Sunderland groom who brought his wedding forward after cancer diagnosis dies just eight days after tying knot

Gavin Donnelly had planned to marry fiancee Caroline Clark next year but instead the couple exchanged vows at their home in Somerset Cottages, Silksworth, on Friday, August 26, after Gavin was told he only had two months left to live.

He died with Caroline at his side on Saturday, September 3. He was just 33.

The couple met through a dating website two years ago, while Gavin was in remission from a bout of sarcoma – a form of cancer which originates in the bones and soft connective issue around them – four years previously .

Last year came the devastating news that what he had initially thought was an attack of sciatica was, in fact, the return of the cancer, which had spread to his right leg, lungs, liver, spleen, bowels and pelvis.

After he was given his terminal prognosis, the couple decided to bring their wedding plans forward.

Caroline, 25, said Gavin had slipped away peacefully after a family visit: “He waited for all his family to leave, he waited until I was by his side, holding his hand,” she said.

"He just died at home. He was ready for it.”

Although Caroline is glad that Gavin is no longer suffering, she is still struggling to comes to terms with the fact that he is gone: “I don’t think it has really hit me yet,” she said.

"Although I have seen him in the Chapel of Rest, I feel like he is just in hospital for treatment and is going to come home.

"I feel so lost and empty. It just does not feel real when I am talking about it.”

Caroline devoted herself full-time to Gavin’s care after his diagnosis, despite the challenges his condition presented in supporting him at home.

A blockage in his bowel meant he could not go to the toilet and was unable to keep anything down – even water – while tumours on his legs had grown so big that he was unable to lift his legs any more and was completely bed-bound.

It was only in his very final days that she accepted help from other carers: “I am glad that it was me from the start,” she said.

Gavin would be very much missed, added Caroline : “He was loved by so many people,” she said.

"He touched every heart – that was Gavin. He did not have an aggressive streak in him – he just did not have that.

"And he always spoke the truth, which people respected him for.”

A GoFundMe appeal launched to put Gavin’s mind at rest that Caroline would not be saddled with major debts after he was gone and to help make his final days as happy and comfortable as possible has raised almost £5,000.

A funeral service for Gavin will be held at Sunderland Crematorium at 12.30pm on Tuesday, September 20.