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A woman who turned to roleplaying with hyper-realistic dolls “to help (her) cope” with the death of her first baby – and continues to do so with her husband and two rainbow babies – has said her husband’s parents disapproved of the hobby and fired him from the family business as a result. Christina Keeler, 38, a stay-at-home mum and YouTuber, from Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, USA, fell pregnant with her first “miracle” baby in 2015, despite having endometriosis and being told she would not be able to conceive in her 20s. She suffered a miscarriage, but after watching a documentary about so-called reborn dolls, she had a “lightbulb moment” and realised getting a hyper-realistic doll would be the “perfect solution”. Christina’s husband Bill, 43, was “hesitant” at first but became supportive after he saw how much it “helped (her) grief”. The couple went on to have two “miracle” daughters, Grace, six, and Joy, four, who now help feed, change and dress the family’s five reborn dolls – which cost between £1,560 and £3,899 each – in their “nursery” complete with “a crib and a wardrobe”. The family often take the dolls out in public, and have shared their journey on YouTube – where Christina documents people’s reactions to her dolls and birthing videos. Some silicone dolls come in a fake womb which allows a Caesarean section to be performed at home. But Bill’s family were “disgusted” with the hobby, to the point where they gave him a choice to stop having the dolls or leave the family business. He refused to shut down the YouTube channel and did not want Christina to give up her hobby, so he was fired. She fell pregnant with her first baby in 2015, a year after her mother died of cancer. The couple were “elated” about the pregnancy because Christina had been told in her twenties that she would not be able to conceive because she has endometriosis, but she miscarried at eight weeks. Christina told PA Real Life: “When we lost the baby it was so devastating, I remember lying in the hospital bed after they had taken the baby out of my belly, and screaming for my mum and wept wanting to cuddle my baby.” She “really struggled” with the grief of losing her mother and her baby so close together. She explained: “This feeling of sorrow just never went away, it was so painful that I never talked about it again.” Despite having her two “miracle” children Grace and Joy, Christina still longed to hold her first baby, and after watching a documentary about reborn dolls, she wanted to get one to see if it would help her grief. She said: “I felt so blessed to have two healthy girls, but that feeling of missing the first baby never quite went away. “When my youngest was around two years old, my husband and I came across a documentary about reborn dolls. “And he was like, ‘That’s really weird’, and I played it off that I thought the same, but actually I really wanted one to help me cope and I thought it would be the perfect solution.” After persuading her husband, Christina ordered her first lifelike doll, Hannah, costing her around £155. She said: “I told my husband and he was not on board at all, he was hesitant, but after explaining my reasoning, he was much more understanding and more accepting.” When the doll arrived, Christina instantly felt like it helped with her mourning. She said: “It helped me therapeutically because for the first time ever when I got my first reborn doll, I was able to talk about the loss of our baby. “And since then I have healed tremendously from that loss because I’m able to talk about it and share my story and help others – it helped my grief, for sure.” Christina now has a collection of five dolls called Carter, Cadence, Quinn, Isabella and Sammy, which she loves to dress, cuddle and feed. She takes the dolls out in public and people often mistake them for real babies. She said: “We have a nursery for them with a crib and a wardrobe. I check on them throughout the day, and on other days, especially when the girls want to get involved, I pick out an outfit for them, bring them to breakfast, get them to feed them a bottle, change them. “If we’re running errands we often take them out with us and put them in a car seat and stroller.” Christina and her family have been sharing their experiences on YouTube, where they are known as The Reborn Family. She said: “I make videos about people’s reactions to my dolls, as well as vlogs and birthing videos – I have some silicone reborn dolls which come in a womb and you perform a C-section on it at home, to give birth to the baby.” Despite her immediate family being supportive of the hobby, Christina admits not everyone in her wider family understands. She said: “My husband’s family were, and still are, disapproving of the reborns, even though they can see how much they helped me. They were disgusted. “We moved from California to Pennsylvania because my husband was next in line to take over the family business because they were about to retire, and they asked if we would like to do so and we agreed. “When they were on vacation they came across our YouTube channel, and they called us up and they were mortified and so embarrassed, and said we were ruining the family name.” When Bill’s parents came home, they gave him an ultimatum to stop having the dolls. Christina explained: “Bill said that he was not going to quit his job, and didn’t want me to stop having reborns because they were so therapeutic for me at the time, and his dad said, ‘Well, then you’re fired’.” My husband’s family were disgusted, they said we were ruining the family name Bill’s father was contacted by PA Real Life for comment, but he had not responded at the time of publication. Even though her reborns have caused tension in the family, Christina cannot see herself giving up her hobby any time soon. She said: “Reborns continue to help me with my grief, and I love sharing content with other people who have lost babies, and they can also really help people with dementia, people who are infertile, people with anxiety and depression, I wouldn’t want to stop this.” Read More Teenager who thought she was pregnant diagnosed with ovarian cancer Woman praised for response to parents who asked her to swap first class seat with their child Barbie vs Oppenheimer: Greta Gerwig makes history with biggest box office opening for a female director Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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A teenager who thought