Her face a mask of grief, Samantha Cameron is consoled by husband David yesterday after the death of their disabled six-year-old son Ivan.The Tory leader’s eldest child, born with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, died at dawn minutes after being rushed to hospital suffering fits.
The Queen and Gordon Brown led condolences. The PM, whose own daughter died in 2002, said as Commons Questions were shelved: “The death of a child is an unbearable sorrow no parent should have to endure.”
Tory William Hague added: “As David himself has said in the past, he will always be their beautiful boy.”
It was the day David and Samantha Cameron always knew would come.
Yet the heart-rending death of their disabled son Ivan, six, yesterday still filled them with indescribable grief.
The couple – who also have Nancy, five, and Arthur, three – had devoted their lives to ensuring Ivan’s was filled with as much happiness as they could give him.
Gordon Brown told a sombre Commons yesterday: “I know that in an all-too-brief life, he brought joy to all those around him.
“And I know also that for all the days of his life, he was surrounded by his family’s love.”
Mr Cameron’s right-hand man William Hague added: “Ivan’s six years of life were not easy ones.
“His parents lived with the knowledge for a long time that he could die young, but this has made their loss no less heart-breaking.
“Ivan suffered much in his short life but brought joy and love to those around him. As David himself has said in the past, for him and Samantha he will always be their beautiful boy.”
And Shadow chancellor George Osborne, a close family friend, said: “Sadly he has been a very ill boy since the moment he was born. Nevertheless, he was always at the centre of family life round at the Camerons.”
He said the tragedy had “left the Cameron family in a great deal of grief and shock”.
Ivan had cerebral palsy and a rare form of severe epilepsy called Ohtahara Syndrome. His condition left him unable to walk or talk.
A family friend said the boy endured “a very bad night” on Tuesday, suffering a number of fits.
On Wednesday morning an ambulance took him to St Mary’s Hospital from the family home in Kensington, West London. Tragically he died at 6.30am, five minutes later, of acute abdominal failure, with his parents at his side.
Mr Cameron, 42, and tearful Samantha were a picture of anguish as they returned home. The grieving father was seen poignantly removing Ivan’s empty wheelchair from the family’s car.
In the Commons, the hurly-burly of politics was put on hold as MPs from all sides united in passing on their heartfelt condolences to the couple.
The Queen sent a private message to the Tory leader and the Prime Minister led tributes in the Commons. As a mark of respect, Wednesday’s traditional Question Time was scrapped. Mr Brown and his wife Sarah endured the death of their 10-day-old daughter Jennifer Jane in 2002. His voice trembling with emotion, the PM said: “Our condolences go out to David, to Samantha and the Cameron family.
“Every child is precious and irreplaceable and the death of a child is an unbearable sorrow no parent should ever have to endure. Politics can sometimes divide us. But there is a common human bond that unites us in sympathy and compassion at times of trial and in support for each other at times of grief.
“Sarah and I have sent our condolences to David and Samantha. I know the whole country, our thoughts and our prayers, are with David, Samantha and their family.” Staff at Mr Cameron’s Westminster office, where Ivan was a regular visitor, were in tears. People from across the country have also sent condolences.
Mr Hague said the Tory leader wanted to pass on his thanks for the messages and say how “hugely grateful” he and his wife were to hospital staff. Their son was born on 8 April, 2002 and his condition was diagnosed a few days later.
He needed 24-hour medical care, which frequently meant his parents spending nights sleeping on NHS hospital floors.
Mr Cameron later admitted news of Ivan’s disability hit him “like a freight train”.
He said: “We did go through a very difficult time after we had Ivan. I’ve heard it likened to a period of mourning.
“You’re mourning the difference between what you thought was going to happen.
“When you imagine yourself having children you always think of bouncing them around, running, playing football.
"When it becomes clear that isn’t going to be the case, there is huge disappointment and uncertainty. It’s funny, but I find it quite difficult to remember how stressful it all was. You do adapt.”
Observers believe it brought out a more caring, tender side in him. Mr Cameron said in 2006: “He’s a wonderful boy. He’s got the most lovely eyes and he
interacts with us in the way he looks at you and the way he moves his head, but he often is in a lot of pain.”
Later he said: “I remember driving in the car with Ivan in the back and seeing him in the mirror and thinking, ‘We’re going to get through this. He’s lovely’.”
Texto secundario
0 comentarios:
Publicar un comentario