The recent arrivals of her identical twin daughters have been described as a “double blessing” by an inspiring young Fermanagh woman, who overcame a cancer illness two years ago.

Rachel Wilson (formerly Byers), who lives in Manchester, but is originally from Lisbellaw, gave birth on January 15, 2016, to Jessica, 4lbs. 12 ozs., and Norah, 5lbs. 9ozs.

She and her husband Alistair and their families are thrilled with the little dark haired bundles of joy, who were born at 36 weeks’ gestation in St. Mary’s Hospital in Manchester and are both doing well. The new mother is feeling good too, apart from some sleep deprivation!

Rachel is currently enjoying a visit home to Fermanagh with the twins, who are certainly the centre of attention wherever they go. “It takes twice as long to go through Erneside,” admits the new mum, who had been married less than a year when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2013. 

The 25-year-old, a daughter of John and Valerie Byers, had been working as a Cardiac Nurse in Surgery in Intensive Care in Manchester Hospital prior to her illness. 

On September 28, 2012, she got married to Alistair Wilson, from London, whom she met through Christian Union at University, and it was only 10 months later that she became ill with Hodgkin’s. 

In May 2013, she started to become really tired. She noticed a lump on her neck and she suffered neck and back pain. She underwent physiotherapy and said that she felt “no better.” 

She was referred to the High Suspicion of Cancer Clinic and underwent a fine needle aspiration, which showed she was most likely suffering from Hodgkin’s Lymphona and it was a biopsy in July 2013 which confirmed it. “By then there was a noticeable lump on my neck,” mentioned Rachel, who said: “You never think that it will happen to you.”

Rachel underwent four months of chemotherapy and three weeks of radiotherapy, which finished on December 17, 2013; she received her treatment in Christie’s cancer hospital, Manchester, which she explained has a specific young oncology unit. 

She returned to her work in Manchester Hospital in 2014, after being off for 10 months.

Actively involved in her church, the Ivy in Manchester, her Christian faith has meant a lot to Rachel, who acknowledged that so many people had prayed for her. 

Her pregnancy went well for Rachel. She said that the two sets of grandparents are also overjoyed with the girls, who are actually their first grandchildren for her husband Alistair’s parents, Caroline and Toni Wilson. For John and Valerie Byers, they are their first granddaughters as they already have a grandson, Reuben, a son of Laura-Jayne and her husband Gareth.

A member of a close-knit family, Rachel has been staying at home for a couple of weeks to let the family see the new arrivals. And she is very thankful for the help, with the grandparents being very much hands on!

It is certainly proving a busy time for the first time mum, who describes it as “constant,” but she’s enjoying it.

A young woman, whose illness did not hold her back, she has got on with life; she has always remained positive and has never “looked back.” She says there is “life after cancer” and there’s “life after chemotherapy, no matter what age you are.” Although she still has check-ups at Christie’s Hospital every four months, she says “I never really think about the cancer any more.”

Now that she has the “little ones,” her life is very much occupied by the girls, whom she describes as “good babies.” She feels that “Life is good and God is good” and she regards her twin daughters as a “double blessing.”