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Samantha Smith (42), a mom of three from Penicuik in the UK, bravely walked down the aisle just weeks before she died. She’d been battling terminal bowel cancer that left her too weak to walk.
With the help of friends and family, Samantha and Mark Smith (44) arranged their wedding in just eight hours after doctors told the couple that Samantha only had days to live, Daily Record reports.
The couple rallied friends, family and Samantha’s nursing staff to find a registrar, wedding dress, suit, rings, cake and decorations for the ceremony, Mirror UK reports.
“We knew time was running out and getting married was important to us both,” Mark said. “We decided at 11am and said our vows at 7.15pm that night. We worried it wouldn’t be possible to turn it around so quickly but somehow it all came together.”
The couple met 10 years ago and Mark says he instantly knew Samantha was “the one”. When Samantha was diagnosed last year, the couple’s world fell apart. Samantha had undergone surgery but was left too weak for chemotherapy. Finally, doctors told them there was nothing more they could do to save her life.
“We had talked about getting married previously but the timing was never right,” Mark said. “When Samantha got ill, we put it on the back burner and hoped to do it when she was well enough.
“When we were told that day wasn’t going to come, we knew we had to do it there and then,” he added. “I’ll always be grateful to everyone who helped make our dream a reality.”
The couple said their vows in front of their children, Neve (11), Millie (3) and Callum (16), and a small group of family and close friends. The ceremony was held in the grounds of the Marie Curie hospice in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 12 June.
Samantha passed away less than two weeks after the wedding. The family plans to scatter her ashes at her favourite place, North Berwick in East Lothian, as soon as they feel ready.
Sources: dailyrecord.co.uk, mirror.co.uk
