An Aberdeen mum, whose life was despaired of by some health professionals, has thanked the Queen’s surgeon, Zygmunt Krukowski, for keeping her alive – by inviting him to the wedding she never thought she would enjoy.
Marie Mackenzie, 42, got engaged to her husband Stan Mackenzie, 39, in 2007.
But a few months later, even as the couple were planning their special day, Mrs Mackenzie was told she had cervical cancer.
That was the prelude to her being forced to battle countless medical conditions and serious illnesses which threatened her life.
After enduring months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she was forced back to hospital after feeling something wrong in her abdomen – a side effect of her cancer treatment.
Mrs Mackenzie said: “I was in a lot of pain, a lot of stomach pain, and it got to the point where my sister had to call an ambulance and take me to hospital.
“My stomach was swollen, and I got rushed into theatre, and that was the first time I met Professor Krukowski.
“When he opened me up, my stomach was full of abscesses, a side effect of the cancer treatment.
“The Prof did all he could to keep me alive, but I was constantly in and out of surgery.”
Overcoming the odds, Mrs Mackenzie made it through the lengthy operations, but, on a number of occasions, her family were summoned to the hospital by doctors fearing the worst.
She added: “To have a man of that stature beside us when we were going through it was unreal. There’s not enough words to describe how grateful we are to the people at ARI.
“The staff were absolutely amazing, there isn’t any other word to describe how helpful they were, and how much they got us through.”
And last Saturday, after more than nine years of fighting for life, she finally gained the chance to put on her white dress and have her dream wedding in Westhill – with Prof Krukowski sitting in the front row.
Mrs Mackenzie said: “It was two years since I had seen the Prof. I was just over the moon when I saw him there on Saturday at the ceremony, and we had him in the front row, beside my mum and dad.
“As I said in my speech at my wedding, my first hero is my dad, but I’ve got a second one, and that’s the Prof – because he has kept me here.”
