Ashley Bridges first realised something was wrong with her when an ache in her knee refused to go away.
After multiple trips to the doctor, Bridges was told it was probably just arthritis, and that she would have to learn to live with the pain.
But when it became so bad she couldn’t walk, doctors started to take her seriously.
What they discovered was something no one expected. Ashley had bone cancer.
At just 24, young mum Ashley was faced with the news that she had an aggressive disease that showed no sign of stopping.
‘She most likely wouldn’t make it and I just knew. It wasn’t a choice to me. It was like this is what needs to be done. She’s first.'
She underwent surgery to remove most of her femur, and was advised to begin chemotherapy. But there was just one problem - Ashely was 10 weeks pregnant with a baby girl.
‘They told me what would likely happen to Paisley,’ Ashley explained.
‘She most likely wouldn’t make it and I just knew. It wasn’t a choice to me. It was like this is what needs to be done. She’s first. I’m not going to kill a healthy baby because I’m sick.’
‘Her life is just as important as mine if not more important. I mean as a mother my job is to protect my kids.’
After giving birth to Paisley in July, a full body scan revealed that Bridges’ cancer had spread throughout her body, and she was given just months to live.
‘I want my kids to know how much I love them and how much I fought for them,’ says Ashley, who hopes to make it to Paisley’s first birthday.