HELLO! blogger Jessica Knowles has spoken exclusively to us about how her mum helped her fight cervical cancer. Jessica, 28, was given the all clear from the illness last year and has taken a year off work to recover from the illness. She told Hello! that her relationship with her mum got her through an extremely tough year, which also saw her battle sepsis, the end of her marriage to TV presenter Nick Knowles and losing her grandmother. Jessica said: “Since I was diagnosed with cervical cancer, my relationship with my mum has deepened. She was the one who came to all my hospital appointments with me - we listen to Boyzone in the car and sing. She was always the person who kept my spirits up. She slept in uncomfortable hospital chairs next to me and never allowed me to ask the worst questions that were going through my mind. She was incredible. On top of that, she was helping me look after my son. She was a joy to be around during the worst possible time – I couldn’t have got through it without her.”
Jessica Knowles with her son Eddie
Jessica is mum to son Eddie, age two, and she reveals that becoming a mum herself has helped her appreciate her own mother: “Since becoming mum to Eddie I realise the abundance of patience that my mum must have had with me. Eddie’s only two and a half but I can’t imagine getting to the teenage years. It gives me a lot more respect for my mum, for her patience, her love, her support. I’m so much more aware of the sacrifices parents make.” The three of them are so close, they are all going on holiday together to celebrate Mother’s Day. Writing on her HELLO! blog this month, Jessica said: “I’m off to Lanzarote with Eddie for a well-deserved break at the end of this month. We leave on Mother’s Day and my mum is coming with us."
READ: Jessica Knowles talks 'life threatening' sepsis nightmare
Jessica also spoke about the difficulties of caring for Eddie during hospital treatment last year: “The responsibility I felt of not being able to be physically at home with Eddie and thinking further to the future was hard. You think you’re indestructible…then when you have to sit back and accept more help. That’s hard.” She says she now appreciates the important things in life. Talking about her son’s routine, she revealed: “Each morning we talk, we hug, we might just lie in bed and there’s no rush. I have become a lot more relaxed as a mum and it’s benefited our relationship.” Jessica also told us about a sweet moment she had with Eddie: “About six weeks ago as I was buttoning up his coat in the kitchen and he stopped me, looked and said ‘I love you my mummy’. It was the first time he’d ever said it unprompted and I was so taken aback. It’s moments like that where you think, oh my gosh, I love you to the moon and back.”