Carrie Bickmore has broken down in an emotional interview in which she discussed how she ‘saved’ the lives of her close friend and her husband.
The 44-year-old radio star revealed on the Hit Network’s Carrie and Tommy show that she helped her close friend Jamila Rizvi find suitable treatment after she was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour – while emotionally supporting her husband.
‘My husband Jeremy and I were going through it together, but differently. He was thinking that if the worst happens, then he has to keep living,’ Jamila told Carrie.
The 31-year-old then revealed she enlisted Carrie to speak to her husband on her behalf because they were struggling to cope with the shock diagnosis.
‘I called Carrie and said, “Would it be all right if I introduced you two? I think he needs to talk to someone”,’ Jamila explained.
‘It surprised no one that Carrie showed up on our doorstep 15 minutes later!’
Carrie Bickmore broke down in an emotional interview in which she discussed how she ‘saved’ the lives of her close friend and her husband
Carrie added that her visit came as a huge surprise to Jamila’s husband, who was so grateful that the radio star had introduced them to a renowned neurosurgeon.
‘Poor Jeremy. I don’t think he was in the head space to receive a random person he never met in his lounge room,’ Carrie said.
Jamila, who has been friends with the radio star for years, added she and her husband were really struggling at the time and were incredibly grateful for the support Carrie gave them.
‘I think it is the best thing that has happened to us! We were definitely at our worst and you were very kind, supported us through the headspace we were in,’ Jamila said.
‘You introduced us to the neurosurgeon who operated on me twice and unquestionably saved my life. Another surgeon wouldn’t have been able to do that surgery!’
‘There was so much going on. I am so thankful the surgeon was able to help you because he was amazing,’ Carrie added.
Jamila Rizvi initially thought her missed periods were just a sign of stress.
After noticing she hadn’t menstruated for two months, the Aussie TV presenter decided to see a GP as a precaution to check her hormones, as she had just stopped breastfeeding her toddler son Rafi.
The 44-year-old radio star revealed on the Hit Network’s Carrie and Tommy show that she helped her close friend Jamila Rizvi (left) find suitable treatment after she was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour – while emotionally supporting her husband
Jamila, who has been friends with the radio star for years, added she and her husband were really struggling at the time and were incredibly grateful for the support Carrie gave them. Pictured together on The Project in 2017
But the then-31-year-old’s world came crashing down when she was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma, a rare ‘one-in-a-million’ brain tumour.
‘For me, it was very much out of the blue… I was very unexpectedly diagnosed with a rare kind of brain tumour so I’ve got a physically broken brain,’ Jamila told Carrie and Tommy.
‘Because of where the tumour grows and the complexity of the brain, for me it began with hormones so I just skipped a period.’
Reflecting on that fateful day seven years ago, the political commentator was on a book tour, so she suspected the missed cycle was simply due to stress.
‘Then it happened again. I was very diligent, went and saw my GP and I think that’s when I got lucky the first time because my GP took me really seriously… I got blood tests done, she sent me off to specialists and then a gynaecologist,’ Jamila said.
In 2017, doctors found a tumour lodged deep in her brain, dangerously close to her optic nerves, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland.
Despite undergoing two major brain surgeries followed by radiation, Jamila now lives with chronic health conditions, as she’s told her tumour may return.
