Today I had some life changing news and I can't stop staring at the wall so I thought I would put something in words. Well, apart from that time when I was told I have incurable terminal cancer and my prognosis was less than a year, this is the second time in my life I find myself speechless!
This morning an email from AVIVA came through with the words "Dear Mrs Guardi, I’ve completed the assessment of your life insuarance claim and I confirm it has been accepted for the full amount. Payment of your full life insurance amount will be transferred in a couple of working days."
Life changing, not just for me but mainly for my family. My boys will grow up in the same house we are all in now, near to their friends and schools, my husband will be able to keep working what he loves to do without worry of money, childcare bills, mortgage etc on top of everything else he will eventually need to deal with that comes with the trauma of loosing his wife and mother of his children. I can't put into words what this means to me. Mortgage free. I did this for them.
On the 6th Dec 2022 my husband and I were sat at my Oncologist's office. We were told I had terminal cancer and the treatments I will be ongoing are to prolong my life and to make it more comfortable, rather than cure or in other words - palliative care. My first thought was "goodness, what will happen to my boys?!" There was a huge lump in my chest of worry about their future. How they will have to grow up without one parent, how they will cope with life and also will they have enough to have the life I thought my husband and I could provide for them? Sure, money is not everything but we live in a world where everyone is struggling so much. People are on strike, quite rightly, because the cost of living is so high right now. Bills are constantly rising, it's hard to keep up a household with two kids when two parents are working full time let alone as a single parent. Those of you who have kids know how eye watering nursery bills are!
Nobody really talks about money when it comes to cancer because of course the main priority is the patient's health. However, I feel this is a huge topic that is hidden away and I wish there was more information and guidance on it. When you are going through any kind of oncology treatment let's be honest you don't really feel like working. Which of course it would have a domino effect on the household income. What happens then? The government has cut on so much of the benefits that it's impossible to receive them and if you are lucky enough to qualify for them, they are simply not enough.
Then I remembered. I have life insurance! And those of you who really know me, know that I am not a life insurance person. I mean, I've been self employed for over 8 years now and I'm more of a let's say "the creative type" I have an accountant who has almost given up on me on a few occasions, sorry Graham!
I live in an organised chaos and I thrive in it. However when it comes to keeping up with letters, it's never been my strong side. It was only two and a half years ago my husband and I bought a very expensive house that was and still is a complete doer upper, but you know location, location, location! We needed the space with the growing boys, we wanted the garden. Anyway, we stretched ourselves like everyone else does to get it with a big mortgage without knowing what life was going to throw at us.
After the purchase of the house, our estate agent essentially pestered me with phone calls and bombarded me with emails to sign up for a life insurance. I did in the end only because I was so sick of him calling me. Thank God, I did! The best £37 a month I've ever spent. And trust me I've spent a lot of money on random subscriptions as my husband likes to call them. Well, thank you Michael. I owe you a pint! All I can say is this is not making my health situation better, but it's one less thing to worry about.
This blog is not to promote AVIVA or any of their policies. Simply, get a life insurance if you don't have one! If you already have one, check the policy of your insurance and make sure everything is up to date. I would strongly recommend adding Critical Care Cover as it will help you with your claim if you have other health problems rather than only terminal cancer or death. Protect the future of the people you love.
V x