When the doctor finally returned, the news was the one she had hoped for. The cancer was gone. Seventeen neat stitches later, she walked out relieved, bruised, and grateful. It was her second surgery in a short time, she joked, adding that her assistant Claire was becoming unexpectedly skilled at removing stitches and had once said she never wanted a normal job.
She made it home in time for Thanksgiving, surrounded by friends, laughter and noise. It brought her back to herself. For someone who divides her life between the Cotswolds and Harbour Island, the episode became a quiet reminder of how fragile things can be and how fortunate she felt to have been treated in time.
A life still unfolding
Hicks has long woven creativity, philanthropy and entrepreneurship into a life that began in front of the camera. After her modelling years in the 80s and 90s, she built her own lifestyle brand, wrote books on design and island living, and spent twenty years running The Sugar Mill, her boutique on Harbour Island.