Help Sami, Ricky & Baby Roo Rebuild After a Heartbreaking Cancer Diagnosis

Life can change in an instant.

Sami and Ricky welcomed their beautiful baby boy, Roo, in March 2025 — a moment that should have been filled with joy, love, and new beginnings. But alongside the excitement of becoming new parents, they’ve been faced with the heartbreaking reality of Ricky’s diagnosis: inoperable and incurable stage 4 oesophageal cancer.

Their journey to becoming a family has already been filled with loss, love, and unimaginable strength.

After years of painful past relationships, Sami and Ricky finally found each other — two people who had been through so much and yet managed to find real love, healing, and peace together, finding the courage to rebuild their lives. In early 2024, they were overjoyed to be expecting — but heartbreak struck when they lost their first baby that April. Ricky supported Sami through her grief and depression with quiet strength and compassion, never once making his care for her feel like an effort.

When Sami fell pregnant again soon after, Ricky continued to care for her through every rough day. She says she realised then that this was the kind of love she’d been missing her whole life from a partner.

Just before Christmas 2024, their world turned upside down again.

At 3am, police took Ricky (who had a visa) to an immigration detention centre. Sami, heavily pregnant, fought relentlessly to get him released — a month-long ordeal that left her traumatised.

By the time he returned home they didn't have long to prepare for their baby's arrival and they'd missed their Christmas and the beautiful build up to the birth. Baby Roo lit up their lives, arriving in March and gave them so much joy and peace in amongst all the chaos.

When Ricky was finally given a visa and allowed to work again, they had already gone five months without income. They were just beginning to recover and settle into life together as a family of 3 when Ricky began feeling unwell. Despite several GP visits insisting it was “just reflux,” further tests in August revealed the devastating truth — stage 4 oesophageal cancer that had already spread.

He was admitted to hospital for nutrition support and now relies on a feeding tube.

Sami's heart is breaking watching someone she loves so deeply and who means so much to her and their little boy go through this.

A note from Sami - “As I look across at him I see pure love.

I see my best friend and laughing partner.

I see the father of our child.

I see the strength of our love.

I see how much we will fight to stay together no matter the struggle.

I had never known true deep love 'til I met him. Watching the person you love most — the father of your baby — go through this is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. All I hope, wish and pray for is that he will be here to bring up our little boy alongside me. I've realised how little the daft annoyances in life matter when compared with this terrifying reality."

As Ricky focuses on chemotherapy and spending precious time with his family, he’s unable to work. Sami now cares full-time for both Ricky and their seven-month-old baby while surviving on Statutory Maternity Pay of around £840 per month — less than half of what’s needed to cover basic bills and this is due to end mid December, leaving them with nothing. This has placed an enormous emotional and financial strain on the household, just when they should be cherishing their baby's first smiles and milestones.

Because of Ricky’s visa condition, he has no recourse to public funds, meaning they can’t receive vital support like PIP or Carer’s Allowance — despite both having paid National Insurance and taxes in the UK.

Sami is doing everything possible to care for both her partner and their little one, but the weight of medical appointments, daily expenses, and the uncertainty of what lies ahead has become overwhelming.

This GoFundMe has been created by Sami’s mama friends to help ease that burden and give this young family the chance to focus on what truly matters — love, healing, and time together.

Your donations will go toward:

• Basic living costs and baby essentials

• Travel for hospital appointments

• Essential household bills while Ricky undergoes treatment

Every donation, message, and share makes a huge difference.

From the bottom of their hearts, thank you for supporting Sami, Ricky, and their precious baby Roo as they face this unimaginable journey with courage, love, and hope.