A MOTHER who has been told by doctors that her three-year-old son will not live to be a teenager has spoken of her unbearable pain.

Theresa Etheridge-Clarke was eight months pregnant with twins last August when she and her husband, Tony Clarke, were given the earth-shattering news that their son, Blaise, had a brain tumour.

Surgeons operated immediately to remove part of the tumour and just two days later, while Blaise was still in intensive care, Theresa gave birth to twin boys, Jerome and Zach.

“Tony was with Blaise at St James’s Hospital in Leeds and I was at York Hospital,” said Theresa, 34, a nurse who lives in Rawcliffe, York. “It was really, really traumatic.

“I felt like all the joy of giving birth was taken away because Blaise was so poorly. It’s just been hell.”

Blaise, who also has a four-year-old brother, Christian, is now receiving 12 months of chemotherapy in the hope it will prolong his life by shrinking the cancerous tumour.

But doctors have told his parents that while 14 per cent of children with this type of brain tumour can live for five years, the remaining 86 per cent will not survive even that long.

Theresa, whose husband works as an AA patrolman, said: “The pain I feel in knowing that he will die is just worse than any pain you can imagine.

“It’s so painful I wish I could crawl up in a ball sometimes because I just want it all to go away.

“It’s absolutely horrendous. Sometimes, when we have to go to hospital, Blaise will say to Christian: ‘I have to go to hospital now because I don’t want to die’. It breaks my heart. He is the most placid, laid back, kind, little boy and he’s just so brave.

“He’s always been so happy-go-lucky and I can’t believe all this is happening.

“I’m absolutely devastated for him that he’s hardly going to get a chance at life. It’s just so unfair.”

Giving Blaise a treat

BRAVE Blaise is being helped through his battle thanks to a big-hearted neighbour and the charity Me And Dee.

Last week, Blaise was all smiles when he met one of his favourite television characters, Postman Pat, at York’s Grand Opera House.

The treat was arranged by the charity, which raises funds to create special memories for children with terminal illnesses.

Meanwhile, Rawcliffe resident Dave Simpkin hopes to raise enough money to send Blaise and his family to Florida next year for a once-in-a-lifetime holiday.

The taxi driver, who weighed 20 stone before he started training two weeks ago, has vowed to lose six stone and run 13 miles around York in return for donations.

In his quest to raise £5,000, the 33-year-old also plans to hold a day of fundraising activities on the day he completes the half marathon.

To pledge a donation, email Dave at running4blaise@tiscali.co.uk or log on to the Facebook website and visit the group “Running 4 Blaise”.