MY BABIES HAVE AN UNBREAKABLE BOND

Despite an illness tearing them apart, Sarah Cripps, 38, knew her boys would come through it stronger

- KATE SKELTON, JOHANNA BELL

As my twin boys, Teddy and George, three, chased each other across the grass at our local park, they both stopped to pick daisies to give to me. ‘Oh, thank you. I’m the luckiest mummy in the world,’ I smiled, as they beamed proudly. And I’d never meant something more.

It’s days like this, simple moments, that I treasure more than anything. Because a year-and-a-half ago, when the boys were 18 months old, I wasn’t sure whether I’d ever experience the joy of seeing them together like this – carefree, happy and loving life – again.

 I first noticed something wasn’t quite right with Teddy in early 2022. He suffered terribly with night sweats, often waking with his pyjamas soaked through. Then, I noticed his glands were swollen and discovered some small lumps on his head.

Our GP said it was viral and to come back in six weeks but my mother’s instinct wouldn’t let me wait it out. My husband Kurt, then 34, and I booked him a private appointment with a doctor, who saw him 24 hours later and took blood tests and performed a scan.

The following day, the doctor called with the results.

‘We need to rule out leukaemia. Go straight to A&E,’ he said.

I felt the weirdest sensation, as if I had left my body. I picked Teddy up for a cuddle but I couldn’t even cry – I was in complete shock. I kept thinking, ‘It can’t be, it can’t be.’

CRUEL SEPARATION

Further tests at hospital that day later showed that our baby boy had acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and he began his first course of chemotherapy straight away.