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Widow pregnant via IVF after footballer Joe Thompson's death

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Key Points
  • Chantelle Thompson is 26 weeks pregnant with Joe Thompson's baby via IVF using a frozen embryo, one year after his death from Hodgkin's lymphoma.
  • Joe Thompson had a vision six months before his death of Chantelle holding a baby boy in their garden.
  • Chantelle and Joe Thompson faced multiple pregnancy losses and IVF challenges, including a natural pregnancy with Athena after initial fertility issues.

Joe Thompson died one year ago, with major media attributing his death to Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. Chantelle Thompson is currently 26 weeks pregnant, and the pregnancy resulted from IVF using a frozen embryo, as reported by major media outlets. The exact date of his death has not been disclosed, and the specific type of Hodgkin's lymphoma he had remains unclear.

Joe Thompson was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and again in 2017, recovered twice, and it returned in April 2024, spreading to his lungs, according to major media. Six months before his death, he had a vision of Chantelle holding a baby boy in their garden, as reported by major media.

Six months before Joe passed, he saw me in our garden throwing a baby boy up in the air. He said, 'Chan I've seen it. He was a boy'. We'd previously lost a baby boy in 2021 and then gone on to have our daughter Athena afterwards. He said, 'I've seen him - he's here. There's nothing to worry about. He's going to be here. He gave me his name.'

Chantelle Thompson, Widow of Joe Thompson

Chantelle and Joe Thompson lost a baby boy in 2021, as reported by major media. According to Daily Mirror - Football, Chantelle Thompson described how doctors said she could not fall pregnant naturally after Joe's second cancer diagnosis because he had no sperm due to a stem cell transplant. The couple signed consent forms at the IVF clinic allowing the use of sperm or eggs if one of them passed away, according to major media. Their first IVF attempt took three years to result in pregnancy, but they lost the baby, Dre, a week before his due date, as reported by major media.

Chantelle Thompson is bringing up their children Lula, 12, and Athena, 3, with the help of her mother, who has moved into their renovated Manchester farmhouse, according to major media. She is also an influencer and beauty brand founder, as reported by major media.

When Joe was here, we'd always discussed [the fact] we wanted to have more children. If it hadn't been for Joe's cancer diagnosis, we would probably have a house full of them. But we struggled after Joe's second diagnosis. He had a stem cell transplant, and the doctors had said there was no way I would fall pregnant naturally. He, basically, didn't have any sperm. So we began our IVF journey in 2018.

Chantelle Thompson, Widow of Joe Thompson

Chantelle Thompson wrote on social media that giving birth to this baby means absolutely everything to her. According to Daily Mirror - Football, she described how she and Joe always discussed wanting more children, and she felt it was the right time to proceed with IVF.

I remember being in the IVF clinic years ago and they said we needed to have the conversation, you know …if one of you passes away, they will leave behind unused sperm and all the eggs. At the time I was laughing, 'I can use your sperm, you can use my eggs.' We signed for that. And I just knew I definitely wanted to have more children. It was just kind of in my mind. I was like, 'when is the right time to do that?' And it just felt right. I was like, 'you know, if it's meant to happen, it will happen.' And it did. I knew straight away. When I went to the IVF clinic, when they put the embryo in, I just knew.

Chantelle Thompson, Widow of Joe Thompson

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Chantelle Thompson, Widow of Joe Thompson
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Widow pregnant via IVF after footballer Joe Thompson's death | Reed News