Struck by COVID and Cancer
- Zach Stockford, 25, from Wales was recently diagnosed with an aggressive bowel cancer an hour after he tested positive for COVID-19, according to an interview with Wales Online. Stockford has been engaged to fiancée Katie Davies since last March. “We just broke down and cried to each other. There was nothing else we could do at that point,”
- The couple’s friend Lowri Roch started a fundraiser page to help the pair host a modest wedding. “The medical opinion is that a cure is unlikely. With time very much of the essence it is no wonder that they wish to seal their love for one another by getting married without delay,” Roch writes.
- Meagan McGoldrick, who lost her parents to cancer, tells SurvivorNet that “cancer can’t kill love,” and the optimist has built an organization built on this premise.
Zach Stockford, 25, from Wales was recently diagnosed with an aggressive bowel cancer an hour after he tested positive for COVID-19, according to an interview with Wales Online. Stockford’s fiancée, Katie Davies, 24, who has a 4-year-old daughter from a previous partner, plans to marry Stockford as soon as they are able.
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Comforting Each Other
Stockford is unable to work, and unable to get proper treatment for his cancer diagnosis at this time. “We just broke down and cried to each other. There was nothing else we could do at that point,” Stockford told the outlet. “We have so many unanswered questions because of COVID, and we can’t see doctors in the hospital to have a proper conversation. We have just been left in the dark.” Davies has also tested positive for coronavirus and the couple is having to self-isolate.
“It literally broke his heart. He can’t even give his mother a hug because we’re all self-isolating,” Stockford’s fiancée said. “His sister is also pregnant and so he can’t see her at this really important time in her life. It has been so difficult. With all this stress around us it would have been nice to have our family around us, but we can’t. To find out you’ve got cancer is one thing, but to then find out you have Covid, have your house falling down around you and then lose your job all at the same time is something else. How Zach is coping is beyond me because it’s ripping my heart out of my chest.”
Carrying On During Tragedy
A cancer diagnosis is always difficult to digest, especially when facing a potential terminal disease. When a person has to deal with complications due to coronavirus, and financial struggles on top of that, life can certainly seem hopeless. But Zach and Katie’s love story goes on. Many facing illness don’t have the love and comfort of a partner. No matter what tragedies or double or triple-whammies you may be facing, never give up hope. Leaning on family, friends, or finding support from your local community can do wonders for your stress levels, giving you hope and comfort.
Related: 6 Cancer Survivors Tell Us How They Stay Hopeful During Difficult Times
Meagan McGoldrick, who lost her parents to cancer, reminds us that cancer can’t kill love, and shared a story from a sermon given at her mother’s funeral. “The priest had told the story, you know, cancer can kill this. Cancer can kill that,” she tells SurvivorNet. “But cancer can’t kill love … ” So she started an organization to remind people what cancer cannot take from you; and that is love.
Cancer Can't Kill Love Fighting for Something So Much Bigger Than Ourselves
The Power of a Healthy Marriage
Finding light through cancer is often difficult, but you can allow your partner or a loved one to lift you up on days where you may need an extra boost. Bob Carey helped his partner Linda laugh through an aggressive breast cancer diagnosis. He was working on a client project that involved ballet, and had a pink tutu. Carey took ridiculous photos in the tutu, and made his wife laugh. To this day, he runs The Tutu Project, a foundation he started. “Things happen in our life, and I think everybody should have their pink tutu,” he says. “Not a literal pink tutu, but anything that you’re passionate about, something you could go to when times get hard.”
What is your pink tutu?
Finding Your Pink Tutu A Story of Love, Marriage and Laughing Through Cancer
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