Jacqueline Wilbor recovered from a brain tumour to have a second child and win a national award. Women's Editor CHRISTEN PEARS reports

AFTER six years and three failed IVF treatments, Jacqueline Wilbor was finally able to hold her baby daughter in her arms but, within a year, her joy had turned to despair. She was diagnosed with a brain tumour and was told she must have an operation or die.

She didn't know whether she would see her daughter or husband again but she survived the ordeal and went on to have a second baby. Now, the 37 year old, who lives in Northallerton in North Yorkshire, has been chosen as runner-up in the Mother & Baby Parents of Courage 2002 Awards, organised by Mother & Baby Your Amazing True-Life Stories magazine.

She says: "I don't always feel very courageous but Stuart, my husband, tells me that I am. With his help and support I battled through the pain and the fear. I want to rejoice in the fact that I'm alive and well and that I have two beautiful children and a loving partner. I feel so lucky that I've been given a second chance."

Jacqueline suffers from polycystic ovarian disease, which made it difficult for her to conceive. Both she and Stuart were keen to start a family and went through six years of fertility treatment, before she finally gave birth to her daughter, Melissa Miriam. She was named after Jacqueline's mother who had died from cancer two years earlier.

But a year or so after she gave birth to Melissa, Jacqueline began to suffer from terrible depression. Her self-esteem plummeted and she didn't want anything to do with her family.

"I lay there all day unable to even look after the baby. I had to give up work and really did feel that I was dying. Stuart and my family were terribly worried and, like my GP, they thought my depression was a delayed reaction to my mum's death.

"But soon I developed other symptoms. I gained weight and was hungry all the time. I developed bad stretchmarks on my tummy, grew facial hair on my chin and my back began to develop a hunch. I felt like a freak and as the symptoms worsened, my depression grew. All the joy I had felt when Melissa was born had disappeared."

She had almost given up when a her sister persuaded her to visit a psychic. She told her she was giving off bad vibes and that it was due to a hormone imbalance.

Encouraged by her experience, Jacqueline made an appointment to see her doctor again and was referred to a specialist.

He diagnosed her with Cushing's Disease - a tumour on the pituary gland, which has no known cause but can be life-threatening.

A scan showed Jacqueline had a tumour at the base of her brain behind her nose. She was told it had to be removed or she would die.

"I'd never felt so terrified. I was admitted to the Freeman hospital in Newcastle and the knew the operation was risky. Stuart and my little girl were the last people I saw before I went to theatre and while I tried to be strong, all I could think about was the future - what if I never saw Melissa's little face again?"

Fortunately, the operation was a success. Recovery was slow but Jacqueline had plenty of support from Stuart and other members of her family.

"As my strength began to return, so did the old me. Though I developed diabetes as a result of Cushing's, I felt like a new woman and in August 1999, I discovered I was pregnant again, naturally.

"It was a miracle. I gave birth to Matthew in May 2000 and my joy was indescribable. We called him Matthew as it means 'Gift from God'