Jennifer Brennan and Erick Denizard, from Mansfield, Massachusetts, met through a dating site four years ago and immediately fell in love.
Mr Denizard proposed to Ms Brennan while on a cruise. She said yes straight away and the pair set about planning a wedding for August 2014.
However, they received devastating news last year that changed everything – Mr Denizard was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and given six months to a year to live.
He’d been experiencing pain in his leg and visited the doctor for a check-up, not thinking for a moment that there was anything seriously wrong.
A series of tests on December 6 revealed, however, that the pain came from blood clots – and scans showed that he had tumours on his liver, spine, pancreas, lymph nodes and in his blood.
Mr Denizard told The Sun Chronicle: ‘It was just a shock. It’s tough to hear that you’re on the clock. I have no family history of pancreatic cancer and I’m much younger than the average age patient. Usually, it’s found in people age 55 to 71, and I’m only 46.’
The couple immediately cancelled their wedding plans and instead opted to have a much cheaper, low-key affair at a local courthouse.
To help cover the costs for this and the huge medical bills for the cancer treatment the pair set up a gofundme account, which acts as a portal for donations.
The result was astonishing. Not only did friends and family send them money, but so did members of the public touched by their story.
At the time of writing they’ve raised nearly $35,000 and their donors have organised a wedding for them on January 24 in Topsfield.
What’s more, this money can now be funnelled into paying medical bills as vendors including makeup artists, DJs, bridal shops, wedding cake bakeries, florists and the photographer have all offered their services for free.
Ms Brennan wrote in December: ‘We want to sincerely thank our supporters and all of the people who have made such generous donations to our fund! We have the most amazing family and friends!
‘We are often times at a loss for words, not knowing how to begin to show our gratitude to each and every one of you. Complete strangers have been moved by our story.’
The 35-year-old is desperately upset over her fiance’s diagnosis, but is determined to make the most of the time they have left together.
She said: ‘I will be with him every day whether we do something fun and distracting or just sit at chemo. The pain on his face when he cries breaks me. I don’t know why this is happening to the most amazing man in my life, my soulmate.’
Posted on May 20th, 2014
