WHY MY SON STOPPED CANCER TREATMENT

Julie Ruggiero, 68, knows she's on borrowed time with her only child

- ANNA VERDON

Walking around the local park with my son Edward, 33, and his dog Binky, I can’t hide how proud I am of the man he’s become. He’s funny, kind, brave and always lights up every room. But glancing at Bedford cemetery opposite, I’m filled with despair. In November 2017, Edward was given just five years to live and he told me that’s where he wants to be buried.

Edward and I have always been very close. His dad and I got divorced when he was a baby but he still had a very happy childhood. We’d enjoy trips to Cornwall during the holidays where Edward spent his time swimming and learning to surf.

MOTHER’S LOVE

He was my only child and my whole world, which is why when, in 2001 aged 13, he came home from school and went straight up to his room without so much as a hello, I knew something was wrong.

‘If I tell you something, you won’t love me anymore,’ he said, when I tried to get him to open up. But I reassured him nothing could ever change my love for him. Eventually, he told me he was gay and I said I loved him even more for it.

But in school he was badly bullied and although extremely bright, he switched off academically. At 15 he went through a goth phase and started experimenting with make-up. He then moved to dressing in a more feminine way. Outside the house he’d be called names and even spat at, but Edward never backed down or shied away from who he was.