A Place in the Sun favorite Jonnie Irwin kept Instagram fans updated on his Christmas Day antics this week.
Taking a selfie with beers, he wrote: “It’s been a while since I waited outside for the pub to open, but a freshly lit fire and a pint were a welcome distraction on the short walk to Christmas lunch. He wrote: “I hope you all had a lovely day and enjoyed Boxing Day as it should be. #christmas #christmasdaypintje.”
Irwin, who has three children with his wife Jessica Holmes, is battling terminal lung cancer after being diagnosed by doctors in 2020, receiving many compliments in the comments section. “[You’re] looking great!! Cheers and I hope you have a wonderful New Year”, “Lots of love to you and your family – keep fighting honey” and “I’m sure you had a wonderful Christmas Day with your lovely family. Enjoy the rest of the Christmas season and hope that the new year brings good news on the health front. X,” read three of the messages.
Irwin’s cancer diagnosis
During an interview with HELLO! When he announced he had cancer, Irwin admitted it was unclear how long he had to live, “but I try to stay positive and my attitude is that I’m living with cancer and not dying from it.
“I’ve been setting little markers — things I want to be there for,” he noted. “I’ve gotten into the habit of saying, ‘Don’t plan ahead because I might not be good enough.’ But now I want to make plans. I want to make memories and capture these moments with my family because the reality is that my boys will grow up not knowing their father and that breaks my heart. I’m doing everything I can to make that day last that long possibly free. I owe that to Jess and our boys. Some people in my position have bucket lists, but I just want us to do as much as we can as a family.”
While stopping by the Good Morning Britain studio, the TV star revealed why it had taken him two years to come forward with the cancer news. “I was scared to some extent by what happened,” he said, referring to his letting go by Channel 4.
“When people find out you have cancer… I know what I felt when I just heard the words, it’s just something terrifying, the word cancer. And I thought, if I feel this way, everyone else will feel this way. ” and lo and behold, I lost some work because of it.
“I wanted to keep it a secret because professionally I didn’t want to lose my job, but also socially and emotionally people treat you differently and people start making decisions for you. If I withheld that information, I found that I could live a normal life. to probably a year ago.”
Last Christmas, the 49-year-old claimed on Morning Live that cancer was “the most terrifying word in the English language” and immediately provoked an overbearing response. “We don’t need coddling,” he told the hosts, before doubling down with: “We are normal people, as normal as can be. So treat us as you would two years ago. We are normal people, the same as everyone else and we want the same opportunities for fun and life as everyone else gets.”
Therapy
Although there is no cure for Irwin’s condition, his efforts to make life a little more comfortable led him to hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which “increases the amount of oxygen available to the body’s tissues, creating an environment more conducive to for curing certain conditions. “.
This coincided with pain management in the hospice. Challenging the perception of palliative care, he also shared on Morning Live: “My hospice is actually a joy, I wouldn’t say it’s like a hotel but it’s like a very nice private hospital.” He added: “My perception of a hospice was a boiling hot room full of people who look weak and are at the end of their days. It’s nothing like that. It’s spacious, energetic and comfortable. It even has a jacuzzi!”
Irwin explained: “My first experience with palliative care and hospice was blood transfusions as a day patient. I was invited to use it and I thought I’d give it a try. I went into this beautiful room, with cookies stacked next to me. , and I just dipped in and out. I would implore people if you have the choice to use it, use it.
“It is a service that is not entirely provided by the NHS, my hospice is largely privately funded. You are entitled to the choice of a hospice if you want it, but I would encourage people to investigate that because it is not a doom and gloom operation, which you may have thought was so.”
Recently, the star was also set back by a nasty respiratory infection, which saw him undergo salt therapy. Posting pictures from a health and wellbeing clinic in Newcastle, he wrote to his social media followers: “My chest infection started hitting me all over; antibiotics (I tried to get rid of it but it kept getting worse) 2am this morning my @o2worx hyperbaric chamber and now downstairs at @sereniti_health breathing deeply in the Salt Chamber.
“So relaxing and I have this place to myself! All wrapped up and relaxed. I feel like I have some amazing and knowledgeable people around me. #saltylips #alternativetherapies #healthspa #healthandwellness.” This is a natural treatment for respiratory, sinus, allergy and skin conditions, reducing inflammation and congestion through the absorption of Himalayan salt minerals.
Regret
A crushing aspect of his cancer journey was the lack of insurance against serious illness. Discussing his situation on AIG Life’s One Chat podcast, Irwin revealed: “I didn’t take out critical illness insurance so I had to keep working. Without work I have no means to pay the bills.
“And if I had taken out critical illness insurance, it could have covered my expenses and I probably could have told the world much sooner. I could have lived a more open lifestyle for two years. And I want people to get over that mistake Maybe because I know the benefits it would have had, it just seems ridiculous that I didn’t,” he complained.
“I thought I was doing fine just by getting life insurance. It’s a positive thing and has helped me a lot in getting on a financial footing in life because I knew my wife and my boys are safer. But how I wish I had taken out life insurance with that extra coverage.” This month he has been busy in front of the camera to raise money for his young family.
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Watch: Jonnie Irwin makes long-awaited return to TV after terminal cancer diagnosis