My girl had a baby against all odds, now she has to say goodbye to him in a matter of days – his sobs rip my heart apart
AS HER son snuggles under the duvet, ready for a bedtime cuddle, Charlie Ainsworth’s heart breaks.
This should be an ordinary scene, repeated in millions of homes across the country. But Charlie knows her cuddles are numbered, and her time is running out.
Charlie, 37, defied medical advice to achieve her dream of having a child but she will soon have to leave him behind after being told she has only days to live.
The mum has battled health problems all her life and was warned by doctors she would never be a mother.
But she went on to have a little boy, Elijah, now seven, who she adores.
In a cruel twist of fate, single mum Charlie has now been placed on end-of-life care, and her own mum, Belinda, is preparing to bring Elijah up in her memory.
Mum of two Belinda, 59, from Accrington, says: “Charlie never let her health issues define her.
“She has always been so positive, she is a fighter.
“She was determined to become a mother, even though the doctors warned it was dangerous.
“She and Elijah have an amazing bond. But now that Charlie is on end-of-life care, I’ve had to tell him that his Mummy will soon be a star in the sky.
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and it broke his heart.”
Charlie was perfectly healthy as a young child but aged 8 was diagnosed with an under-active thyroid.
The following year, tests showed she was diabetic.
Belinda says: “Charlie never let it upset her. She learned to inject herself and she followed all the rules. She never went on binges or went out drinking. She was a model patient.
“Charlie had always wanted to be a mum, but her doctors warned it could kill her. She got a poodle named Waldo instead, but still, she longed for a baby.”
In 2016, Charlie had a mole removed from her thigh and was later diagnosed with melanoma. Doctors believed they had removed the cancer, and she had the all-clear.
The following year, to her surprise, she fell pregnant.
Belinda says: “Charlie was over the moon; it was what she’d always wanted.
“But her specialist advised her to have a termination and warned her life was at risk.
“I begged her to think of herself; I knew she wanted a baby, but she was my baby. It was an impossible choice.”
Charlie continued with the pregnancy, but Elijah was delivered at 28 weeks after she swelled up with fluid. Though Elijah was healthy, Charlie’s kidneys were failing.
Belinda says: “Despite her health problems, Charlie was a wonderful mum.
“She was hooked up to dialysis each night at home and she had Elijah in her bed so she could reach him.
I had to tell him that his Mummy will be a bright star in the sky and that he will live with me and we will talk about her every day
Belinda Ainsworth
“He got so used to cuddling up in bed with his mum that he refused to sleep in his own bed afterwards. They were inseparable.
“As Elijah grew up, she made sure he didn’t miss out. She always did the school run, she took him to football, swimming and MMA.
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Source: NHS
“We had days out at crazy golf and Blackpool, and we went on holiday to Turkey.”
In April 2021 Charlie underwent a double kidney and pancreas transplant.
Though it at first successful, her kidney later failed. Two years later, the cancer returned in her hip and lungs.
Last year, doctors found four malignant tumours in her brain. As the cancer continued to spread, Charlie’s condition deteriorated.
Belinda says: “With each bombshell, she’d say: ‘Oh it’s just a blip, I can beat this.’ She still continued taking Elijah to football and swimming.
“He took it all his stride too; her strength rubbed off on him.”
But last week, Charlie lost all feeling in her left side and doctors have now stopped her treatment and she is on end-of-life care.
Belinda says: “It is devastating. We are living one day to the next. Charlie wanted to be the one to tell Elijah but when it came to it, she wasn’t well enough.
He sobbed his heart out. He’s just seven years old and it feels very cruel
Belinda Ainsworth
“Instead, I had to tell him that his Mummy will be a bright star in the sky and that he will live with me and we will talk about her every day.
“He sobbed his heart out. He’s just seven years old and it feels very cruel.
“For now, we are making the most of each precious moment we have left. Charlie is still focussed on being a mother.
“Each day after school, Elijah snuggles in her bed and reads to her.
“She’s been through so much and yet she is still fighting; she is living proof that there is nothing more powerful than a mother’s love.”
You can donate to Belinda’s fundraiser for Charlie’s final farewell here.