Father of 3 children turns out to have been infertile all his life.
A routine visit to the doctor leads to a bizarre revelation.
Richard Mason, a 55-year-old businessman and millionaire from the United Kingdom, was given the shock of his life. Such a strong bond as Richard had with his children is every father’s dream. His story shows that fatherhood doesn’t necessarily have to be based on your blood.
The father(?)
The protagonist of this family drama, Richard, is a successful businessman who made his millions as the co-founder of a successful British price comparison site: MoneySupermarket.com. On his road to success, Richard was married to Kate. The two met in the 1980s when they both worked for a bank. They have three sons together.
At least that’s what Richard thought…
Three sons
The couple’s eldest son, Will, is 23 years old. They also have twins, Ed and Joel, who are 19 years old. For years the five had formed a happy family, but unfortunately the marriage broke up in 2008.
Curious about the divorce? Read on quick!
The divorce
The couple decided to sign divorce papers in early 2008 and split up. Richard did not regret his failed marriage. It had made him a father to three wonderful sons. He promised to always take care of them, even now that he was no longer with their mother.
But the divorce didn’t go as smoothly as he’d hoped.
Chased
Kate would have been given five million pounds from the divorce. She would use this money to pay for the boys’ private school, among other things. But despite this high amount, Kate continued to chase Richard for years. She wanted more money.
The years after the divorce were mainly dominated by money.
Cold and loveless
Richard was getting more and more annoyed by his ex-wife. He would have loved to have cut off all contact, but he couldn’t do that to his sons. As far as he was concerned, they were the only good thing that came out of this “cold and loveless” marriage.
He could never have predicted the surprise that awaited him.
Eight years later
In 2016, eight years after the divorce, Richard discovered the truth. It turned his life completely upside down. Kate had finally left him alone and the relationship between him and his sons was still very good. Business was also going well. Life seemed to smile at him.
Until one doctor’s visit messed everything up.
The doctor’s visit
Richard woke up that day and got ready for his doctor’s appointment without any worries. It was an ordinary routine check. He had no idea that this appointment would change everything.
A few hours later, his view of the world would be changed entirely.
The check up
The doctor did a couple of tests. The results of this set Richard’s whole world in jeopardy. Fate struck: Richard appeared to be suffering from cystic fibrosis.
Unfortunately, the shocking revelations didn’t stop there…
Cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis, also called CF (cystic fibrosis), is a disease in which the mucus in the lungs, throat and intestines becomes very tough and thick. This causes blockages in organs, causing their function to deteriorate further. Half of people with CF live to be older than 50. The other half therefore dies at a younger age.
But the chance of an early death was not the biggest shock Richard had to endure…
In the family
Cystic fibrosis also causes persistent lung infections. Over time, it damages the lungs to such an extent that it becomes increasingly difficult for the patient to breathe. It has a huge impact on the quality of life of someone with CF. The disease is also hereditary. Richard’s sister had also died of cystic fibrosis a few years earlier.
Did this mean that he had passed this disease on?
Relief
The doctor reassured Richard. There was no way Richard could have passed this disease on to his sons. Richard was very relieved by this reassurance. This relief did not last long.
The fact that Richard was unable to pass on the disease was due to a specific consequence of having cystic fibrosis…
Disbelief
Richard’s world came crashing down when the doctor told him the reason. It made him doubt everything he had believed to be true. The whole diagnosis didn’t matter to him anymore. This was much worse.
The doctor delivered the shocking news with great professionalism.
The shocking news
When Richard asked the doctor if he could pass the disease on to his children, he thought the question was purely hypothetical. So, the doctor thought he was reassuring Richard when he told him not to worry about that.
After all, men with cystic fibrosis are infertile.
Medical miracle
This couldn’t be true, Richard assured the doctor. He had to struggle to suppress a smile. This was either a medical miracle or the doctor had misdiagnosed it. The latter was more likely.
Would Richard not have cystic fibrosis after all? Read on for the answer!