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urrying the kids into Frankie & Benny’s, I smiled at the waiter. ‘Table for 11 please,’ I said, pointing at the kids. As our excitable troops followed to be seated, I could see a roomful of eyes counting our family. Along the table, we had Taylor, 21, Oliver, 18, Morgan, 16, Aston, 14, Jensen, 12, Tristan, 10, Gemma, eight, Xavier, four, and Radleigh, two. Chatting away to my husband of 21 years, Layden 49, we ignored the whispers We are used to people judging and watching us – there’s a stigma around big families, after all. Many people think large families are miserable, caus havoc, treat their children unequally and struggle to keep up with the demands. But our children are happ healthy and respectful. We feel like the luckiest parents alive. When Layden and I married in 1998, we never planned to have children. We fell in love at 15, and neither of us were brought up in big families. It wasn’t something we’d even considered. Then after having our firstborn Taylor in 1999, everything changed. ‘She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,’ Layden Layden comforted me. said, loving being a dad. Feeling blessed to have our Layden began travelling less beautiful children, we tried for work, and I left my banking once more for a baby. job to be at home. And fortunately, Radleigh, Two years later, we had our now two, was welcomed into son Oliver, and started the world. working for ourselves. Although, it wasn’t as And every two years after smooth a labour as the others. that we had a son, until our Radleigh was breech, so I seventh baby came along – our little girl Gemma. I had a natural childbirth every time, I love being a mum and I loved pregnancy. ‘Morgan is exactly like you,’ Layden said, admiring his blue eyes and blonde hair. ‘And Oliver is a mini version of you!’ I laughed – his dark hair and dark eyes were exactly the same. Jensen is the only one that’s a mixture of us both, with gorgeous green eyes. We had our baby boy Xavier, and then I suffered a miscarriage. ‘We’ll try again,’
LUCKY
WORDS BY NIA DALTON PHOTOS: SWNS
Frances Seymou … n re d il ch e in n h it w fe li e th in ay d her busy
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opted to have an emergency caesarean in hospital. And the following day, I was up and out, driving the car. As a mum of nine, there was no time to sit still! At the time, Layden had retired, but we were struggling to make end’s meet. Selling our business, we downsized and moved from Essex to Suffolk. We invested in play centre, and 4 Fun became our next family ompany. Then Channel 5 reached out and started filming us for Me and My 10 Kids. Whilst the kids worked hard at the play centre, threw tent sleepovers with their friends in the back garden, and cooked casseroles in the kitchen, the cameras followed our every move. During filming, I noticed a mole on the
right side of my chest. ‘It’s itchy and irritable,’ I told the GP. ‘I certainly don’t think it’ll kill you,’ he advised. Opting for a second opinion, I had a biopsy on the mole at a dermatology clinic. Holding Layden’s hand, we waited for the results. ‘We’ve got the results, unfortunately they came back positive,’ the dermatologist said seriously. ‘However, I’ve got a course of action planned that is even more positive,’ he explained, reassuring me. ‘Does this mean I’ve got cancer?’ I said, taking it all in. ‘Yes, carcinoma is a common form of skin cancer,’ he said, confirming it. Staying calm, we decided on photodynamic therapy treatment (PDT). PDT uses a light-sensitive drug and a laser to destroy cancer cells. Going home to the kids, I
I noticed a mole on my right chest
