Charlene Ainsworth, 37, is now receiving end-of-life care as cancer has ravaged her body, seven years after she defied doctors’ recommendations to have her beloved son
A mum who defied doctors by having a son despite being told she would never have children now has just days left with her family and young son.
Charlene Ainsworth, 37, known as Charlie by her family, has been diabetic since a child and in 2016 was diagnosed with skin cancer. A year later she was told she was pregnant and doctors warned her to have an abortion because of her health concerns – but she was determined to become a mother and little Elijah later arrived prematurely. Charlie was placed on dialysis three times a week and later underwent a kidney and pancreas transplant.
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However, in December 2023, worse news was to come when doctors discovered her cancer had returned and spread to her hip and lungs. Charlie continued to fight, undergoing chemotherapy and several rounds of radiotherapy as doctors gave her between one and five years to live.
However the mum’s condition continued to deteriorate, with the cancer spreading further to her stomach and brain, and she is now receiving end-of-life care. Charlie’s mother Belinda, 59, told Manchester Evening News: “She’s got the determination of an ox. She’s not ready to leave her little boy.”
“We always say when she gets poorly, it’s just a little blip, we’ll get through it. Because she’s so tired all the time, they snuggle in and at night time he always says, ‘you and me forever, mummy.’
“She can hold a conversation now, which she couldn’t do during the week. I spoke to the palliative nurse yesterday and said, ‘Is she getting better?’ She said, ‘No, just make sure you enjoy every day that you have.'”
Charlie’s family has set up a JustGiving page to help with costs and Elijah’s future. Her sister Jenni wrote: “My baby sister is dying, her life is coming to an end. We have gone weeks to days to having her on this earth, and having to tell her seven-year-old son his mummy is going to heaven
“As I sit here by her bedside, broken, I am desperately asking for help. Her battle began at a very young age, first with thyroid problems, then with type 1 diabetes. She has never complained or taken life for granted, abused her body, or even enjoyed life’s simple things, which most get the opportunity to do
“Her early years of illness were controlled and managed by medication. Little did we know, it was the lifelong battle she was to face for the rest of her life
“My sister, Charlie, never asked or expected anything from anyone. She always accepted and faced whatever situation was thrown at her, without complaining.
“As a devastated and truly heartbroken family, all we have left to give her is one final goodbye. One that is deserving of a beautiful angel.
“We need to raise as much as we can for the perfect funeral that she deserves. Anything extra will be used to help the upbringing of Charlie’s son.”