get a sample, we had to wait for all to be revealed
during surgery. He explained the procedure would
be to go in, remove the ovaries and test them
immediately, then decide the best course of action
while I was still under.
After about three hours of surgery, the surgeon
explained to Chris that it was cancer. They had to
remove my ovaries, uterus, half of my diaphragm and
a bunch of other stuff I can hardly remember. Along
with all my insides, they also removed all hope of me
having my own little version of us. It was revealed as
stage four ovarian cancer, and the doctor was quite
certain that if he had only seen me two weeks later, he
would not have been able to save me. Two weeks!
Tough Times
I started chemotherapy two weeks later, to ensure the
microscopic remains of cancer would be destroyed.
Robyn and Chris Louw
We got an appointment and went to see a wonderful
doctor, as recommended to me by a very dear friend,
and that was the day our lives changed forever. I
generally don’t delve into the details at this point of my
story, as I feel so many people have suffered bigger
challenges than me, but it is a big honour for me to write
for Modern Athlete Magazine, and I hope this might help
someone who may be going through the same thing.
Unpleasant Surprise
Lying in the doctor’s room, I had a slight sense of
panic when the doctor left to find his colleague to
request a second opinion. They seemed to agree
upon the matter and asked Chris and I to wait for
them in the office. Never did we think this was
serious, maybe just a case of needing an injection
or two, but it would be a fixable situation. Then the
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