Widow gives birth to her husband’s child 16 months after he died from a brain tumour (Photos)
A woman who lost her husband to a brain tumour has given birth to their second child through IVF 16 months after he died.
Jasdip Sumal, 38, gave birth to Amandeep through IVF on April 9. Her husband, Aman Sumal, was diagnosed with a grade four brain tumour after suffering a seizure and headaches in August 2020.
He underwent chemotherapy and intensive radiotherapy, but sadly his health continued to deteriorate and he died in December 2021, aged 36.
Following his death, Jasdip took the decision to fulfil her and Aman’s dream to have another child.
She gave birth to their daughter, Amandeep, through IVF on Easter Sunday, a week before what would have been Aman’s 38th birthday.
Jasdip, a data analyst from Ruislip, London, said: ‘We had our son through IVF in 2019 and we always planned to have another child, but then Aman got sick and everything after that was a whirlwind so we never got the chance.
‘I thought about doing it while he was still here. I knew he didn’t have long and thought it would be a nice thing to tell him if he could understand me, but he passed away in December 2021 and after that I was coping with the grief of losing him.
‘I still wanted to have a family though, and knew there would never be a good time.’
She added: ‘It was always the plan to have a sibling for Rajan, and that was important to Aman too, so I decided to go ahead with it.
‘Aman’s strength is what showed me I could do it. He was so strong during what was an incredibly hard time and I knew nothing I did would be harder than that.’
Initially, it was thought that Aman had a low-grade tumour and he was given anti-seizure medication and referred for scans every three months.
However, after suffering from another seizure five months later, an MRI showed areas of concern and he underwent debulking surgery.
A biopsy of Aman’s tumour revealed it was, in fact, a grade 4 glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive brain tumour with a short prognosis of just 12 to 18 months. Jasdip fell pregnant in August 2022, eight months after Aman’s death, and in April this year, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
She said: ‘Aman was over-the-moon with Rajan but always said ‘I have one of me and it would be nice to have one of you too.
‘I know he would have been all over our daughter. It’s just such a shame he won’t ever get to meet her.
‘It’s bittersweet, which is what I think everyone struggles with, but hopefully she’ll bring acceptance that Aman’s gone and that the next chapter for all of us is the kids.
‘I have a big family and had so much support throughout.
‘I couldn’t have done it without them.’
She continued: ‘My sisters-in-law came to my appointments with me and were my labouring partners, so I didn’t have the worry of being alone.
‘Aman was obviously very missed, but having the girls with me was the next best thing, and for that I am truly grateful.
‘One of them even cut Amandeep’s umbilical cord, which was lovely.’
Jasdip decided to name Amandeep after her late husband, something she said she had always planned to do.
She said: ‘I always knew I was going to name her Aman because in our religion it’s a name for both sexes, but in the end, I decided to combine parts of both our names. I’ve spelt mine differently, but the pronunciation is the same.
‘I know Aman won’t be forgotten but doing this gives us another memory of him.
‘Hopefully both our kids will grow up feeling like they know him.’