she was pregnant after her stomach unexpectedly became rounder, and who was told it was constipation by her GP, was later diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is now a student nurse after realising “life is too short”. Summer Edwards, 22, a student nurse at the University of the West of England, from Bristol, went from a size six to size 10 “in a matter of weeks” and thought she was pregnant in 2020, but her GP reassured her that it was constipation. After trying strong doses of laxatives and having two catheters fitted, nothing improved, and she was eventually diagnosed with an ovarian cyst which doctors were able to remove successfully. However doctors then found an extremely rare 19cm by 17cm tumour and Summer was diagnosed with stage one ovarian cancer. Summer had keyhole surgery to remove it, which was a success, but she also found out she had a rare gene, DICER1, which meant she was more susceptible to other types of cancer. Six members of her family have since been diagnosed with the gene, including her 16-year-old cousin who now has lung cancer, but Summer says she is a “fighter”. Since Summer was diagnosed with cancer she has been training as a student nurse, which is something she has “always” wanted to do. In May 2020, at the age of 18, while working in a hospital as a healthcare assistant, Summer began to notice her stomach was getting rounder, but put it down to eating a few extra treats at work. She said: “My mum was convinced I was pregnant, and I began to believe it, but I took a pregnancy test and it came back negative. “I went from a size six to size 10 in a matter of weeks, and one day I was in the garden in a bikini and my mum said that she thought something was really wrong because my stomach was really round.” To reassure her mum, Summer went to her GP and was prescribed a strong dose of laxatives, as they thought she was constipated. But after two weeks of taking the medication nothing changed, so Summer was called in to her GP surgery. Summer said: “The doctor felt my stomach and they said something was not right, but I didn’t think much of it.” Summer also had blood tests, and spotted that her blood was being run for a CA-125 test, a tumour marker for ovarian cancer, and a few days later was asked to have an internal ultrasound, where she was told her bladder was “completely full” with more than a litre of urine. Doctors told Summer there was “nothing they could do at that point” so, after asking her doctor friend for advice, she went straight to A&E and had a catheter fitted. She said: “I was devastated, I was only 18 and I really didn’t want to be walking around with a catheter strapped to my leg or be signed off work for 12 weeks.” After a few days of being catheterised, Summer continued urinating as usual, so she returned to the hospital and had another fitted. But the following day she began experiencing a great deal of pain. She said: “It was weird, I went to the toilet and I noticed a lot of blood in the bag, and I was still weeing. “I was taken into hospital – at this point, I was screaming in pain.” Summer then had a CT scan, and it was found that her bladder was never full – instead, she had a large ovarian cyst which was successfully removed with surgery. But two weeks later Summer went for her post-operation check-up and was told she had a 19cm by 17cm tumour. She said: “They told me I had a Sertoli-Leydig cell tumour, which was really rare. “They told me there was only one other person in the UK that had it at that point and my blood tests came back fine on the CA-125 marker because it causes a boost in testosterone so didn’t show as a marker. “It didn’t sink in at all, and the first thing I did was take my sick note to work – I was gutted I couldn’t work. “When I told people there, they cried, so I did too, but it didn’t hit me for a while.” On July 1 2020 Summer had a hospital appointment to find out more about her tumour, and to her devastation she found out she had ovarian cancer. She said: “They explained more about my tumour, and that there have not been any clinical trials for it because it’s so rare. “I put it bluntly and asked them if I had cancer and they said yes. “My mum was upset about it more than me – I think it’s more scary for those around you.” About two weeks later Summer had keyhole surgery to remove the tumour, which was a success. She said: “I was so relieved, and in my post-op review they asked me if I wanted preventive chemotherapy and I said no, as the pros outweigh the cons for me. “I’d rather live my life now and deal with chemotherapy in the future if it ever comes back.” Since then Summer has had internal ultrasounds every three months, which will continue for the next ten years. She has also been genetically tested, and she was diagnosed with DICER1 syndrome – an inherited disorder that increases the risk of cancerous tumours, most commonly in the lungs, kidneys, ovaries and thyroid. Summer said: “I now know that if I have kids, they will probably have the gene, and I’ve looked into IVF and PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) but there is no licence to test for DICER1, I’d have to go and ask for one to be made. “I know that I’m probably more likely to get another type of cancer in the future too.” Summer’s immediate family tested negative for the gene, but when Summer’s aunt came to one of her appointments with her, she believed her daughter, Summer’s 16-year-old cousin, had the gene. Summer said: “After tests, my aunt and five of her children have the gene, and one of them has lung cancer but she’s a fighter.” Now Summer is a student nurse – she has “always wanted” to work in healthcare, and has been doing so since she was 17, but when she received her cancer diagnosis it pushed her to apply for university. She said: “My tutors are amazing and I have had time off for scans and things, but I absolutely love it. “Having the diagnosis made me realise there’s no time to wait and life is too short.” For more information, visit: targetovariancancer.org.uk/ or www.nhs.uk/conditions/ovarian-cancer/. Read More Teenager who thought she was pregnant diagnosed with ovarian cancer Jonnie Irwin details experience with palliative hospice care Carol Vorderman shares warning to sunbathers after skin cancer scare Jonnie Irwin details experience with palliative hospice care Carol Vorderman shares warning to sunbathers after skin cancer scare This is how often you should actually change your razor

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