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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Lifestyle
Ruth Suter & Michelle Cullen

Grieving dad struggling to attend own wife's funeral due to cost of living crisis

A heartbroken dad fears that his children will be unable to attend their mother's funeral due to travel expenses.

Stuart Chesmar, from the Isle of Bute in Scotland, sadly lost his partner of ten years Emma Carpenter, 44, on September 29 to cancer.

One of the mum's final wishes was to be buried in her former hometown of Newark-on-Trent in England.

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With Emma's burial due to take place next week, the family has been plunged into worries that they will not be able to attend as travel costs are estimated to come in at around €350 for the 614-mile round trip.

Stuart, Emma's carer, said: "On her last scan, which was on her birthday in June, we were told she had 12 weeks left with us," reports the Daily Record.

"Unfortunately, once it hit stage four, there wasn't much that they could do."

"Emma wanted to be buried in Newark. Her family and a lot of her friends are there. In total, it would cost around £300, including fuels, boat fares and hotels."

The couple's son, Charlie, six, is suffering from hypoplastic left heart syndrome - a birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart.

His condition means it is hard for his body temperature to remain stabilised, often leaving him cold when temperatures are fairly warm.

Stuart added: "My gas and electricity bills were a lot higher this month due to his condition. His temperature doesn't stabilise very well, so I've had to keep the heating on for him, even in the summer, he gets cold.

"With the gas, electricity and other bills, it really wiped us out.

"When somebody passes away, things should be easy, but they've not been. With the cost of living, it has added another stress to an already difficult situation."

The mum-of-two was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2019 and bravely underwent gruelling rounds of chemo and radiotherapy.

Although never fully in remission, the couple were told in February 2020 that it had stopped growing.

Sadly, on Emma's birthday in June, she was given the devastating news that the tumour had begun growing again and that she only had 12 weeks left to live.

Following her passing last month, Stuart paid tribute to Emma, describing her as a brilliant parent to Kitty, 15, and Charlie, 6.

Stuart added: "Emma was so popular and so loved. She was a great mum and so full of colour and energy. I already miss her so dearly."

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