Man’s last letter to wife who died from cancer will break your heart
After losing his brave wife to cancer at the age of just 29, Sam Vickery has written a touching final letter to his “soulmate, lover, best friend and favourite person in the whole world”, Laura, who was first diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in 2013 after begging her doctors for tests.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have to write this,” Sam begins his tribute, shared with Mirror Online.
“On Sunday the 14th of January 2018 at around 2.10am, my beautiful Laura passed away.
“She had entered a hospice on the Wednesday previous, to receive rehab and me to have some respite. Due to Laura’s worsening state and weight loss, she had started to have trouble walking and even completing the simplest of tasks.
“I on the other hand was struggling to cope after we received the news that Laura would have to have chemotherapy once again as the cancer had spread to her liver and was quickly multiplying.
“About 1.30 am after we had been watching Judge Judy (Laura’s absolute favourite – sad I know) and talking about how me and Betty, our dog, would take care of her when she got home and that I would never let this happen again.
“We laughed, we talked about how much we loved each other and that only me and her could be this unlucky as per usual. She said to me, ‘I think I am going to try and sleep, baby.’ Before she went to sleep, I said to her, ‘I want you to know how proud of you I am, how much I love you and how strong you are.’ She turned to me and replied, ‘Always and forever babe, I am going to beat this. Team Vickery.’
“With that I chuckled and as always we said to each other, ‘Good night, I love you and I’ll see you in the morning.’ We kissed and I settled in for a long night watching over her.
“Unfortunately at 2am, Laura took another turn. Me and the nurse were helping move her up the bed to try and assist her breathing. It was at this moment she started to slip. She grabbed for my hand and I could see the fear in her beautiful eyes. As I tried to speak to her she fell unconscious.
“The doctors rushed in and started trying to get her breathing back on track so she could gain consciousness again. Her heartbeat had become extremely irregular and finally, the cancer and her pneumonia had overtaken her poor, weak body.
“With that I made the hardest decision I have ever made and asked the doctors not to attempt to revive her. I couldn’t believe this was the moment.
“I looked at my Laura, ravaged by disease and the treatment that was supposed to help her and I leant down, kissed her on the forehead and told her it was OK to let go ... Five seconds later, she breathed her last breath.
“Her friends and family arrived, and they all took turns saying their goodbyes. After they were done, I returned to the room one last time to pack her things and say my final goodbye.
“It was the hardest moment pulling myself away from her. I won’t say what I told her in that final goodbye as it was special to just me and Laura. I will forever hold that and her in my heart.”
Rest in peace, Laura.
To read the heartbreaking letter in full, click here.
Image credit: Sam Vickery.