Deborah James Says 'Exhausting' but 'Worth It' to Get Dressed Up for the Opera: 'Still Living Whilst Dying'
Deborah James/Instagram
Deborah James is not letting anything hold her back.
After the 40-year-old was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer in 2016, James has been active on social media and her podcast "You, Me and the Big C," detailing her struggle being in "the coolest club you never want to be a part of."
On Saturday, along with pictures from the Glyndebourne opera house where she attended a performance of La Bohème, the BBC podcast host shared to Instagram a candid caption about her life with the fatal illness.
"Another day, brings another excuse to spend half of it exhausting myself getting dressed up to go to one of my favorite places!!!! @glyndebourne to watch #laboheme — But totally worth it. Thank you @glyndebourne for being so lovely and welcoming tonight — doing all this in a wheelchair is certainly a new challenge to learn!" she said following her outing to the opera house located in Lewes, East Sussex.
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James announced earlier this month that she stopped receiving active care and would be moving to hospice.
"The message I never wanted to write. We have tried everything, but my body simply isn't playing ball," James began. She added she is "with my incredible family all around me and the focus is on making sure I'm not in pain and spending time with them."
James attended the opera with her husband Sebastian, who is pictured alongside James in two of the three photos in the post. She has previously said he is "an utter rock for me."
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James had visited the same opera house 5 years prior, which she mentioned in the caption with disbelief: "I can't believe I was last here 5 years ago this week — scared, newly diagnosed, just trying to do the same as I'm doing now — taking things one day at a time!!"
"But be under no illusion! I'm knackered! I've worked out it takes me longer to get ready and organised to go than the time I actually last anywhere!! Getting dressed is tiring, getting meds organised is tiring, the extra moving, the travel, the wondering what mood your stomach is in — its all real!"
"The feeling of making it to something you didn't think possible, having put make up on, donning new shows (that finally arrived in the right size for massively swollen feet!), with the sunshine smiling - well then it's all worth it!"
