AUDIENCES ACROSS AUSTRALIA WILL ADORE WATCHING GEMLIFE PALMWOODS HOMEOWNER SHARON LAGDEN, 64, AS SHE ATTEMPTS SKYDIVING FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Jumping out of a plane was the first adventure on Sharon’s bucket list after overcoming a devastating breast cancer diagnosis and depression.
Sharon was in remission when she and husband Kevin left their Sydney corporate careers (Sharon in IT and husband Kevin a publishing general manager) to pursue a more relaxed life on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
However, that didn’t go as planned at first.
“My job, including my colleagues’ support, had given me so much purpose through my cancer treatment and operations, and suddenly here I was not working and not feeling myself when the depression hit,” Sharon said.
“I now know from talking to others, that this is a common occurrence in remission. I think when you’re going through treatment you have medical experts telling you what to do and trust that they know what they are doing. At the end of the day, you do not have a lot of choice in the matter.
“But it’s later – and for me it was two years later – when you realise you will never be the same again.
“Because you look the same on the outside, people think you’re okay, but you will never be the same again and you have to find a new ‘normal’. You live with the threat of the cancer coming back as well as having to deal with hormonal and physical side effects too.”
As the fog of her depression started to lift, Sharon decided to retrain in a completely different career that would still provide her with an income and purpose, only with less stress.
“For two years I trained as a counsellor and now I’ve had my own private practice on the Sunshine Coast since 2015, helping thousands of people with relationship issues – grief and loss, anxiety, depression and cancer support.
“I learned a lot about myself doing the course, and maybe because I have a huge amount of empathy for people who have gone through similar experiences, it helps me relate to them.
“My husband Kevin has always been my rock and a great support throughout my journey. We are both trying to live our lives to the full. My mantra is ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’.”
First on her bucket list was to skydive, which was filmed as part of GemLife’s AGELESS TV series. Sharon said she was relieved to learn her instructor had earplugs in to block out her screams!
“It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time, and I would go again,” Sharon said. “I don’t think you’d get that feeling with anything else you’d ever do in your life.”
Her next bucket list goals are to swim with sharks, and drive fast in a race car, or drive a giant mining truck. Watch this space!
To watch Sharon in episode 5, turn to page 21 for air date details.