“It will be nice when I can get back out and do a bit more. I don’t think it’ll be ABBA, though. I think that’s a bit too far. I’d love to go, but that may be pushing it.”
As she said “ABBA”, Saray Myers, burst out laughing while sitting on her bed wearing an oxygen mask.
Sarah has synovial sarcoma cancer– a rare cancer that attacks soft tissues and joints.
The 53-year-old shared her story in early August. She said the one thing she wanted to do was “save someone else” through her incredible story.
Also on her “bucket list” was getting to the Racecourse ground to watch Wrexham FC.
Since our first chat two months ago, her husband Ady has taken her to watch their beloved team three times.
A few days after that first story appeared on Cwmbran Life, a season ticket holder got in touch with them. He offered his tickets for a match, and they accepted his kind offer.
But her health has deteriorated over this time, and this was a very different visit.
Ady, 53, answered the door of their home in Trevethin on Tuesday 14 October, and told me to head upstairs to chat to Sarah.
I had to tiptoe around plastic piping running along the skirting boards and across the floor that was linked to the oxygen mask she was wearing.
It was a different location from their cosy living room where we first met- but the easy-going and open chat was exactly the same.
Sense of humour
The same sense of humour, laughter, and love of Ady, her family, and Wrexham FC came over in our 30-minute conversation. The house buzzed downstairs with her family, who are spending more time in their house.
I sat on the edge of the bed, first with Ady next to Sarah, and then when he had to pop out, two of her daughters, Danielle and Jade, cwtched up next to her.
It was definitely the most unusual place I’ve had the privilege of interviewing someone.
They told me that in late August, she was given “three to five” days to live.
Our meeting was six weeks later, and it’s fair to say that since that news- and getting past that worrying week, her health has continued to be up and down.
Ady said: “When she’s having a good day, we can get her out in the car and go somewhere.
“Last time we literally went down to Cwmbran on the Sunday, JD Sports, and had a coffee.”
Sarah said: “It was nice. All I can do now is hope. I get good days. I can’t do a lot else.”
‘Awareness’
She said she still tries to update her website and social media “when I have the energy” and added: ”I still try and get the awareness out there.”
This has been helped by a lovely surprise by Ady. He took her black Dacia Duster car to a local garage and got it covered in photos of her, stickers, and information about synovial sarcoma cancer.
They already have a camper van plastered with information to raise awareness of the cancer and start conversations with passers-by.
They had to cancel a trip to London to watch ABBA Voyage- the show where the four singers appear on stage as digital avatars.
But this disappointment hasn’t stopped Ady from continuing to plan things to make memories as a couple and family.
Sarah said: “He says, ‘if we book it and we can’t go. But if you can go, then it’s a bonus. I don’t care about the money, it’s just getting you out to places you want to go, and if you can go, you can go’.”
Wrexham FC’s current poor run means that Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, the club’s co-owners, should get the couple up for more matches. So far, they haven’t seen the Dragons lose, enjoying two wins and a draw.
She said there is a fantastic atmosphere at the famous club. During one trip they met and had photos with lots of the players and chatted with Shaun Harvey, the club director and star of the Welcome to Wrexham documentary series.
‘A good laugh’
Sarah said: “It was good. It got a bit cold towards the end. You could just see my face with my snood thing, hat, gloves and hoodie. It was a good laugh.”
It was a lovely half an hour. We exchanged WhatsApp messages a few times over the previous weeks before my visit to arrange a date and time. I wish I had arranged the visit sooner.