Sarah — ​“I don’t think my voice felt this good even before.”

Sarah gained initial career success performing in London’s West End, which she describes as ​“my absolute dream and my focus”. It wasn’t long though until poor health forced her to take a career break and in 2007. In the years that followed, Sarah underwent four major surgeries (and many smaller ones in between) over a fifteen-year period, including major abdominal surgery. 

“Because I had ill health, I had to pause my career which I thought would be for a year or so.” Sarah says, ​“in the end, it was ten to twelve years I was out. Before that, I was just grafting.” 

During her time off, she also became a mother and began caring for her son, who was born with a serious digestive disorder. For five years, she navigated the complexities of her son’s health, which kept her away from the industry longer than she anticipated. Although Sarah remained hopeful about returning, it wasn’t until her son’s health stabilised that she began to re-enter the workforce, despite the mental and physical toll of her time away. When she did, her return was anything but smooth.

“I started to pick up some work as the world opened up again after Covid. I went off and did a pantomime, but I was not functioning at all, on any level. It was a massive shock to the system. I wasn’t unfit but when you’re young and you go into it, you have a base level of fitness that you take for granted. But because I’d had these operations, a child and lockdown, I was struggling.”

Sarah tore her Achilles tendon a week and a half into the run of shows. She initially carried on performing in a surgical boot but says ​“it wasn’t a good decision. It made my back issues worse. But I think in my head, I thought I can’t let people down. I’d waited so long to come back. It had all been stop-start and I wanted to keep going.” But soon after, Sarah also began to experience a loss of vocal control. Despite carrying on, it became clear that the strain of years of multiple surgeries and motherhood had left her body and her voice in need of attention. She eventually sought help, which is when she first came into contact with us.

Help Musicians connected Sarah with professionals who helped her understand the underlying issues and find the support she desperately needed. By being diagnosed with vocal dysphonia, Sarah has come to understand that her vocal issues were ​“largely because of the abdominal surgeries. Your core and your abdominal strength is key to breathe control and to singing healthily. I was singing all from my throat and it was getting worse and worse.” 

Reflecting on the impact Help Musicians’ support had on her, Sarah says ​“it’s made such a huge difference. I’m a completely different vocalist. I spent most of last year working. My voice has held up brilliantly. I’ve just recorded some songs. I don’t think my voice felt this good even before.” Without Help Musicians, Sarah believes she would never have been able to return to work. She’s now not only back on stage but also recording music with confidence. 

“I think that you can feel very isolated and feel there is no support in the industry. It’s amazing to know there are people out there that literally just want to help you get back to work or keep you healthy.” Sarah emphasises how the funding enabled her to access therapies that would have been financially out of reach otherwise saying, ​“I’d never in a million years have been able to fund either of those therapies, ever.” 

Sarah encourages others in the industry to recognise the invaluable help available through organisations like Help Musicians, especially for those facing health challenges. Without this support, Sarah’s comeback could have remained a distant dream.