by Jamie Bullen

A mum who was hours away from death after suffering a brain haemorrhage will renew her wedding vows next month after being given a new lease of life.

Susan Gifford, 55, of Hales Place, Canterbury, almost died after bleeding on her brain left her life hanging in the balance.

She was told by doctors she needed an emergency operation or she would die, but was given no guarantee she would survive.

Susan says she remembers saying goodbye to daughter Kirsty, 24, in the waiting room for what she feared would be the last time.

She said: “I really thought that was it. I remember the doctors saying ‘If you want to be here tomorrow night you need this operation’.

“I was suffering severe headaches and I just wanted somebody to take the pain away. My face had swollen up so it looked like I’d gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.

“Now I have been given a new lease of life. I have been doing things I never used to do, such as baking cakes. It’s amazing.

“I used to worry about the most stupid things but I don’t now. My attitude is, ‘if it happens, it happens’.”

Next month, Susan will renew her wedding vows with husband Alan, 53, to mark 30 years wed.

Alan said: “It is like we have fallen in love all over again. I really thought I would not see her again. I just think it would be a lovely thing to do.”

Alan and daughter Kirsty will also cycle 55 miles from London to Brighton on Sunday, September 16, to raise money for Kings College Hospital, where Susan had her surgery.

The pair have already raised £150 and are hoping to donate £500 as a show of thanks to staff at Kings and the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, where the haemorrhage was diagnosed.

Susan added: “The doctors at both hospitals are fantastic. They lifted my spirits and I will be forever grateful to them.”