In March 2023, Real Housewives of Miami star Gardy Abraira was diagnosed with stage 1b breast cancer.
Three months later, the reality star underwent a lumpectomy to remove a cancerous tumor in her left breast, followed by four rounds of chemotherapy and then 20 rounds of radiation, which often left Abraira weak and weak. It became a state.
“Chemotherapy can tell you your mortality rate in three seconds,” she says. “It’s not a game. For 10 days (after each treatment) I lay in bed. The chemotherapy fog was real and I walked like a skeleton – it felt like my bones were going to break.”
One of the biggest challenges for the Rome star was taking on the role of a mother at such a vulnerable time in her life. “I didn’t want my boys to see me weak,” said Abraira, mother of 17-year-old Miles and 11-year-old Liam.
Gardi Abraira and his family.
Gardy Abraira/Instagram
“I’m a party planner, so I control everything,” says Abraira, 46, CEO and founder of Guerdy Design, an event planning company that produces luxury weddings, bar mitzvahs, and high-profile parties around the world. (years old) says. “My whole life is planned out, I control my environment, I control what I do, I control everything about myself.”
“But the cancer was so out of control,” she says. “You have an appointment tomorrow. I need to get another shot. Did you take your meds? I need to do another scan.” I can’t seem to do anything. ”
“So I holed up in the master bedroom,” Abraira explains. “So I was literally in my room the whole time, except sometimes when I could walk down the stairs in my two-story house, trying desperately to hang on.”
Gardy’s two sons, who described her bedroom as like a “hospital room,” came to check on their mother every day. “They were like, ‘How are you doing?’” Come to me, mom. Come hug me! ”
On evenings and weekends, the family gathered in the bedroom to spend time together. “We played chaud together in bed,” she says. “Or the four of us would watch a movie from bed.”
Guardi Abraira and his sons.
Gardy Abraira/Instagram
Since November, Abraira, who has been cancer-free, has significantly reduced her event planning schedule and is enjoying family time at home with her husband, Russell, and their two sons. “I’m in love with my life right now,” she says. “I take care of my kids all day every day. We’re closer than ever.”
In August, the family celebrated Miles’ 17th birthday by going to their favorite burger restaurant and then going bowling.
“It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality and how close we are as a family. We’re very close, so it’s great to wake up in the morning and find Liam in his room and Miles in there,” she said. says.
And she celebrates being there for every milestone.
“My oldest son, Miles, was in his last year of high school and I went on a college trip with him,” she says. “My youngest son Liam plays basketball and I go to every game. It’s so much more fun to be there than just watching video.”
“I know my kids,” Abraira says. “I’m now making up for the time I was missing.”
