LISA IS WITH ME WITH EVERY STEP

After losing his beloved wife, Nick Johnson, 64, found a way to manage his grief

- CLARE SWATMAN

Reaching for my wife Lisa's hand, the consultant's words just swam around my mind.

'I'm afraid you have ovarian cancer. You only have three to five years left to live.' It was March 2015, and with those few words, it felt as though our whole world had fallen apart.

But Lisa, then 51, was incredibly stoic. 'I'm not letting this define me,' she vowed. 'I'm going to make the most of whatever time I've got left.' 'Then I'll help you,' I promised her, and I meant it.

Lisa and I had been married for almost 22 years, together for 30. My soulmate, I couldn't imagine life without her. I took early retirement from my job as an IT manager to look after Lisa as she underwent surgery and chemo. It was brutal but she stayed as strong as ever. After her treatment, I told her I'd set up a 'Fun fund'. I'd raided my savings so we could enjoy whatever time Lisa had left. If years were all we had, then we'd cram as much as we could in. 'We can do whatever you want now,' I explained.

So, as soon as the doctors agreed, we started booking things in. Over the next few months we went on trips to Canada, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. We had weekends in Istanbul and Berlin, and did a zip line in Wales.

Three years passed, and then five, in a whirr of happy memories, and Lisa was still here, living every day to the max. But in 2022 she started getting weaker and it was clear the cancer was finally beating her.

CHANCE ENCOUNTER