Couple renovating kitchen discovered a 'secret message' from their son who died 15 years ago—they 'couldn't believe it'
Some moments stay with us forever, a photo, a letter, or even a few words scribbled on a wall. For one couple, an unexpected discovery during a home renovation brought back the memory of their beloved son in the most touching way. Their story recently unfolded on BBC’s The Repair Shop, moving viewers and experts alike, as reported by Metro.
John and Margaret Ivin lost their son, Chris, 15 years ago. He had been diagnosed with a rare form of testicular cancer at just 34 and passed away in 2012. In 2024, while updating their kitchen, the couple found something they never expected, a message left by Chris as a teenager. Hidden behind one of the old cupboards was a piece of wallpaper with his handwriting, “This is original wallpaper. Friday 4:15, 8th December 1989. Please leave this wallpaper, Chris.” Margaret recalled, “Where they’d taken one of the original cupboards off the wall, this was behind it, and it was a complete shock to see it there.”
Wanting to preserve the note, John and Margaret carefully removed the section of wallpaper with help from their builders. But over time, the fragile piece of wall crumbled. That’s when they turned to The Repair Shop, a show where specialists restore family treasures. Rob Fraser, an expert on the show, took on the delicate task of saving Chris’ message. He admitted, “There’s so much going on and the paper is really fragmented… I’m really nervous about handling this.”
Despite his doubts, Rob managed to restore the message beautifully. He sealed it inside a frame, preserving it for the family to treasure forever. Margaret was deeply moved by the result. “Even the torn bits of paper are back together. This is better than I ever would have imagined it to be,” she said through tears. Holding the restored piece, she added, “What can I say? It’s funny handwriting, he would be chuffed to bits to see that.”
Chris had been a creative soul. He worked as a camera operator in the TV industry, contributing to projects for AC/DC, Tina Turner, and comedians like Suzy Eddie Izzard and Lee Evans. He had also run a blog with his fiancée, Inna, titled Kicking Cancer In the Nuts, where they documented his battle with testicular cancer. According to a statistical report by the National Cancer Institute, there are 6.0 new cases of testicular cancer and 0.3 deaths per 100,000 men each year. About 0.4% of men will be diagnosed with it in their lifetime. In 2022, around 309,202 men in the U.S. were living with testicular cancer.
Margaret shared that Chris often left small notes around the house, including ones that simply said, “I love you.” Reflecting on the journey, Margaret said, “When you lose a child, you never get over it, you get through it — and we’ve just got through it.” Margaret also shared with the Daily Mail how she felt when she first saw the note, "It was just amazing. I couldn't believe it when we saw it."