Samantha Cameron has opened up about the loss of her son Ivan, who died at the age of six in February 2009 after suffering from cerebral palsy and epilepsy. The wife of former Prime Minister David Cameron spoke candidly about the tragic loss to the Times, saying that the outside world "became meaningless".
She said: "Ive dying is such a massive thing that everything else is irrelevant. I think it changed Dave's politics. It made him understanding, though he couldn't be too subjective. From the moment he is born, you are living in a situation that is quite surreal and difficult to deal with. It is intense every day, in and out of hospitals... in a way, that prepared me for Dave being prime minister, because I was used to living and operating in a way that's not normal." She continued: "Like anyone else in my situation, I just kept going. You have to deal with it, because you have no choice."
© Photo: RexIvan passed away in 2009
Samantha also shared her experiences looking after Ivan during a visit to a children's hospice back in 2012. A mother-of-two spoke about chatting to her, saying: "It was lovely to meet her. She was saying that Miles' condition was similar to her son Ivan's. I have a lot of pains and aches from holding him all the time. She said she had that with Ivan when he was younger. She told me she had a painful shoulder from holding him because he screamed and went into spasm. She understood how it affects you, physically as well as emotionally." David has also previously spoken about their son, saying: "I miss my Ive every day, but at least I do sometimes now feel happy and not sad when I think of him."
