Bride dies suddenly as she plans her dream wedding
PARTNER’S HEARTACHE AFTER BAR BOSS FELL INTO COMA
A BRIDE-TO-BE who slipped into a diabetic coma and died had just two payments left on her dream wedding dress, her heartbroken fiancée said.
Collette Lee and partner Sasha Ruan were planning to get married at Albert’s in Worsley next year. But her life was tragically cut short at the age of just 33 when she died suddenly.
Collette, well-known in Manchester’s Gay Village as the duty manager at Vanilla bar, only discovered two years ago that she had Type 1 diabetes.
It is believed she suffered a hypoglycemic shock, a dramatic fall in her blood sugar level, during the night while she was asleep. The mum-of-two fell into a diabetic coma before anyone could help her.
Sasha, 31, was out working for the North West Ambulance Service at the time and she told the M.E.N: “In the three years that we were together, Collette did so much for me. I never would have got into the ambulance service without her support.
“I had my dream job, we got this house together, we had started the adoption process, we were planning the wedding... then this happened.
“When she tried on the wedding dress I cried. She only had two payments left on it. I keep saying to everyone - don’t leave life too late.”
Sasha and Collette first met around five years ago when they both used to get the same bus back from Manchester city centre to Farnworth, in Bolton.
“Eventually, we got to know each other,” said Sasha. “She was just so lovable. She was very kind and warmhearted and made an effort to remember everyone.
“Even if someone had just been into Vanilla once before - she would try and remember their drink and talk to them. So many people knew her in the Gay Village. I’ve been absolutely gobsmacked by the messages we’ve been sent.
Steph Kay, Collete’s boss at Vanilla, described her as “a complete diamond”.
She said: “She was very much a people person, loved and admired by all the staff and customers. She was very caring and down to earth, nothing was too much trouble for her.”
Collette’s family were still too upset to speak to the M.E.N but her dad Stephen Lee posted on Facebook: “Our darling Collette we love you like you have no idea. The pain is like no other.
“We love you darling, you will always be with us from a beautiful baby to a beautiful grown up. You will always be in our hearts for ever.”