'Doctors didn't think he'd be alive for our wedding': Couple's race to marry before groom died of brain cancer - and they made it with just a month to spare

A young widow has spoken of her desperate race to marry the love of her life before he died from cancer.
Andy and Kelli Young were together for eight years but had just one precious month together as husband and wife before he passed away.
Andy, 49, had been suffering from throat cancer which had spread to his lungs and brain.

Race against time: Andy and Kelli Young were together for eight years but only had one precious month together as husband and wife before he passed away

Andy, 49, had been suffering from throat cancer which had spread to his lungs and his brain. He was so sick towards the end of his life that friends and family feared he wouldn't live long enough to make the wedding, planned for July 6th last year

He was so sick towards the end of his life that friends and family feared he wouldn’t live long enough to make the wedding, planned for July 6th last year.  
Andy was first diagnosed with cancer throat cancer in May 2009 after discovering a lump in his neck.
But three years later the disease had ravaged his body, spreading to his lungs and finally his brain. Doctors told the couple last May that Andy's condition was terminal.
‘He thought it was a cyst, but surgery revealed it was actually cancer,’ Kelli, 29, told MailOnline.
Andy had smoked when he was younger and as well as being a bar manager, 'always lived life to the full'. 
‘He was always one side of the bar or the other,’ said Kelli, who works in insurance and lives in Glasgow.

Andy was first diagnosed with cancer throat cancer in May 2009 after discovering a lump in his neck. He had smoked when he was younger and as well as being a bar manager, always lived life to the full

‘He always said he would live life to the full and he sure did that.
‘When I met him in December 2004 he was the manager of a local pub and I can honestly say it was love at first sight. He was 21 years older than me but the age difference didn’t matter to us.
‘I had gone for a job in the bar where he worked as an assistant manager. At the end of the interview he said he wanted me to bring him jeans and a T-shirt so he could wear them that night on a date with me.
'That was the kind of person he was, with cheeky eyes and a cheeky grin. We started going out straight away.’

Love at first sight: 'Andy was 21 years older than me but the age difference didn't matter to us,' says Kelli

Despite the shock of his cancer diagnosis, Andy remained calm. Kelli recalls: ‘He just said we’d get through it – and that he was like Lazarus, with lots of lives.’ 
After intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy, with Kelli constantly by his side in hospital, Andy was given the all clear and the couple tried to get on with their lives.
'Andy was making good progress but in my birthday last April, I could tell something was wrong,’ says Kelli. 
Alarm bells began ringing when party animal Andy wanted to go home early from a night out. 
‘His eyes were streaming, he had a headache, cough and said he felt like someone was pressing on his chest.'

Pledge: Upon hearing he had terminal cancer, Andy immediately proposed to Kelli. 'He wanted to give me a wedding day because I'd stuck by him through everything,' she says

Kelli insisted he got checked out by a doctor and the news that followed was devastating.
On May 15, Andy was diagnosed with stage four (advanced) lung cancer – and doctors feared the disease had spread to his brain.  
And there was worse to come two weeks later. ‘Our worst fears were confirmed,’ says Kelli. ‘The cancer had spread to the brain and there was nothing they could do.'
Andy immediately proposed. ‘In the eight years we were together he had never wanted to get married – he said it was just a bit of paper,' says Kelli.
‘But he immediately decided he wanted to give me a wedding day because I’d stuck by him through everything, so we set about organising everything. Looking back, I wonder if it was almost to distract me from the horror of the situation.’
‘I felt sad, excited and scared – it was a real mixed bag of emotions.’

Emotional: The date was set for July 6th and Kelli set about organising a small, family wedding. But just 10 days before, doctors said it touch and go as to whether Andy would survive to make it down the aisle

Joy: The wedding, in East Kilbride, was a true reflection of Andy's vivacious personality, says Kelli. 'What was supposed to be to be about 12 people there but there ended up being about 200 - because everyone came to say goodbye'

The date was set for July 6th and Kelli set about organising a small, family wedding.
But just 10 days before, Andy’s condition deteriorated rapidly - he couldn’t take any food and drink - and doctors warned her it was touch and go as to whether he would survive to make it down the aisle.  
Unbeknown to her, Andy had told doctors how determined he was – and managed to battle through to the big day.
The wedding, in East Kilbride, was a true reflection of Andy’s vivacious personality, she says.
‘What was supposed to be to be about 12 people ended up being about 80 - plus another 200 for the evening! Everyone really came to say goodbye to Andy.
‘We all thought there would be loads of crying and sadness, but it was actually a celebration of his life and the fact he’d made it to the wedding.

The couple managed to spend one precious on honeymoon at a spa before returning home, where Andy continued to decline

‘Andy was his usual hilarious self during the speeches and everyone was howling with laughter.’
The couple then spent one precious night on honeymoon at a spa before returning home, where Andy continued to decline. 
‘It got to the point where he could only eat McFlurries because it was so hard to get food down and he needed a cane to walk,’ says Kelli. 

Goodbye: Andy died on August 6 2012 - a month after the couple's wedding day. Kelli is now fundraising for Macmillan Cancer

‘But he also became more accepting of his situation. One day, we were sitting on the sofa and he turned to me and said: “I’ve had a good innings, when your time’s up, your time’s up – and mine will be very soon".'
Andy died on August 6 2012 – a month after the couple’s wedding day.  
‘That morning he was crying in my arms and he took off his watch and gave it to me for his best friend to wear – he knew it was close.’
Later that day a doctor came and gave Andy painkilling medication. He died that afternoon at home. 
‘I remember feeling very sad afterwards that he’d never got a chance to watch the wedding DVD,’ says Kelli. ‘But I’m just so relieved he made it to the big day.’ 
Now, in an effort to raise money for Macmillan Cancer, Kelli has given up alcohol as part of the Go Sober campaign.
‘I want to give something back to the nurses that made it that little bit easier for us at the end,’ she says. ‘I haven’t had a month sober since I was about 16 and I know that Andy would think it’s hilarious that I’ve signed up to do this.’ 
For more information go to gosober.org.uk or to donate to Kelli’s fundraising, go to
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