Alison HadfieldWEDDING bells are set to chime for a liver cancer sufferer and her long-term partner.
Alison Hadfield, of Lansdowne Road, Branston, will tie the knot with James Goulding on Saturday, June 8, at the Pirelli Stadium, in Princess Way.
The nuptials will provide welcome relief for the bride-to-be, who, as the Mail has previously revealed, has suffered more heartbreak in her 32 years than many of us will endure in a lifetime.
She was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver when she was just 15, suffered a miscarriage in 2005, and witnessed the stillbirth of her daughter, Katie, the following year.
In 2007, the former Stretton Day Nursery worker became seriously ill with a splenic aneurysm only to bounce back and return to work after a stint in intensive care.
Miss Hadfield’s misfortune continued last year when she was diagnosed with cancer, treatment of which was later complicated by a heart problem.
But showing almost superhuman fortitude in the face of adversity, she has battled on and is now looking forward to marrying the love of her life at the home of Burton Albion.
“I’m excited but scared at the same time,” said Miss Hadfield, who is continuing to work weekend shifts at The Blacksmiths Arms, in Branston.
“I’m not one of those people who likes to be in the limelight; I like to sit back and let everybody else do it.”
Much work remains to be done to prepare for a civil ceremony set to be attended by up to 80 relatives and friends, a far cry from the 300 scheduled to turn up at the reception.
But Miss Hadfield has already chosen her bridesmaids and – most importantly of all – her wedding dress, now being stored away from prying eyes at her mother’s house.
Though a CT scan recently revealed that tumours in her lungs had grown, she is looking well and feeling fine.
Apart from tablets to tackle pulmonary hypertension, Miss Hadfield downs two chemotherapy tablets a day and painkillers whenever she needs them.
Doctors will treat her with radiotherapy if the cancer is found to have spread to her bones.
Spending so much time alone can prove tedious, but she appears to have found the perfect remedy – an 18-week-old border collie called Ollie, a name short for ‘one life, live it’.
“He does not listen to me, he listens to my partner,” says Miss Hadfield, indicating that the troublesome pup can sometimes be a chore.
But Ollie is company as she prepares to become Mrs Goulding.
