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Former Home and Away star Sarah Roberts has opened up about the health ordeal that sent her to emergency – and led her to undergo surgery to have a mass “the size of a golf ball” removed.
The popular Aussie actress – who now co-hosts the Cracking On podcast with fellow Home and Away alumni Sam Frost – was hospitalised in October as she underwent a myomectomy to have a fibroid she nicknamed “Felicia” dealt with.
Fibroids are non-cancerous growths made of smooth muscle cells and fibrous connective tissue that develop in or on the wall of the uterus.
While most fibroids don’t need treatment, some need to be removed as they can cause heavy periods and pain, or change the shape of your uterus, increasing your chances of infertility or miscarriage.
“This time last week, I would’ve been in the theatre, or just coming out. Not the type of theatre I usually go to!” Sarah – who is dating Vancouver-based cinematographer and artist Jake Iesu – explained in an Instagram post to her 187,000 followers on October 23.
“She’d grown to the size of a golf ball, sending me to emergency whenever my period came and making it impossible to do anything without looking like I’d stepped off the set of Kill Bill,” the star explained, adding it was time for Felicia to “leave the building”.
“My anaesthetist told me they’d operated on a girl with one the size of a BEACH BALL the week before. WTAF?!” she added, before sharing that the day she was writing her post “felt weird for two reasons”.
“Firstly, I’m usually on a work couch talking to people about how they ‘crack on with life’. But I realised sometimes you can’t crack on with life. You just have to sit on your own ass crack and DO NOTHING (doctor’s orders!)” Sarah went on.
“Secondly, I guess we’re not machines? We’re souls who need music, connection, hand-holding, laughter and little pockets of joy. Kit-Kats, friends, family, dumplings, potato crisp deliveries, sunflowers and an amazing future husband who actually looks after you,” the star added.
Sarah then went on to pay tribute to Jake who she said had flown back from Vancouver “just to help me walk”.
The star said she had been “blown away” by the kindness of everyone who had “showed up” following her health ordeal.
“I couldn’t believe my goals in hospital had become so beautifully simple: shower, mobilise and caffeinate! Walk slower. Hug longer. Laugh louder (if it doesn’t hurt!)” Sarah added.
“The clock may be ticking, but your presence is timeless. I felt all the love from around the world. Thank you!!!”
Sarah pondered whether what had happened to her was a reminder that “constant productivity doesn’t equal worth”.
“We need wonder, connection and rest, too. Life isn’t a to-do list. It’s a gift.
Hopefully, I won’t get another visit from Felicia for not listening to my body,” she shared.
It isn’t the first time that Sarah has spoken about the importance of slowing down and appreciating the moment.
In an October 1 episode of the Cracking On podcast, Sarah told how her late brother Karl had been on her mind recently as she travelled for work.
Karl died aged 34 in 2019 after a battle with brain cancer, just three months after he’d watched Sarah marry her now ex-husband, actor James Stewart.
Sharing a moving experience, Sarah revealed she had been sitting on a plane as she travelled between work commitments when she started thinking, “God, life just goes so quickly” and sunshine beamed through the window.
Sarah revealed how a spiritual healer had once told her that when she felt sunshine it was connected to Karl being there with her.
“And I was thinking before that happened, ‘I just want someone to be proud of me’,” Sarah shared.
“Like the little Sarah came out, and she was like, ‘Oh, you’ve just shot two TV shows, and you’ve created this podcast with your best mate from the ground up, and you’re DJing all these gigs….’
“Mum always taught me not to boast, so I try not to talk about my achievements much, but I was like, ‘F**k, you’ve done a lot, and maybe you need to take a minute – to celebrate’,” the star shared.
“Feeling the sunshine on my face, I just closed my eyes, and I had a bit of a happy cry, and I felt like Karl and I were there together, celebrating.”
