A ROGATE family is celebrating what would have been their son’s 13th birthday this week less than a year after he died from leukaemia – an illness he faced with ‘wit and courage’, according to his proud family.

Described as ‘funny, witty and strong willed,’ Ben, his mum Ginny, dad James, and sisters Ella, 14, and Rose, ten, celebrated his 12th birthday last year on August 4.

But after battling a rare but aggressive type of blood cancer, called acute myeloid leukaemia, for just over a year, Ben died six days after his birthday and ten months after a blood stem cell transplant.

Ginny, 47, said: “Ben always said he would be the best teenager he could be for me.

“In the days before he died, he said he would look down on all the statues I built in his name.

“So we will celebrate Ben’s birthday each year to remember our beautiful boy and do something really special in his memory.”

Ginny has since undertaken a number of fundraising activities for DKMS, the blood cancer charity which supported the family throughout Ben’s illness.

The family has also launched a podcast to help families dealing with childhood cancer, and is publishing a book to share Ben’s story, named Family of Five.

Ginny said: “We felt we needed to do something positive after Ben died, something that would also keep us distracted in our grief.”

And she said that even on the child cancer ward there was a connection between families, and moments of light even in the darkest times.

Ginny added: “James and I felt like rabbits in headlights, yet every parent and family on the ward were so welcoming and understanding.

“They had all been where we were and as hard as it was, there was always a feeling of hope.

“Being told our son had cancer was the most unreal and frightening experience. Nothing prepares you.

“Anyone who has seen a child go through cancer knows it’s one of the toughest experiences in life because you can’t protect your child, when protecting your children is your job as a parent.”

As well as celebrating Ben’s life, the family is also keen to celebrate the generous blood stem cell donor who gave them an extra ten precious months with their son.

Ginny said: “Shortly after Ben’s transplant, we were invited to write a ‘thank you’ card to his donor, which we did.

“We don’t know much about her, because the process is anonymous and you only find out details after two years.

“We are so eternally grateful that she made a commitment in life to try to save our son and we were afforded time; time we wouldn’t have had if it weren’t for her gesture of incredible kindness.

“To us, she will always be a very special person, because she gave us all hope.”

And for people who are not yet on the blood stem cell register, Ginny’s message is simple: “What have you got to lose? Joining the register with DKMS is the greatest gift you could offer to a family in need, at no detriment to yourself.

“The process of donating stem cells is very straightforward in most cases, and not painful. It’s similar to giving blood. It’s really nothing to be scared of. You could give a family time, allow them to make memories. You can potentially help save a life with your beautiful stem cells.”

If you are aged between 17 and 55 and in general good health, find out more about being a blood stem cell donor on the website at www.dkms.org.uk

It costs the charity £40 to register each potential donor, so any funds donated can help to give blood cancer patients a second chance of life.