Turning sixty is a big birthday for anyone, but after years of mysterious medical maladies followed by a life-altering health diagnosis, radio host Hilary Muir understands better than anyone the importance of embracing ageing.
“It’s a privilege denied to so many. I’ve had a few friends I would love to have seen celebrate 60 who are not with us now. There is a certain responsibility to enjoy our birthdays, whatever the number.”
In 2020, following months of extreme exhaustion and medical tests, The Breeze Christchurch morning host was diagnosed with Addison’s disease.
It is a rare condition that occurs when the adrenal glands don’t produce enough cortisol. This hormone instructs almost every organ in the body and regulates the nervous system during times of stress.
In the past three years, she has also developed severe osteoporosis – a common side effect of the medication required to replace the missing hormones – and is prediabetic, another common ailment of people living with Addison’s.
While she has found it difficult to give up running and having the odd drink, Hilary focuses on all the things she can still do.
Her big goal for the year is to walk the Christchurch Marathon this month.
“I had always wanted to do a marathon, and now with running out of the question, it seemed right.
“I’m aiming to do it in seven hours. And hopefully, finish before they officially end the race!” she laughs.
When asked how she stays so positive about life, Hilary shares that losing her parents before she was 30 forced her to learn the power of resilience.
“I tend to live happily. I live in hope, I don’t live in despair. Some might call it delusional, but I live a happier life because of it.”
When Hilary was 28 years old, her mother, Lhona, died due to complications from throat cancer.
She had gone through chemo and radiation with no issues, but a cold hit her compromised immune system hard. Hilary called her mother in the afternoon, and she sounded unwell. After speaking with her father, Hilary raced from Dunedin to Invercargill to see her.
By the time she arrived, Lhona had been hospitalised with pneumonia. A few hours later, Hilary had to turn off her mother’s life support after she had suffered a heart attack.
Two short years later, Hilary’s father, Tom, passed away. Doctors had diagnosed him with colon cancer, which then spread to his liver.
“I don’t talk about it a lot. It was tough,” Hilary laments. “But I just had to get through it. There is no right age to lose a parent. I look at people whose parents are in their 90s, and they aren’t any more ready to lose their mum and dad.”
Hilary’s three children, Nick, 33, George, 28, and Poppy, 25, are why she works so hard to keep healthy.
While she doesn’t see her eldest two as much as she would like – Nick lives in Luxembourg with his new wife Anna, 33, and George lives in Perth with his partner Ellen, 28 – the family has a tight bond.
And after celebrating her eldest’s wedding in Bali last year, Hilary says that her main dream for her children is to see them happy.
“It was everything I’d wanted for Nick, they really love each other,” the radio veteran enthuses of the special day. “Regardless of whether my kids want to live in Christchurch or not, what I really want is for them to have a home with their partner, and they’ve all got that. I want them to live as big a life as possible.”
Now, with her children happily partnered up, Hilary is ready to focus on her own love life again.
“My line this year is, ‘I have a full life’. Everyone tells me I’m too busy to meet someone. But why wouldn’t I be having a full life doing lots of interesting things, instead of sitting at home on my phone hoping I swipe right on someone? I’m determined I’m going to meet the right person.”
Listen to Hilary on Canterbury Breakfast on The Breeze Christchurch 94.5FM weekdays 6am to 10am.
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