14 DAY TRIAL // Just one month after she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, a British woman fulfilled her dream of marrying her childhood sweetheart.
Kate Wiggin from Walsall, West Midlands, discovered on February 13 that she had terminal cancer and was left with only few weeks to live. That’s when she decided to marry the father of her two young children and asked her family to arrange her wedding to 32-year-old Gary Wiggin.
What makes this story even more heart-wrenching is the fact that the 29-year-old woman saw her wish granted just three days before she died.
Kate and Gary had been together for 13 years. They were married on March 6, in a moving ceremony at The Village Hotel in Walsall, with their children, Molly, 8, and Lewis, 10, standing by. 72 hours later, Kate passed away.
Her grieving mother Janet Cleaver said that her daughter found out about the terrible disease only last month.
“Kate had been having stomach trouble for a while, but the doctors kept telling her they thought she had gallstones. Then they thought it was a bacterial infection. But when she started getting little lumps popping out of her skin, a nurse at the GP’s referred her to the hospital,” she said, according to Daily Mail.
After further investigation, doctors gave Kate the devastating news. They told her she had a very rare form of cancer, and it was in terminal phase. However, the brave woman didn’t give up hope and just set about arranging her wedding to Gary.
“She was such a strong person, she wouldn’t let us cry. She just set about arranging her wedding to Gary,” the mother added.
Talking about the wedding, Mrs. Cleaver said it was a touching moment and that everybody who contributed to the ceremony did a great job. She thanked the hospice and the businesses who helped arrange the wedding within such short notice.
“The wedding was absolutely lovely. Kate was determined to say her vows. She couldn’t walk, and was struggling to catch her breath, but she did it. I am so proud of her,” Mrs. Cleaver said.
Kate died on March 9, at Walsall St Giles Hospice, three days after her big day. She died in peace, surrounded by her loved ones and listening to the Katy Perry and John Mayer song “Who You Love.”
A series of fundraising events will be organized in memory of Kate, including a sponsored walk this Saturday, in which family members and friends will walk from Cannock to Bloxwich.