A heartbroken Lanarkshire dad was due to marry his soulmate before she tragically lost her battle with cystic fibrosis, aged just 31.
Aimee Harris fought the illness her whole life and will be fondly remembered as a caring and infectious character who was always more concerned about making sure other people were okay before herself.
Now, as Aimee’s funeral approaches this Saturday, March 12, her devastated fiancé Graham Letham is hoping to give her the send off she deserves.
The dad from Lanark has been overwhelmed by donations from friends and family, as well as strangers and the wider community, who have already raised a fantastic £2740 to help Aimee's family with funeral costs.
The couple had planned to get married last year but it was cancelled due to the pandemic.
But Graham says he will always feel married at heart to the love of his life as he mourns Aimee’s untimely passing on February 21.
The 32-year-old told Lanarkshire Live : “It was very sudden, it was a shock.
"Aimee had been in the hospital for three and a half weeks and came out on the Thursday chirpy and cheery.
“We spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday together and with my daughter Kristiana. But on the Sunday she took a bad turn and the next day she wasn’t here anymore.
“It just seemed like she tried to galvanise one last wind for one last good weekend.”
In recent years, Aimee's fight with cystic fibrosis worsened as she endured a lot of hospital stays and sleepless nights.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited condition which causes mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system. It can cause lung infections and problems digesting food.
Symptoms are known to worsen over time as the lungs become increasingly damaged, which sadly shortens the life expectancy of those living with the illness.
Graham now wants to raise more awareness of the condition in tribute to Aimee.
He added: “Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary condition you have when you’re born, but it’s a completely individual condition. No two people on the planet will have it the same. Unfortunately Aimee was just at the worst end of the spectrum.
"Things were difficult but we never gave up on each other. Her fight was my fight. I always tried to give her that strength to carry on and have something to come home for.
“Even if we had a wedding in the hospital, it would have still meant the world to us both. We obviously planned for something better so that would’ve been worst case scenario, but we just ran out of time.
“I’ll always be married at heart, but it’s just a hard pill to swallow right now.
“She fought all her life, she had a strong will to live.
“I’ve met a lot of people through Aimee, people even younger than her who have sadly passed as well.
"It’s just a very horrible condition and unfortunately there’s nothing they can do.
"But hopefully, as the years go on, I’m going to try and raise some awareness myself and do some charity work to bring me some comfort, in the hope that years later people aren’t in my shoes and don’t have to go through this heartache.
“Cystic fibrosis kills young people. There’s only five per cent of people in the world that have it who are over 40 so that puts the lifespan on it very short.
“A lot of people don’t know much about it.”
Despite being an extremely difficult time for Graham, the Lanark dad has found great comfort in seeing the generosity from others through his online fundraiser.
He explained: “It’s hard to describe in words the amount of kindness that has been shown by friends and strangers coming together to contribute, especially during difficult times for everybody.
“For people to reach out and help is overwhelming and brings comfort to know there’s still some good people out there in the world.
“It touched my heart to know that people donated and that it wasn’t just me that thought the world of Aimee.
“Whenever I think of Aimee, I’ll smile, even through the sadness. I’ve always got a heart-warming or a funny story in my head to think of her.
“She was an infectious personality, she could walk into any room and light it up and just be who she was - friendly, outgoing, caring, and always asking how everybody else was.
“People would reply ‘more importantly, Aimee, how are you?’ That's just who she was.
“Aimee had a great bond with my daughter, her step-daughter, and gave her that great sense of motherhood which she probably never would have had.
"They were the best of pals."
Aimee also used to volunteer her time in a Marie Curie charity shop - a measure of her caring personality and helping others, even when she was in need of help herself.
You can contribute to Graham's fundraiser for Aimee here.
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