When 11-year-old Joel Shaw was told he would die from cancer on exactly the same day his mother, Julie, died after drowning six years ago, his reaction was brave.

Joel, from Grimsargh, Lancashire, asked the consultant if he was going to die, and when he said yes, Joel said: ‘You tried your best.’

He died on Saturday, February 8 – on exactly the same day and date his mother Julie passed away after she drowned six years ago.

His 52-year-old father Dave believes it was not a coincidence but planned by Joel’s mother from heaven.

Dave said: “Everything was exactly the same, down to the day and the date, Saturday, February 8. Even the weather was the same; stormy and windy.”

“Joel had a white coffin, just the same as his mum’s and his funeral was held at the same place.”

Before Joel passed away, Dave told him that it was not a coincidence and his mother was looking down on her baby as she wanted him with her.

The father-of-three says he is relaxed knowing his son is being looked after by his mother in heaven.

The father said Joel talked about his mum a lot in his final days as he knew he was going to see her again.

When she died, he missed her terribly but now he is with his mother in heaven.

Talking about Joel, Dave said he was a brilliant footballer and a top scorer in his team.

He was very hard working and always did well at school.

Dave said: “He lived life at a hundred miles an hour, always smiling, always full of energy. We thought he was going to achieve so much in life.”

In 2013, Dave and Julie got separated but they took care of their children together.

In 2014, Julie went on a night out and their children were with Dave.

Dave said: “But it was very stormy, and on her way home in the dark, she stumbled and fell into a quarry.”

Joel was just five when his mother passed away.

In 2018, Joel was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Ewing’s Sarcoma.

When he was told he would not live long, he had a brave reaction. Dave said: “Joel was amazingly brave and mature; he shook the consultant’s hand and said to him ‘you’ve tried your best.’”

The father said: “It was the same day and date as his mother’s death. I firmly believe that his mum chose that. The weather was the same too; stormy and dark.”

He says he knows Joel’s mother is looking after him and that helps them to cope.

 

 

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