WATCH: The moment a cancer patient told her mum she was pregnant - despite being told she may never have children
This is the moment a cancer sufferer from Wolverhampton, who was left heartbroken when she was told she may never have children, told her mother she was pregnant.
Charlie Dryden thought she was going to die after being diagnosed with a fast-growing form of blood cancer.
But on June 3 she welcomed her son Carter into the world.
Charlie and partner Matthew revealed their exciting news on a family holiday when they created a special card for relatives with a photograph of the positive pregnancy test, and they captured it all on camera.
And this evening Charlie, who is 23 and from Oxley, was planning to be on stage with her son at Cancer Research UK's Race for Life in West Park.
"I just feel amazing at the moment," said Charlie, who together with her baby and partner Matthew Booth, 25, is now back at home in Stafford Road.
"It's a great relief to have had Carter. It's what I wanted for so long. There were times when I thought this day would never come."
Miss Dryden underwent a series of tests after visiting the GP with a lump under her arm and pains in her stomach between February and May 2013.
"At first I thought I had an abscess and then when the stomach pains started they thought it might be appendicitis," she said.
"I had that many tests that, by the time I was diagnosed in June, I was just relieved to know what it was."
Charlie was told she had a fast-growing form of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma – a type of blood cancer normally associated with older people.
"All I asked was 'am I going to die?' They couldn't tell me but they did say they could harvest my eggs because I was unlikely to be able to have children in future.
"I chose not to because it would delay my treatment by up to eight weeks. Although I knew I wanted children, my life was more important to me."
Charlie's devastated sister Jodie, offered to carry a child for her if she survived.
Charlie underwent surgery to remove the lump under her arm followed by four months of chemotherapy. At one point the wound in her arm became so infected her family feared for her life.
"I thought I was going to lose her at one point," said mother, Lynn Ward.
"We carried her into hospital barely conscious and they thought she might have meningitis. It turned out to be an infection in her arm which cleared up with antibiotics."
Just before her last chemotherapy session in September 2013, Charlie was given the news she had been hoping for when scans showed all traces of the cancer had gone.
"They did say there was a chance of relapse especially in the first year so I was still scared," Charlie said. "But almost a year to the day after being told I was clear I actually found out I was pregnant."
Charlie and partner Matthew revealed their exciting news on a family holiday when they created a special card for relatives with a photograph of the positive pregnancy test.
She said being given the good news was 'like being given a gift'. And added that hope kept her going during the difficult times.
Charlie spent almost two days in labour before she gave birth to 8lb 4oz Carter on June 3, and she said she is relieved to have finally got home for some much needed rest and recuperation.
"Coming home was really emotional," she said. "I've been in a routine of spending so much time in hospital. I'm still having checks to make sure everything is ok, but it's just nice to get back to normal really.
"Carter is settling in and getting used to his new surroundings. He's really greedy, so I think I've definitely got my hands full!"
To enter Race for Life or find out more visit: www.raceforlife.org
