Heartache behind photo of mum and newborn in hospital

A sweet photograph of Sydney mum Elenor Tedenborg and her newborn son hides the devastating truth.

It should have been one of the happiest days in her life, but as Elenor Tedenborg lay in the maternity ward with her newborn son Eli she was also about to begin one of her toughest fights yet.

Elenor delivered her son four weeks early on December 6 in 2016 so she could have a double mastectomy and begin chemotherapy after being diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer at 34 weeks gestation.

Elenor said it was a “tumultuous part of our lives”.

“Everything changed from there,” she said. “I found myself and had to start loving myself again.”

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Everything changed from this moment as Elenor Tedenborg sat in hospital with newborn son Eli.

Eli’s birth marked the start of tough fight for Elenor.

Elenor has been battling cancer for nearly six years.

Within months the cancer had spread to Elenor’s lymph nodes and so began multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and steroids.

By November 2020, the cancer had spread to her brain. She underwent targeted radiation with some success but, earlier this year, an MRI showed that the cancer had returned – this time to the meninges, the thin membrane covering the brain.

Eli and Charlie, now five and nine years old.

Elenor was a professional photographer living and working in Sydney with husband Simon Bayliss and their son Charlie when they decided to pack up and move to regional NSW. Elenor said she was looking for a less expensive and more relaxed lifestyle for her family with plans to buy their first home.

But within months of the move a heavily-pregnant Elenor found out about her cancer diagnosis.

“We moved from Sydney so that we could buy a home. I always wanted a house, but then I was diagnosed with cancer and it was put on hold,” she said.

Elenor and Simon moved from Sydney to be able to buy a home but plans were derailed by the cancer diagnosis.

Simon had to stop working to care for Elenor and their young boys, and Elenor said it impacted him and the family in many ways, including financially.

Elenor’s friends and family created a GoFundMe to try and make Elenor’s goal – of knowing that her boys have a secure home – a reality.

“The home has become even more important for the boys now,” she said, adding that she didn’t want to wait years for it to happen. “I want to be in the house with them now, to make some memories.”

Elenor said she was an optimist and a fighter and planned to live until 90. But said “if things go pear-shaped”, her thoughts were only for her family’s future and wanting to know they had a permanent roof over their heads.

Nearly 140 people have already donated on GoFundMe page with a goal of $100,000. Donations can be made here.