The procedure ran into complications after an initial attempt through Emma’s neck could not remove enough of the tumour to be successful.
That led to another attempt through her rib. She woke up and was told her lung had collapsed.
The presence of her teammates, she says, was particularly important, given her mother Pauline had died in the spring after suddenly contracting pneumonia.
And though her friends may not be blood relatives, she said they made her feel as though she had the “biggest family in the world”.
She said: “You’re lying in your hospital bed, and I suppose you typically think about having your family around you, and yeah, I would have loved having my mum there with me.
“But also, I think having your family is really difficult, because it’s very difficult for family to see your daughter look and be that vulnerable.
“As soon as people found out, in terms of my teammates, found out about where I was, it was how they could get there, what they could do to help. There was a rota arranged to make sure I was never alone.”
