Chatting with Debra about Spirit of Life

Julie Gallagher, a married woman with two adult children, has an interest in post breast surgery options for women. She spends time regularly talking with Debra Taylor from Spirit of Life Boutique and writes here of their conversations....




Debra Taylor’s Spirit of Life Boutique is an amazing lingerie shop that specialises in taking care of ladies who have been through breast surgery. Debra is a highly respected breast-form fitter and is in the top 10 globally in terms of her experience and skill. Here she’s in conversation with Julie Gallagher:

Julie I’d like to talk with you about a woman’s first visit to you after breast surgery - her first interaction with Spirit of Life. How do women initially get to know of you?

Debra They usually get to know of us through hospitals (public and private), oncologists, doctors, surgeons, breast-care nurses and word of mouth.

Julie  What are the emotions women are feeling at this time — are they nervous and scared, or excited about getting back to normal?

Debra Most find it very confronting. They’ve just been through a lot of trauma and it depends on what stage they are going through. They might be going through chemotherapy or radium treatment, so we’re very careful when greeting them at the door

Julie When I visited your shop I noticed how ‘un-medical’ it appeared and how very different it must be to what ladies had experienced since their breast cancer journey began. Is the design and layout of the shop intentional in its appearance?

Debra Yes, it is. I’ve tried to make it very feminine and welcoming, but also to look like a little lingerie shop that you’d normally go into. It’s really important that these ladies have a selection of fashion stock and swimwear that looks just like ordinary things.

Julie   It looks and feels most welcoming. I love the classic press metal ceilings. Can you take us through the process of a woman’s first visit and her first fitting. What’s involved, how long does it take and what do you tell the ladies?

Debra When they walk into the shop we welcome them with a smile and a greeting.  We ask if they have a support person with them, because they are perfectly welcome to go into the room as well.  Whether that’s a sister, a friend or a husband, because the rooms are quite large and they have a couple of chairs in them. We take up to an hour to do the fitting because I believe in doing a one-on-one consult so that every lady is getting the top service possible...and we ensure we get the fitting correct.

Julie Once a lady is measured and shown the range of options for breast forms I guess the two of you work out what’s best for her. How long does it take for her new breast-form to arrive?

Debra The breast forms are already on the premises. 99% of the time the ladies can walk out with their breast form on with their bra, so that they can immediately look and feel like their old selves. We sell a lot of breast-forms and order them by the pallet load every month.

Julie Why do so many women prefer to come to Spirit of Life?

Debra We’re very passionate about what we do and we’re very good at what we do. It’s all about the ladies. We see too many women who have been fitted poorly by other shops (incorrect size bras and incorrect size prostheses) and they often end up at our our shop in a very distressed state. We reassure them that we can get them fitted out correctly. They’re over the moon and, quite often, they hug us and tell their breast care nurses of the experiences they had at Spirit of Life. They’re always happy.

Julie. Debra will return soon for another chat to talk about specific products. You can find Spirit of Life in Clayfield or visit them at ....

                                spiritoflifeboutique.com

Here the audio here !