Terminally ill man set to marry his sweetheart
ATERMINALLY ill man is set to marry his childhood sweetheart this week after loving family members and friends raised more than £5,000 for the couple.
Terry Fearn, 63, and Kay Brown, 58, are set to tie the knot on Thursday thanks to family and friends starting a GoFundMe appeal that has raised £5,090 in just 17 days.
Terry, who was sadly diagnosed with terminal lung cancer after suffering a stroke four years ago, reconnected with Kay in 2016 after initially meeting her back in 1988.
The childhood sweethearts will finally tie the knot at Trowbridge Register Office.
The father-of-six, who lives in Trowbridge, said: “I am so grateful for everyone’s help. I can’t thank you enough.
“I am so overjoyed and happy. I am marrying the girl of my dreams. I should have done it years ago.”
Terry had been working as a window cleaner prior to his terminal diagnosis but was unable to carry on with his job due to ill health.
The dad had then applied for a Personal Independence Payment last October but was left waiting months for financial help from the Department for Work and Pensions.
His family set up the GoFundMe page to help their terminally ill loved one and raised £5,000 before DWP heard of Terry’s plight and backdated a PIP payment of more than £3,400.
With the long-awaited payment finally in his bank account, Terry will also continue to receive regular disability payments of £156.90 going forward to help support him and his new wife Kay.
A DWP spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Fearn and his family at this difficult time.
“As soon as we received notification of his condition from his medical team, we fast-tracked his claim for PIP and paid Mr Fearn all the arrears due.”