'Broken' family shares heartrending picture of boy, 14, and sister, five, who are BOTH battling cancer in same hospital room

 

A brother and sister are fighting cancer side-by-side in the same hospital room after being diagnosed with a rare hereditary form of the disease. Jacob Randell, 14, and his five-year-old sister Sophia are both battling an aggressive brain tumour. Their mum, Liliane Hajjar, has told how her family has been left "broken" by the devastating double blow.
She has documented their fight on social media - with one heartbreaking photo taken last year showing the siblings hugging as they supported each other. Another photo shows the children's names on the door to their hospital room, with a caption reading: "This is the most heartbreaking picture my eyes and heart have ever seen. I'm broken. We are all broken."

Their mum, from Aylmer Quebec, in Canada, added: "This is not the life I imagined for them but it is what it is and we will walk with them every step of the way."
Her children were both found to have an atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour, with geneticists discovering it was due to an inherited condition caused by a gene mutation.
The mutation can lead to highly aggressive malignant tumours in infancy.
Jacob's condition was discovered first when he was five after suffering symptoms including daily vomiting. It led to the rest of the family being genetically tested.

He had lost vision in one eye and hearing in one ear, but ten months after the diagnosis his parents were told that his cancer was gone.
His younger brother Liam, aged seven, tested negative for the condition, but Sophia's tests confirmed she had it.
Doctors gave the family the devastating news in 2016 that she too had a tumour on the left side of her brain.
Last week Jacob was diagnosed with kidney carcinoma just weeks after his family feared he was near death, and doctors learned that Sophia’s tumour had returned.

They are now sharing a room at the Ottawa Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Canada's capital.
Monday was due to be yet another tough day for the family, as Sophia was due to undergo surgery for more than 20 hours after her tumour spread to her spine, and Jacob was due to begin chemotherapy.
Their mum posted photos of the pair enjoying fresh air outside the hospital, writing on Facebook: "Sophia stays by Jacob's side and encourages him as he does his physio. His own little cheerleader by his side.
"We unhooked my babies today and took them outside. Jacob took his first breath of fresh crisp air for the first time since January 24th.
"We keep our focus on Jacob's recovery with the goal to bring him home in the near future.
"We will hope for the best for Sophia, we realize and acknowledge how bad it is now and will hold on to hope and believe in miracles."
She said her other son, Liam, "is feeling lost" without his siblings as she paid tribute to her "courageous" children in hospital.