People love her for her cheery outlook and uplifting storytelling. But behind the smile, children’s entertainer Suzy Cato has been on an emotional rollercoaster following a health scare which led to a nerve-wracking series of medical tests.
“Around my 56th birthday in June, one of my breasts became sore,” she recalls. “I had been doing some heavy lifting, moving furniture around our house, so I put it down to muscle strain. I then had three days of rectal bleeding, which was harder to ignore.”
She booked a specialist appointment, but realised her mammogram was also due, so decided it was time for a full warrant of fitness. “I’m not a racy little Corvette any more. I want to know someone has changed my oil and pumped my tyres!”
Suzy discussed the tests with her husband of 30 years, Steve Booth, and their kids, Riley, 19, and Morgan, 17.
“When the kids were younger, we were a lot more selective about what we told them,” Suzy explains. “Young minds and hearts need to remain carefree for as long as possible. Things beyond their control can burden them so heavily.
“Even now they’re young adults, we still didn’t go into the potential outcomes of the tests. We just focused on the practicalities of the procedures – and the joys of things like hospital gowns!
“We figured there would be plenty of opportunity to go into what comes next if anything was of concern, which thankfully they weren’t.”
Suzy’s barrage of procedures included blood tests and a cervical smear, along with a mammogram and a colonoscopy. While Suzy was relieved to discover smears are much less invasive these days, with simple DIY kits available in many cases, when she was sedated for the colonoscopy, nobody told her to stay off her phone!
“Doctors always tell patients not to drive, use heavy machinery or make big decisions after a general anaesthetic. However, they should also be told not to use social media,” says Suzy with a rueful smile.
“The anaesthetic really knocked me for six and while I was coming around, I posted some pictures and a message that in retrospect sounded a little melancholy. That led to a flood of beautiful comments, texts and phone calls, which made me feel so humbled and grateful.”
Thankfully, the tests alleviated all Suzy’s concerns. However, it did make her feel deeply for people experiencing serious health battles.
“I felt especially touched when Dai Henwood and Lorna Riley, who have both experienced significant health battles, sent their love, she says.”
Suzy knows how tempting it can be to ignore symptoms, hoping they’ll just go away. “But the reality is, if you get checked in good time, you can potentially nip whatever it is in the bud. Or better still, doctors can give you peace of mind that everything’s okay.”
The bubbly entertainer says she received wonderful care from health professionals.
“Everyone was so kind,” she enthuses. “I’m the type of person who finds it helpful to use humour when I do something that scares me. Like joking about pancakes during the mammogram! That really helped take some of the pressure off.”
Now doctors have given Suzy the all-clear, she’s feeling more like her old self.
“My kids’ storytelling podcast on RNZ is getting amazing feedback, and my YouTube channel, TreehutTV, is going from strength to strength,” she tells. “I’m also loving the monthly music gigs I created for younger kids, that I emcee at Spark Arena in Auckland. The shows introduce tamariki to great music and include lots of fun interaction.”
Suzy’s also working on a few new projects. “One is particularly close to my heart,” she reveals. “Called Big Little Blue, it’s an animated series for primary schoolkids about two kororā – little blue penguins. It has stories about mindfulness accompanied by songs.”
After her recent experience, Suzy can’t emphasise enough the importance of putting wellbeing first.
“We can get so caught up in the day to day,” she says. “Of rushing to meet deadlines or getting another load of washing out. Or we put family first, especially our kids, which means we might ignore our own health, or not be as present as we’d like and we miss a beautiful sunrise or the song of a tūī.
“But after having this health challenge, I’ve taken a moment to pause and cherish the important things more.”
Suzy is aware she’s lucky.
“I have treasured friends and whānau going through serious challenges at the moment, so my appointments made me want to stress that we all need to make the most of every moment, and be kind to ourselves and each other. Life is precious and so short.”
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