DJ Says...

A fitting story to end the week which marked the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

A mother made the ultimate sacrifice by refusing cancer treatment to give birth to a healthy baby boy.

Lorraine Allard was told four months into the pregnancy the devastating news that she was in the advanced stages of cancer.

A further blow came when doctors advised her to terminate the fetus, which was 23 weeks old, and start chemotherapy straight away.

Instead, she insisted on waiting long enough to give her unborn son a chance to survive, telling her husband, Martyn: “If I am going to die, my baby is going to live.”

Fetus? I don’t think so.

A Caesarian section was scheduled at 26 weeks but Mrs Allard, 33, went into premature labour a week before and Liam was born on November 18.

“He was so tiny, just 1lb 11oz, so the nurse grabbed him and allowed Lorraine to give him a little kiss before he was taken to an incubator,” Mr Allard said.

She was only able to hold her son a few times before she passed away.

The course began almost straight away and Mrs Allard spent her time recuperating at home, apart from four visits to her newborn son.

The first time was when he was two weeks old, during which a treasured photo of her cuddling him was taken.

She was hoping for a couple of years with her little boy but it wasn’t to be.

Mr Allard said: “The doctors had said the cancer was no longer curable, although they were trying to shrink the tumours which they thought might give her a couple of years.

“On the day Lorraine died she hadn’t eaten for two weeks and couldn’t drink. I laid beside her and she was gripping my hand quite tight. We were like that for about half an hour.

“I could feel against my chest that her heart was slowing down. She just slipped away after that. It was very peaceful.”

He added: “When Liam is old enough, I won’t tell him that Lorraine gave her life for him but I will say she made sure he had a good chance of life. She told me she didn’t want him to feel bad about it.”

Mrs Allard’s father, Tom Berry, said: “I was overwhelmed by the way Lorraine took it. She lived for her husband and children. She was a big personality with a heart of gold.”

A heart of gold indeed.