Man with terminal cancer fulfills wish to marry fiancée three days before dying

They'd been engaged for three years

Rachel Hosie
Wednesday 16 August 2017 12:35 BST
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A terminally ill man fulfilled his wish of marrying his fiancée just three days before he died from cancer.

Ash Hunter, from Darwin, Australia, had been engaged to his partner Renae for about three years but they kept putting off the wedding as she repeatedly fell pregnant.

But Ash was suffering from cancer in his lymph nodes and his health was deteriorating.

(Supplied
(Supplied (Supplied)

The couple were originally planning on tying the knot in a big wedding on August 27, but when they realised it was unlikely Ash would make it to that date, they hastily moved it forward.

Ash had been taking part in a clinical trial but it left his lung filling up with fluid. Two weeks after stopping the trial drugs, his cancer had grown significantly.

So the hospice and a local church swiftly helped the couple bring their wedding forward, with the ceremony taking place on August 5.

“His last wish was to be married and we were so happy we could at least do that,” Renae told the Mail Online.

The couple have six children already, with another on its way, and Renae had kept putting the wedding off because she didn’t want to be a pregnant bride.

It was an intimate ceremony and Renae was pregnant after all, but Ash’s health had made getting married a priority.

With the help of breathing apparatus, Ash was able to stand at the altar and marry Renae.

Three days after the wedding, Ash sadly died, surrounded by his friends and family.

Renae and Ash with their children
Renae and Ash with their children (Supplied)

“Ash worked up until the day before he passed as he didn't want our family to struggle,”Renae said.

“He was an extraordinary man, partner and father and lived for his children. Our lives will never be the same again. He won’t get to see first birthdays, first days of school, graduations, weddings.

“He will miss everything. We are shattered beyond belief.”

The family are fundraising for Ash’s funeral and to help support them in Ash’s absence on their Go Fund Me page.

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