Little Jake Godwin was born with major heart defects caused by the medication his mother took to combat her epilepsy. Cruelly, he has now lost his mum to the disease. His father is determined that Jake will know all about her. CERI HILLIER reports

WHEN Jake Godwin was born, his parents feared they might never hear him speak.

Mum Rachel Veale had suffered from epilepsy all her life and took medication to control the life-threatening condition.

She and partner Lee Godwin, 22, had been warned by doctors that Jake, now 18 months, who was born with major heart defects caused by the drugs, might never be able to speak after his vocal cords were damaged by feeding tubes.

But just five weeks ago, Rachel, 18, heard him say Mummy for the very first time. It was to be a particularly poignant moment for the family - two weeks later, Rachel died as a result of a suspected epileptic fit.

She had gone to Portsmouth for a cousin's wedding.

Mr Godwin, 22, of Ruperra Close, Newport, said: "I didn't go with her. She had to take Jake and there wasn't enough room in the car. It does hurt that I wasn't with her."

But he says he has taken some comfort knowing that Rachel had been thinking of him while she was at the wedding.

He said: "She phoned me on the day saying she missed me."

Mr Godwin said since Rachel's death three weeks ago, family members and friends have rallied round to help.

"For the first week Jake wouldn't eat or cry. He would just look into space.

"I could see he knew there was something wrong. We didn't take him to the funeral as we didn't want him to pick up on all the upset. But in the last week or so he's picked up. He's also making some words now, such as ba ba."

He said that Jake's speech is making progress and his son is returning to his happy self. Jake had been fed via feeding tubes - but no longer needs them, says Mr Godwin.

But he still has regular hospital appointments and physiotherapy every day. And his dad has vowed to make sure he knows all about his mother.

He said: "We have lots of pictures of Rachel. I will keep them for when he is older and will tell him all about Rachel."