OF HEARTACHE AT LOSING BELOVED SON
leaving his two young children, Lewis, eight, and Scarlett, three.
And as countless bouquets light up the faces of mums across the North East, Jackie wishes she could have one more day with her boy.
Now, she opens her heart to tell of her love and admiration she has of her son.
“He was an amazing person, he always smiled and would never let the tumour get him down,” said Jackie, 59, of South Shields. “When he was ill, he only wanted me, he didn’t want the carers, we had such a bond. We did everything together, we loved it, and I never wanted to lose him. I could have looked after him forever.”
Scott, who has brothers Simon, 38, and Andy, 37, was diagnosed on June 19 2012 but kept surprising medics when he fought the tumour.
“We found out about Scott’s tumour on the last day of my treatment for breast cancer,” said Jackie. “It should have been a time to celebrate but then we heard the awful news. Because it was in the brain stem they couldn’t remove it. It was a terrible time.”
Personal trainer Scott was given radiotherapy which shrunk the tumour but other growths were discov- ered in the front of his brain. He was devastated but tests revealed they were not cancerous and the family celebrated with champagne.
Scott’s tumour continued to shrink and they thought he was beating it. But in October 2015, an MRI scan showed the tumour had grown.
He underwent chemotherapy which caused the tumour to shrink slightly and they looked forward to the future. But in September 2016, after Scott was found collapsed on the bathroom floor, another MRI scan revealed the tumour had “turned nasty” and he needed more chemotherapy.
“Scott never thought of himself and he said to me ‘I’m sorry, a mam should never have to see her son die.’ But I told him he was going nowhere.
“I just thought he would carry on but it shut his body down. He lost his balance, he developed numbness to his face and body and became more and more paralysed.”
Scott went to the Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle where he stayed for three weeks under the watchful eye of his mum before returning home with her.
“It gave him the confidence to carry on and he started doing exercises at home,” said Jackie. “By this time it was near Christmas and we sat and watched loads of Christmas films and laughed as we put up the tree with Simon.
“He was looking forward to getting better and buying a house, driving his car again and going to the gym. “We had Christmas Eve, which is a big thing for us and Christmas Day, but on Boxing Day he just slept. I held his hand all night, I never left his side.”
But at 5am on December 27 – the day of Scott’s 28th birthday – his breathing changed.
Jackie said: “He just wanted to see me. I stood and looked at him and I told him we were a team and he would always be with me, we would always be together. Then he just went.
“Maybe he waited for Christmas to pass. He didn’t get a chance to open his birthday cards and presents, but I opened them for him because it was his last birthday.
“Now I have put up the Mother’s Day cards he sent in previous years, I love him so much.”
Hundreds turned up to Scott’s funeral at St Hilda’s Church in South Shields and his coffin was carried out to the song his son Lewis would sing to his dad when he was ill – Swedish House Mafia with the lyrics ‘Don’t you worry, don’t you worry, child. See heaven’s got a plan for you’.
“Scott was all about family. He loved his children, his niece and nephews, his brothers, their wives and me. We are so proud of him, his strength and how he kept going.”
Andy said: “Scott was a belter, so amazing and we loved the time we had with him. Although I am older, he was like a big brother to me, he was my best friend.”