Wedding day joy for cancer-stricken Mandy
A LOVING father immediately proposed to the love of his life after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer – and they got married just 24 hours later.
Kevin McCarthy got down on one knee when he learned that his childhood sweetheart, Mandy Lucitt, was suffering from incurable pancreatic cancer.
The pair, who have been together since school, were married surrounded by their children, friends and family the next day in Mandy’s hospital room.
Charity fundraiser Mandy, 57, and Kevin, 62, married on Wednesday, at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Kent.
Mandy, from West Kingsdown, Kent, said: “I had my wishes come true at the wedding. I could see all of my family and people I care for.”
After previously beating breast cancer, the mother-ofthree said her message is not about her suffering, but helping others going through dark times with their health.
For the big day, friends and family, including daughter Jessica McCarthy, 31, son Rudi, 39, and cousin Sarah Lyons, 32, rushed around to find a ring, a cake, flowers, a wedding dress, a hairdresser and make-up.
Jessica said: “The love in the room was just unbelievable, it was so great to see all those people there for her.
“We ran out to get a ring, there was so much to do, we managed to get the jewellers to stay open until 10pm.”
The couple have remained together through some testing times, which have driven Mandy’s passion for fundraising.
Their son, Ryan, passed away from cot death in 1984, and in 2014 their four-year-old granddaughter Layla died after losing her battle with leukaemia.
Mandy has previously collected £12,000 for charities and she now hopes to raise as much money as possible for Great Ormond Street Hospital after setting up a Just Giving Page, which has so far raised nearly £1,000.
Daughter Jessica added: “The diagnosis is a terrible thing but there is a silver lining in all of this.
“My mother wants to devote her life to helping others.”