A CELEBRATION will be held to remember the life of a 12-year-old boy who died from a rare form of cancer.

Brand Shovlar, who lived in Blackwood with his mother Ursula, died at the Children’s Hospital for Wales in Cardiff, on April 7.

His father, Rob Shaefer, and his wife, Ceri Anne Lewis, who live in Bettws in Newport, say his funeral will be a chance to say farewell and a "celebration of his life”.

In November 2017, Brand had woken complaining of aches after sleeping on the sofa.

After his condition deteriorated, he was taken to the doctor who said they suspected a trapped nerve was causing serious headaches.

Mrs Lewis said: “He stayed in bed on the Sunday, and the next day he had trouble walking and breathing. His mum took him to the doctors and he was then sent to the Royal Gwent. They then sent him to the children’s hospital in Cardiff.

“Ursula, Brand’s mother, rang me and said it was cancer. I just broke. I didn’t know what to say.”

He was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma sarcoma, a type of cancer that grows in the active muscles of the body.

Mrs Lewis added: “They could see that it was on his urethra, bowl and prostate. It was also on his bones and in his lungs. He was then taken to the high dependency unit.

“Because we knew the outcome of the cancer, that he wasn’t going to live, we wanted to make him as comfortable as possible and to give him more time. We weren’t sure of how well it would work because of how far the cancer had spread. He responded amazingly to treatment, we called him our miracle child.”

Mr Shaefer added: “He was suffering a lot but he never lost his sense of humour."

Brand had chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but had a “funny turn” on Good Friday.

Mrs Lewis said: “His mum took him to hospital and he had a seizure there. Then he came home and had another funny turn when he was staying with us.”

Mr Shaefer added: “He went back to hospital and had a CT scan. They found eight tumours in his brain, one the size of a tangerine.”

On April 7, the couple received a call to return to the hospital to decide whether to operate, but they declined knowing it would not prolong his life.

Brand had further seizures later that day and died at 11.45pm surrounded by his family.

The family said they had received messages of support from people across the world who had followed his journey and love of Harry Potter, and the tabletop miniature wargame Warhammer 40K.

Characters dressed from both will appear at Brand’s funeral as well as Vikings and stormtroopers.

The coffin will be carried by members of Mr Shaefer’s regiment, the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia).

A Gofundme page was previouly set up for the family to help pay for the costs of visiting the hospital, to help pay for the funeral, and to raise money for LATCH, the Welsh cancer charity which supported the family.

Newport bar Slipping Jimmy’s Bar & Grill is also raising money for them with a bucket collection.

To donate visit gofundme.com/brandswolves