She’s been putting on a brave face over the last few weeks. But after enduring a shock health crisis that left her ‘really struggling’, Chezzi Denyer – the wife of popular Family Feud host Grant – has heaped praise on the doctor who helped her through one of her toughest times.
In December, Chezzi had surgery to fix an acute sinus problem, which had been caused by an injury she sustained during a basketball game at the age of 15.
The issue had been causing the mum-of-two to suffer from debilitating health issues.
‘I would get a little cold from one of the kids and would still power through, but would then get this really chronic sinusitis which just smashed me,’ Chezzi tells New Idea.
‘It was really, really bad. I was really cranky, really tired, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t string a sentence together. There was just this constant pain in my head.’
Chezzi’s health woes even led to her and loving husband Grant being unable to celebrate Chezzi’s 38th birthday, because she was in hospital for testing.
Those tests revealed that Chezzi’s condition had ‘flared up badly’ and she needed surgery to open up her sinuses to get relief.
Chezzi – who is mum to two small daughters, Sailor, six, and Scout, two – went under the knife on December 6.
‘I didn’t want to have surgery, but I’m very glad I did,’ Chezzi tells New Idea.
A day later, she bravely took to Instagram to share an update with her followers.
‘I’m alive! I’m very much alive (even though my eyes tell a different story),’ Chezzi wrote, tagging her doctor, Dr William Mooney, in the post and sharing a photo of herself with a large white bandage under her nose.
Thankfully, she went on to say that her op had been declared a ‘huge success’. ‘It’s not a terribly sexy thing, sinusitis, but I can’t believe how many people suffer from it,’ Chezzi tells New Idea.
‘I’ve become the sinusitis pin-up girl. I’ve had messages from so many people desperate for relief.’
Following her op – during which she says she ‘swallowed heaps of blood’ – Chezzi needed a few days of rest and recovery. She said she was missing her babies ‘terribly’ while she recuperated, but that her mum had been taking good care of them.
‘Thank you to everyone for all the well wishes and messages and flowers and cards. I’m completely overwhelmed by all the love,’ a recovering Chezzi wrote on Instagram.
And just a week after the op, the joyful mum shared a picture of herself back on her feet and enjoying an emotional hug with handsome Dr Will – a man she calls her ‘sinus saviour’.
‘Well it’s one week post operation and I’ve just had my follow-up check, packing removed and things are really starting to feel so much better already!’ a delighted Chezzi shared, thanking her doctor for rectifying her ‘horrible condition’.
‘I’ve got a little way to go still with recovery, but my energy levels are coming back,’ she continued.
It’s good news for the busy mum – who has big things planned for her popular show for mothers, Mummy Time TV, in 2018.
‘The popularity of Mummy Time TV has been phenomenal,’ Chezzi explains, ‘so now we want to make it more interactive by taking it on the road.’
And it looks like Chezzi will have the energy for a big year ahead as Dr Will is overseeing a ‘very comprehensive plan’ for her moving forward.
For all those people who have been suffering with bad sinus like me, there is a solution!’ Chezzi says.
‘You can get your life back. You can get your exuberance back. While my journey mightn’t be right for your situation, just ask a professional. This man has seriously changed my life,’ she gushed.
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea – out now!