They gave my girlfriend 48 hours to live

'They gave my girlfriend 48 hours to live so we got married in the hospital waiting room'

Jack Beniston was devastated when he was told his girlfriend had two days to live, so he proposed and they married in hospital

Devastated Jack Beniston had to act fast when docs told him his cancer-stricken girlfriend only had two days to live.

Within six hours of the heart-breaking bombshell, Jack, 22, had proposed to her and they had wed in a waiting room at the hospital where she was a patient.
Friends, family and staff helped organise the big day, getting 32-year-old bride Michelle O’Connor’s dress and ring.

Jack said: “Going down the aisle towards the altar was the first time she had walked in a month.
“She managed to take three or four steps before she fell and I helped her the rest of the way.

 

Tragic couple: Jack Beniston and Michelle O'Connor

"It was hard for everyone to keep it together but Michelle was happy as anything. I cried more than her.
Barman Jack and jeweller Michelle had been overjoyed in June last year when their daughter Martha was born.

But weeks later the couple were told Michelle, who had three children from a previous relationship, had inoperable cervical cancer.

But after jeweller Michelle was discharged from hospital she began suffering crippling stomach pains.
She made several visits to the GP and doctors repeatedly told her the Caesarean was to blame.

 

Beautiful bride: Michelle O'Connor and Martha

But at the start of August she was admitted to Peterborough City Hospital where tests revealed she had advanced cervical cancer.
Scans showed she had a tumour the size of an orange on her womb.

About 20 guests attended the wedding performed by a registrar in September.

A group of nurses even tayed on after their shifts had ended to create a 'church' on the cancer ward using white sheets and a makeshift altar.
Jack said: "Michelle was such a bubbly woman, she was fantastic and so caring.

 

Proud mum: Michelle O'Connor

"Martha has got her mum's smile which is good but it makes things harder.
"Whenever she smiles it brings back a lot of memories for me."
After the ceremony on the cancer ward, Michelle was transferred to Sue Ryder’s Thorpe Hall Hospice in Peterborough, Cambs. She died four weeks later.
Jack, of Stamford, Lincs, is now training for a trek up Mount Kilimanjaro to raise cash for the Sue Ryder charity.