George Michael paid for my IVF after he saw me on TV – he’ll never know how miracle boy changed my life
A MUM who was donated £9,000 for IVF by George Michael wishes she could thank him for her "miracle" son as he nears five-years-old.
Lynette Gillard, 44, received the life-changing sum from an anonymous TV viewer after she appeared on Deal or No Deal in a desperate hope to afford another round of the fertility treatment.
She had suffered through nine rounds of intense IVF over 13 years before she turned to the game show when her savings ran out.
Lynette heard the incredible news of the anonymous donation when the episode aired six months later and fell pregnant in late 2017.
But she had no idea who the gift was from until after the singer's death.
She told the : "If I could see him, even if only for a minute, I'd tell him what an amazing person he was, how kind he was, how he touched the lives of so many and how honoured I feel to have touched his heart.
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"My life finally started when I had Seth, and that's all because of George."
The mum couldn't conceive naturally because of a rare condition called uterus didelphys that she was born with.
Tests also revealed she had a high level of natural killer cells which were attacking her embryos rather than fighting diseases.
So the pregnancy was Lynette's greatest gift and she was over the moon to make it to 39 weeks.
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When she finally gave birth with an emergency c-section, suddenly George's Jesus to a Child came on the nurses' radio.
Seth was born on September 3, 2017 - nine months after the famous performer's passing.
Now the special boy is nearing five-years-old and will even start school this year.
Since Lynette discovered George's generous gift, she has been sure there is a special connection between him and her son.
She said: "[Seth] loves music, and he’s funny because whenever George is playing on the radio, he’ll say, ‘Mummy, is this George Michael?’
"I’ll say ‘do you know who George Michael is?’ And he’ll say, ‘Yes, he gave you money to have a baby Mummy.’
"He knows that his middle name is George, after George Michael."
The little family even make a journey to the singer's home in Goring, Oxfordshire, every year to pay their respects, a tradition which Seth calls "George Michael weekend".
I hope he’s looking down smiling, knowing I have what I’ve always longed for
Lynette Gillard
Lynette told The Sun on Sunday back in 2017: “The first time I held my little boy I said thank you to George.
"I hope he’s looking down smiling, knowing I have what I’ve always longed for."
“He believed in me and gave me hope to keep trying even when I felt it was useless.
“His songs were playing on the radio when we went for our first scan and when I was in labour.
"I feel that George has been with me every step of the way.”
The "miracle" has also meant Lynette has made a whole new array of friendships with fans of the late star.
She told the Mirror: "Fans feel there’s a huge link between George and Seth.
"George made it happen for me, he made it happen for Seth and that’s special.
"I've spoken to a few people who were quite close to George and they’ve said he would have adored Seth.
"It makes me feel so sad that they never got the chance to meet. George will never know how much he changed my life.
"All I wanted was to be a mum, I couldn’t imagine a future without a child. I felt like I had been put on the planet to be a mother and nothing else made sense to me."
Remarkably, Lynette's moving story isn't the only instance of the singer funding a woman's fertility treatment.
Jo Maidment appeared on This Morning in 2010 to speak about her frustration at not being allowed fertility treatment because her husband had a child from a previous marriage.
“Two days later I got a call from a PA who said a business man would like to donate,” she said.
Jo and her husband initially didn’t want to agree to it, but George’s PA Michelle was adamant that was what the “businessman” wanted.
George paid for her first round of IVF which resulted in miscarriage and he anonymously sent flowers from himself and his PA.
However the next year Jo used the frozen embryos from their first round and successfully gave birth to Betsy.
The singer was so generous he even left a woman in a cafe £25,000 after overhearing her cry about her debt.
He also pledged £50,000 to Sports Relief when David Walliams swam the English Channel in 2006.
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Most astonishingly, perhaps, George secretly donated nearly £500,000 to keep an HIV trust afloat in memory of his first love.
Project Angel Food – a charity based in Los Angeles – revealed that he would frequently send them cheques to keep them afloat, after he passed away.
