Last Thursday I attended a fundraiser for a woman who is both a friend and an inspiration. Her name is Sally Obermeder. Some may know her as the stunning Today Tonight Entertainment reporter, others might remember her as a presenter on Sydney Weekender but this story, the one she is living is the one you'll remember from now on.
In a celebration of her life and in a bid to keep her living; her friend and my boss Sarah Stinson, Executive Producer of The Morning Show organized a fundraiser to help Sally raise enough money to fight as best she could to beat cancer.
Sally's story is almost unfathomable. After years of trying to have a baby, Sally finally resorted to IVF treatments to help her on her way. After years of struggle, she fell pregnant and then the day before she gave birth to baby Anabelle, the unthinkable happened. She was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.
For the eight months that followed (she’s through four months now) she would undergo gruelling chemotherapy, radiotherapy and is considering a double mastectomy. She describes chemotherapy as “beyond brutal” and days after her debilitating and crippling chemotherapy she is unable to mother her newborn baby.
With funds rapidly diminishing, in one of the grandest gestures of love I've ever seen, Sarah Stinson organized a fundraiser. Over 500 guests joined together to celebrate Sally. Guests sent love positivity and importantly, funds to launch her on her way to better health.
This was love in the most flamboyant display I'd ever seen. Sally was surrounded by her husband Marcus, her sister, and her colleagues and even shared company with strangers who were moved by her story.
Marcus held his beautiful wife closely, showing her how striking she still is. She has a smile that lights up a room, a spirit that fills your heart with so much love and a will that would inspire the weakest of souls to keep going. In her speech, she thanked him for his unconditional love. Saying “if I hasn't married you, I would have married you again.”
There was not a dry eye in the room.
The love there was real, was intense and was healing, I wish it could have been in the medical sense.
Sally in her thank you speech wept as the club lights in the Beresford went up and she saw over 500 faces cheering her on.
“I just want to say thank you because while Chemotherapy is what heals my illness, it’s your love that heals my soul,” she said.
Her grief was profound and for a night - it was shared by a room full of open hearts and thankfully open wallets.
You can read more about Sally’s battle at these links.
While every week I write about love, this week I encourage you to show it by donating to one of the most important causes I’ve ever supported. Sally deserves the best chance of survival and you can help by donating at this link.
You wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone, but you can help heal it by donating generously and helping Sally reach her target. It will help her pay for her treatments and give her the best chance at surviving for her newborn baby, Anabelle.
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