I never thought I’d have to write something like this.

My best friend, Haelwyn, is facing a challenge unlike anything I’ve ever encountered.

Six weeks ago, Haelwyn was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer while carrying the baby we have all longed for her to have.

I met Haelwyn when we were both six years old and the connection was instant. It’s a bond that has lasted, through thick and thin, for 35 years. She is my sister, my best friend - she has always picked me up in my lowest moments and it’s why I am going to do whatever it takes to get her the support she and her family needs.

I am calling for help to raise the funds to provide the extra care and treatment she requires to ensure the healthy arrival of her baby, as well as improving the chances of her living a long, happy life as the brilliant mother I know she will be.

This is Haelwyn’s story in her words:

"For three years, my fiancé Luke and I have fought for the family we’ve always dreamed of. Loss after loss and heartbreak after heartbreak has marked our path. Losing babies creates a pain words cannot hold.

Giving up was never an option, I was meant to be a mother. Now, at last, I am carrying our baby girl, Magnolia. Finally we made it to 20 weeks and we were told she was healthy and thriving. For the first time in years, I felt I could step into life again.

The next day I was rushed to hospital and within 24 hours I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer that had already spread to my liver. For years, my symptoms were brushed aside as “just pregnancy,” “just loss,” hormones, anxiety, IBS. Because of that, I was given the wrong test, a sigmoidoscopy instead of the colonoscopy I desperately needed.

The tumor was missed. If they had done it properly last year, it would have been caught before it reached my liver. My life, our future, might have been so different.

By the time it was finally found, doctors told me I had only days to live without emergency surgery.

At that point, I only cared about my daughter, she was my only concern. I was determined she would come first, that she would live. This time, I wasn’t going to let anyone dismiss me.

The surgeons performed a miracle, saving us both. Magnolia came through untouched, but my body is now fragile, with more surgeries and endless chemo ahead, if I’m lucky enough to make it that far.

Still, I’ll fight with everything I have to see her smile, hear her voice, take her first steps, hopefully even wave her off on her first day of school, every moment beyond that is a dream I refuse to give up on. I refuse to not fight for this miracle.

For now I live in limbo. Because I’m pregnant, doctors can’t run all the scans they need. We don’t 100% know if the cancer has spread outside what we can see right now.

Every day, I hold on to Magnolia’s kicks as proof we’re still here, still fighting together.

Luke, my amazing Finance is my rock, the true love of my life. The thought of leaving him and our daughter is unbearable but for now, I cling to hope, and each moment we have."

Haelwyn is an esteemed make-up designer, a job she has had to give up in order to face her challenge. It means they are now a single-income household. Luke’s work means he is away from home for long periods of time, so there will be frequent occasions when Haelwyn will be home alone with a newborn while going through intense chemotherapy.

The money raised by this appeal will go towards:

- A night nurse to support feeding Magnolia while Haelwyn is recovering

- Additional support during the days when Luke is away with work and Haelwyn is going through treatment

- Alternative pain relief therapies that are unavailable on the NHS, as Haelwyn has made the choice to stop the aggressive pain medication advised in order to protect Magnolia

- Moving Homes, as Haelwyn and Luke have to reluctantly had to move houses - their current flat is on the top floor of a building without a lift, and Haelwyn can no longer climb the stairs

The extreme financial stress is weighing heavily on all our hearts, at a time when Haelwyn and Luke deserve to be cherishing every moment of this wonderful, well-deserved chapter of their lives.

I know that any contribution, will give them the gift of stability, comfort, dignity and strength as they prepare to welcome Magnolia into the world, and carry on this fight together as a beautiful family. A fight I am proud to face alongside her.

Haelwyn’s strength, spirit and heart have been incredible - qualities I know Magnolia will inherit from her mother.

Thank you all for reading this far, and for anything you are able to give. I truly value it deeply