Rachael’s gift of love will guide her son
You know that game where you’re asked to imagine what would you save if your house was burning down? Well, imagine if you were the burning house and the thing of sentimental value you had to try to rescue was an album of you for your little boy to remember his mummy by.
That is the position Radio 5 Live presenter Rachael Bland finds herself in with her three-year-old son Freddie. Diagnosed with the most aggressive form of breast cancer in 2016, the ebullient Welsh broadcaster fought the disease with everything she had. Co-host of the You, Me and the Big C podcast, she kept laughing while sharing details of her condition.
A couple of days ago, Rachael tweeted: “In the words of the legendary Frank S – I’m afraid the time has come, my friends. And suddenly. I’m told I’ve only got days. Thank you so much for all the support… Au revoir my friends.”
We think of imminent death as leaving someone a shadow of their former selves, but Rachael is still so vitally and movingly herself in that message. I’m not sure about life after death, but I do believe in love after death. The love Rachael has given her baby every single day is not lost when she is gone. The love is within him. When he’s older, it will help him to love another woman with all his heart. As much as he loved the mother he lost so long ago.