The widow of a young man from West London has given birth to his second child, 16 months after his death.
Aman Sumal had everything to look forward to, but was diagnosed with a brain tumour after suffering a seizure and headaches in August 2020.
Initially, it was thought he had a low-grade tumour and he was given anti-seizure medication and referred for three-monthly scans. However, after having another seizure five months later, an MRI showed areas of concern and he underwent debulking surgery, with COVID-19 restrictions preventing anyone from being by his side.
A biopsy of Aman’s tumour revealed it was, in fact, a grade 4 glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive brain tumour with a devastatingly short prognosis of just 12-18 months.
He underwent chemotherapy and intensive radiotherapy while his family privately funded a protocol with an Australian naturopath and turned to crowdfunding as a way to source private immunotherapy treatment and specifically-formulated vaccines.
Sadly, Aman’s health continued to deteriorate and he died in December 2021, aged 36, leaving behind his heartbroken wife, Jasdip, and much-adored two-year-old son, Rajan.
Following his death, Jasdip, a data analyst from Ruislip, took the decision to fulfil her and Aman’s dream to have another child. She gave birth to their daughter, Amandeep, on Easter Sunday, a week before what would have been Aman’s 38th birthday.
The 38-year-old, who is working with the charity Brain Tumour Research to share her story, said: “We had our son through IVF in 2019 and we always planned to have another child, but then Aman got sick and everything after that was a whirlwind so we never got the chance.
“I thought about doing it while he was still here. I knew he didn’t have long and thought it would be a nice thing to tell him if he could understand me, but he passed away in December 2021 and after that I was coping with the grief of losing him. I still wanted to have a family though, and knew there would never be a good time. It was always the plan to have a sibling for Rajan, and that was important to Aman too, so I decided to go ahead with it.
“Aman’s strength is what showed me I could do it. He was so strong during what was an incredibly hard time and I knew nothing I did would be harder than that.”

She added: “Aman was over-the-moon with Rajan but always said ‘I have one of me and it would be nice to have one of you too’. I know he would have been all over our daughter. It’s just such a shame he won’t ever get to meet her.
“It’s bittersweet, which is what I think everyone struggles with, but hopefully she’ll bring acceptance that Aman’s gone and that the next chapter for all of us is the kids.”
Jasdip fell pregnant in August 2022 and, after a pregnancy that consisted of “moments that should have been happy but also brought sadness”, on 9 April she gave birth to a healthy baby girl whom she named Amandeep.
She said: “I have a big family and had so much support throughout. I couldn’t have done it without them. My sisters-in-law came to my appointments with me and were my labouring partners, so I didn’t have the worry of being alone. Aman was obviously very missed, but having the girls with me was the next best thing, and for that I am truly grateful. One of them even cut Amandeep’s umbilical cord, which was lovely.”
She added: “I always knew I was going to name her Aman because in our religion it’s a name for both sexes, but in the end I decided to combine parts of both our names. I’ve spelt mine differently but the pronunciation is the same.
“I know Aman won’t be forgotten but doing this gives us another memory of him. Amandeep’s never going to get to meet him, which is really sad, but if she holds his name, that’s something she has of him.
“Our son will have photos of the two of them together but the name is something she can have that’s only hers, and hopefully she’ll appreciate that when she’s older. Hopefully both our kids will grow up feeling like they know him.”

Jasdip and her family have supported Brain Tumour Research since Aman’s diagnosis and continue to raise awareness and funds for the charity.
In appreciation of their fundraising efforts, they were invited to the charity’s Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London last year to tour its research labs, speak to scientists about the work they are doing to find a cure and place a tile – representative of the £2,740 it costs to fund a day of research – on its Wall of Hope.
Jasdip said: “It’s very close to our hearts now. We want to do all we can to help others in Aman’s honour – it’s what he would have wanted and is all we can do now to keep him alive.”
Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We were over-the-moon to learn about the birth of Amandeep, which has come as such a blessing for her family. Her mum, Jasdip, has shown incredible strength since Aman’s passing and is much admired by the team at Brain Tumour Research. We’re grateful for her continued support of the work we do and wish her and her children good health and happiness for the future.
“Aman’s sad story is a stark reminder that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. We’re determined to change this but it’s only by working together we will be able to improve treatment options for patients and, ultimately, find a cure.”
Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.
To find out more about the charity, visit here.