The Picture That Means So Much

Kerrie Sunderland decided to take drastic action to show her son he wasn’t alone

- Frances Leate

Looking back, I can still hear the infectious chuckle of my son, Connor, then five, as our freshly shaved heads bumped together and we grinned into the camera for this photo. It was taken at the worst time of my life, yet whenever I look at it now, I feel so much pride that, together, we really can face anything.

When my husband, Glenn, then 41, called me from Southampton General Hospital one evening in July 2014, I’d just put our youngest son, Kieran, three, to bed. Earlier, Glenn had taken Connor to the hospital for some tests after weeks of him having a sore tummy. But, as I heard Glenn’s voice breaking with emotion, I felt my legs buckle.

‘Connor’s got cancer,’ he wept.