A mother-of-four battling terminal cancer turned down pain medication so she could continue to breastfeed her newborn daughter until her final days.
Brisbane mother Lena Soulsby, 34, spent days crying and struggling to walk as she suffered agonising pain from stage four cervical cancer.
Doctors had offered to give the brave mother heavy-duty medication to ease her burden but their offers were rejected by Ms Soulsby.
She wanted to be able to breastfeed her newborn daughter Anna who was only a few months old at the time.
Brisbane mother Lena Soulsby, 34, spent days crying and struggling to walk as she suffered agonising pain from stage four cervical cancer
Doctors had offered to give the brave mother heavy-duty medication to ease her burden but their offers were rejected by Ms Soulsby
Ms Soulsby breastfed her daughter until she was not able to and forced to go into palliative care on March 24. She died several days later on March 27.
‘It doesn’t get much closer or more loving than breastfeeding,’ her husband Robert said. ‘It’s a special mum and bub connection.’
Ms Soulsby leaves behind her husband Rob and their four children Anna, six months, Jacob, eight, Elizabeth, 10, and Lukas, 12.
Mr Soulsby said he has not ‘stopped crying’ since his wife passed away and recalled the final moments shared with his loved one.
The family were standing around her hospital bed, holding her hand, and hugging and kissing her as they felt the life leave Ms Soulsby’s body.
Mr Soulsby started a Gofundme page where he revealed the telltale symptom Ms Soulsby had been suffering before she was diagnosed with the deadly cancer.
‘In October 2021 I took time off work to welcome our new baby into the world, my wife and I were so happy!’ he wrote.
‘The doctors said that after your pregnancy you may still have some bleeding for the next 6 to 8 weeks, this is normal.
‘[Nine] weeks later on Christmas Eve we had to go into Emergency as she had excessive bleeding.’
Doctors conducted a series of scans before diagnosing Ms Soulsby with stage four cervical cancer on Christmas Day.
‘It doesn’t get much closer or more loving than breastfeeding,’ her husband Rob said
‘Lena did not want to go into hospital so we decided to home care her, she decided not to take stronger medication and suffer in pain so she could breastfeed her new born baby,’ Mr Soulsby wrote.
‘Lena said she would rather feed her baby till her grave than to take stronger medication and stop breastfeeding (I have so much respect for Lena for this decision).’
Ms Soulsby was then given radiation to treat a cancerous lump on her head. The treatment left her weak and unable to make it past the bathroom.
‘We tried home care for as long as possible but Lena’s pain was so severe she decided to go into the Palliative care ward,’ Mr Soulsby wrote.
‘[Three] days later she passed away (just 3 months after the diagnosis) with her mother, husband (myself) and our 4 children by her side.’
The Gofundme has raised $23,929 of its $50,000 goal.
The family were standing around her hospital bed, holding her hand, and hugging and kissing her as they felt the life leave Ms Soulsby’s body
This weekend will mark the first Mother’s Day the family will spend without their loved one.
‘My daughter came home from school today with a Mother’s Day card she made for her,’ Mr Soulsby told Courier Mail.
‘It’s going to be hard but we’ll never stop loving her. She’s the best mum in the world.’
Ms Soulsby was born in Germany before she moved to Australia to work as an au pair.
She met her husband Rob in Western Australia and the couple moved to Queensland.
Ms Soulsby homeschooled her three eldest children and helped at the local church.
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