Gaz Beadle’s wife reflects on her open heart surgery 12 weeks later  

Geordie Shore star Gaz Beadle’s wife Emma reflected on her open heart surgery and recovery journey on Wednesday – 12 weeks on.

Emma, 30, who has had a defect from birth, had the procedure to fix three holes in her heart and her tricuspid valve – which controls blood flow between the right atrium and right ventricle.

Taking to Instagram, Emma revealed that the operation meant she was able to enjoy her life with her children again and that she had found herself. 

The mother-of-two shared several photos of herself in hospital and recovering and wrote: ‘I can’t believe it’s been 12 weeks since my open heart surgery. I can’t believe the change in my life already. 

‘I’ve spoken to so many people who will be having the same surgery and the best advice I can give is try not let the anxiety of it take over your life because I did this.’

Journey: Emma, who has had a defect from birth, had the procedure to fix three holes in her heart and her tricuspid valve – which controls blood flow between the right atrium and right ventricle

Lifechanging: Taking to Instagram, she revealed that the operation meant she was able to enjoy her life with her children again and that she had found herself

She continued: ‘It’s a huge operation, a very hard and very slow recovery but take it at your own pace. 

‘Don’t push yourself to do more than your body is ready to do and you will feel brand new at the end of it. 

‘I feel like I’ve found myself again, I feel like I can enjoy my life and my children so much more now.’

It comes after Emma spoke in March about her fear of not waking up after having the operation.

Emma revealed she was terrified of not seeing her husband, 35, and two children again.

She candidly shared that she had ‘mentally prepared’ herself that they’d said their ‘last goodbye’ when her family dropped her off at the hospital. 

She told The Sun of her ordeal: ‘They came to the hospital to drop me off and Gary had to drive away with the kids crying their eyes out after we said goodbye. That was the hardest bit. I had to mentally prepare myself that it could be my last goodbye.

‘I knew in surgery I’d be connected to a heart machine that would be keeping me alive while my heart was stopped, and I kept thinking, ‘They’re not going to be able to start my heart again”. I thought, “I’m going to get put to sleep and I’m not coming back out”.’

Tough: She continued: ‘It’s a huge operation, a very hard and very slow recovery but take it at your own pace’

Recovery: She also shared snaps of her recovery journey over the last 12 weeks after the life-changing surgery

The doting mum, who shares Chester, five, and Primrose, three, with Gaz, told how she’d prepared a special treasure hunt for her children before she left for the hospital so as to ‘distract them’ from her absence and also create a ‘happy memory’ of her. 

Emma also opened up about the tough recovery from the six-hour operation, which left her struggling to move and in immense pain.

She said: ‘I had a big tube in my neck with lots of wires coming out. I couldn’t sit up or move on my side and because the morphine made me sick, I didn’t want to press my morphine button so I probably wasn’t taking as much medication as I should, which added to the pain.’

However, Emma’s recovery suffered a major setback as she then suffered a collapsed lung, which then triggered a surgical emphysema, which is a rare lung condition which sees air become trapped under the skin. 

The beauty soon recovered however and six days later she was allowed to return home to her family.

In the aftermath of her procedure, Emma took to her Instagram where she expressed her gratitude to the medical staff who helped her through her difficult time. 

She penned: ‘I came into this month with a healthy heart, I’ll never be able to thank my surgeon, doctors, nurses and everyone else involved. I had 2 small holes, 1 large hole and my triscupid valve repaired. 

‘They’ve given me a new life to enjoy with my babies and really don’t get the credit they deserve.’

‘I’ve come so far since this photo 2 weeks ago, right after this was taken I was crying and throwing up all over myself unable to move, my brother and mum just swapping buckets under my chin. 

Enjoying life: Emma added: ‘It’s a huge operation, a very hard and very slow recovery but take it at your own pace’

She continued: ‘Day 2 I cried from the pain trying to take a deep breath in and cough, day 3 asking how I’ll ever be able to get myself out of bed. 

‘Here I am now, I left the house yesterday and watched the kids play outside on their bikes and I’ve never been happier.’

Emma, had suffered with seizures, exhaustion and fainting episodes due to her condition for years.

She also suffered with ulcerative colitis (an autoimmune bowel disease where the colon becomes inflamed and ulcers develop) and was left with an eight inch scar after her heart surgery.

And the star has since been praised for normalising scars after sharing a snap of her scar on social media.

Emma insisted that she didn’t want to ‘hide it’ from her children or on social media, telling how she wants to show kids getting heart surgery that a scar is ‘something to be proud of.’ 

Meanwhile, after making a full recovery, Emma shared her joy that she and Gaz can now try for a third baby – after she’d learned that carrying her first two children could have been fatal due to the extra strain it would have put on her heart. 

She shared that she’d like to have a third child ‘in the future’ but isn’t ready for a baby ‘kicking in my ribs’ quite yet. 

Scar: Emma has previously shown off her scar and encouraged others to not be ashamed of them as they ‘tell a story’

She has previously spoken openly about her health woes, admitting that they have resulted in dramatic weight loss, and means she cannot carry another child without having heart surgery.

Explaining the situation in 2021, Emma shared: ‘I have three large holes in my heart and damaged tissue which is causing my blood to pass through the wrong direction, the right side of my heart is now enlarged and weak, along with high blood pressure in my lungs.

‘This has all got a lot worse as they should of been closed when I was a child, unfortunately no one checked my heart even when I had seizures and diagnosed with epilepsy or fainted like it was a hobby.’