Mother whose only child died of incurable brain tumour says new baby has filled the void

A MOTHER whose only child died of an incurable brain tumour has revealed how a new baby has filled the void in her life.

Namrata Pandya lost her son Khushil, 14, two years ago, and she became pregnant once again a year after his death. The new baby, Kushi, has filled the emptiness in Namrata's life.

"Khushi will never fill the gap left by her brother – that's impossible – but she fills the emptiness Bhavesh and I felt inside after Khushil died," Namrata was quoted as saying.

The family's heartache started in March 2015 after Khushil was diagnised with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) and was given about nine months to live.

An MRI scan revealed he had a brain tumour and it was cancerous.

"At first, couldn't even cry – I felt frozen," said Namrata. "I couldn't believe that in a second our happy life had been snatched away.

"When Khushil was little, we'd snuggle up on the settee watching his favourite cartoons Scooby Doo and Sponge Bob Square Pants.

"Then he loved nature programmes like David Attenborough's Blue Planet and Steve Backshall's shows.

"He was so loving and very protective of me. His smile lit up the room. Bhavesh was his partner in crime and they were always playing tricks on one another."

'We enjoyed holidays including trips to India to visit our families, playing board games and table tennis – we just loved being together.

"Khushil used to joke, 'Buy one, get two free!"

Namrata and her husband Bhavesh decided not to tell their son he was dying. But after his death, Namrata found his diary in his book cupboard.

An entry in March 2015 read: "From day one, I knew the consequences."

"We'd thought we were protecting Khushil – but really he was protecting us," said Namrata.

The couple has since set up the Khushil Pandya Fund with The Brain Tumour Charity to raise money for research into DIPG.