Terminally ill mother-of-two finally marries love of her life with just 18 months to live
'I'll continue to fight my cancer for as long as I can'
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Your support makes all the difference.A woman who was left unable to walk after being diagnosed with spine cancer has finally married the love of her life.
Martine Kiliminster, 28, from Bradford, started complaining of back pain in June 2017, but because of her age, doctors assumed it was nothing serious.
However, during a holiday to Benidorm at the end of August things took a turn for the worse and she suddenly lost all feeling in her legs.
“I'd been battling with severe back pain for a few months but doctors just thought it was muscular spasms,” she said.
“As soon as I had scans on my spine it was revealed that there was huge tumour crushing my spinal cord.”
Diagnosed with stage four spinal glioblastoma, the mother-of-two became paralysed from the waist down within four weeks and was told the devastating news that she had just six to 18 months to live.
The unexpected news hit her and her partner, Christopher, hard, and the couple of 12 years decided that they wanted to get married.
Planning the entire wedding in a month, Christopher wanted to make the day as special as possible and even organised a surprise for his new wife by lifting her out her wheelchair so they could enjoy their first dance together.
The emotional moment saw teary-eyed guests comfort one another as the duo danced to Aerosmith’s 'I don't want to miss a thing'.
“My wedding was one of the best days of our lives, the first dance, the speeches, the decorations, everything was perfect,” Kiliminster said.
“Christopher struggled to get me out of my wheelchair at first but once he'd picked me up properly we were able to enjoy our first dance.
“Everyone around us was crying and despite it being an emotional day, I loved every second.”
Now, the couple from Bradford are hoping to plan their honeymoon for next year while Kiliminster is set to start chemotherapy to try and prolong her life.
She says she tries to remain as strong as possible inbetween hospital visits for her boys and hopes that her story will inspire others to have the day of their dreams.
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