Watch the video of their story below.
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Helen Dixon, 35, had been diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2015. Doctors had initially misdiagnosed her as having had a miscarriage but a pap smear revealed that not only was it cancer, it was the terminal and she was given only months to live.
The mother-of-three from Leeds, York already had two daughters but she desperately wanted a son. However, doctors warned her that she would only miscarry if she got pregnant again but her response was to ‘stick two fingers up to that.’
Three years passed and aside from the wonderful news that Helen’s cancer miraculously stopped growing, Helen suddenly found out she was pregnant!
Helen and husband Paul welcomed Harvey George to the world after he was delivered via emergency c-section. At 3 lbs. 5 oz., they describe him as just ‘perfect.’
Helen said: “It was really strange. One day I woke up and I said ‘I feel really pregnant.’
“I was scared, excited and nervous at the same time. I was rushed for an emergency scan and found out I was over three and a half weeks gone.
“The doctors were shocked because they’d told me it couldn’t happen. They called him a little miracle.
“They didn’t even expect me to last this long. In 2015, they gave me months.
“I was really nervous until I reached 28 weeks. The doctors said if I reached 28 weeks, they would be happy because of the success rates.
“I was hoping for a boy, I’ve got two girls and the thought of raising him and watching him grow has given us something to look forward to.
“Especially because of what my girls missed out on when I was ill. He’s made the family complete.
“We were determined to have another child, that’s why we were looking for a surrogate. I wanted to give Paul a son because he didn’t have any of his own.”
Although doctors can’t find any traces of cancer now, Helen was told that it will eventually return but she insists she feels ‘perfect.’
Paul, 43, attributes Helen’s recovery with her positive mindset.
The landscape gardener and proud husband said: “Harvey really is our little miracle baby, there has been ups and downs but he’s gorgeous and really well behaved.
“It’s so much to get our heads around. We’d begun looking for a surrogate and were going through interviews, then the next thing we know, Helen was pregnant.
“The doctors were just as shocked as we were.
“The cancer did us a favor in a way, Helen’s cervix doesn’t work but the cancer was acting as a cervix, it’s bizarre. There was lots of scar tissue from the cancer which kept the pregnancy going by making her cervix stronger.
“We’re just enjoying life but we know cancer will come back.
“She’s such a fighter, that’s where I get my strength.
“I would have cracked up if she hadn’t been so positive and strong.
“On my bad days, she’s lifted me back up again. She wouldn’t give up.”
Helen’s daughters from another relationship, Lucy, 20, and Hannah, 13, are ‘over the moon’ with the coming of Harvey George, the first baby Helen and Paul have had together.
Helen was at the 32-week mark when Harvey’s heart rate dropped, requiring emergency c-section. He spent 16 days in a neo-natal unit before being cleared to go home.
Helen said: “I’m getting back into the routine of being a new mom again after 13 years.
“Harvey is Paul’s first and he’s been amazing, I didn’t know if he would grasp it straight away but it’s like something clicked with him.
“Harvey is beautiful, he doesn’t make any noise, he just grunts.
“Hopefully, this will inspire others going through the same situation not to give up.”