'His vows were the last words he said to me. Then he went to sleep and didn't wake up': Heartbroken bride reveals her husband married her with his last breath before dying of cancer

  • Sian Thomas, 28, told how husband's last words were his wedding vows
  • Jonathan, 30, died in his new wife's arms a day after bedside ceremony
  • Had been diagnosed with terminal bile duct cancer in February last year
  • Mrs Thomas is marking her first wedding anniversary with a charity walk

By Richard Spillett for MailOnline

Published: 06:22 EST, 11 October 2016 | Updated: 11:11 EST, 11 October 2016

A heartbroken bride yesterday told how her husband's last words were his wedding vows.

Sian Thomas, was married for just one day before love of her life Jonathan died of a rare type of cancer.

The pair brought forward their wedding when doctors told them he didn't have long to live.

Sian Thomas, was married for just one day before love of her life Jonathan (pictured together) died of a rare type of cancer. She told how her husband's last words were his wedding vows

Sian Thomas, was married for just one day before love of her life Jonathan (pictured together) died of a rare type of cancer. She told how her husband's last words were his wedding vows

Devoted Jonathan, 30, died in his new wife's arms the day after their emotional bedside ceremony.

Mrs Thomas, 28, said: 'I will never forget the smile on his face when Jonathan knew he'd said all the wedding service.

'His vows were some of the last words he said to me. He was conscious for the rest of the day but went to sleep and didn't wake up.'

Mrs Thomas is marking her first wedding anniversary by walking 350 across Britain to raise funds for ulcerative colitis, the condition that led to her husband's cancer.

The pair met and fell in love at university in Newcastle and said they always knew they would marry one day.

Mr Thomas, 30, died in his new wife's arms the day after their emotional bedside ceremony

Mr Thomas, 30, died in his new wife's arms the day after their emotional bedside ceremony

Fundraising drive: Mrs Thomas is marking her first wedding anniversary by walking 350 across Britain to raise funds for ulcerative colitis, the condition that led to her husband's cancer

Fundraising drive: Mrs Thomas is marking her first wedding anniversary by walking 350 across Britain to raise funds for ulcerative colitis, the condition that led to her husband's cancer

BILE DUCT CANCER: A RARE AND HARD TO SPOT DISEASE

WHAT ARE THE BILE DUCTS?

The bile ducts are tiny, branch-like tubes that connect the liver to the small intestine.

'They are, in effect, a sewage system taking waste products from the liver into the intestines and out of the body,' explains Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson, a consultant liver specialist and researcher at Imperial College, London.

These include drugs and other toxins that enter the body, as well as those produced within the body such as bilirubin - which is formed when old red blood cells are broken down.

Bile is made up of these waste products, but it is also helpful in digesting fat.

WHEN CANCER DEVELOPS

As a tumour grows across a duct, bile salts that would normally be sent to the small intestine build up in the body and get deposited under the skin, causing irritation and itching.

Yet often the disease remains 'silent' until someone turns yellow with jaundice. This occurs when bilirubin in the bile builds up, tingeing the skin and tissues yellow.

Bile ducts are tiny - some of them just 8mm wide - and so the tumours that occur within are also minuscule and hard to spot.

'Even MRIs and CT scans can miss them, so often it is not diagnosed until the patient has jaundice and is bright yellow,' says Professor Taylor-Robinson. 'By this time the cancer is usually inoperable. It starts to spread and often becomes fatal.'

Cancer of the bile ducts is linked to 'anything that causes inflammation or chronic irritation in the bile ducts,' he says.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis - a form of liver disease that can occur in those with the bowel condition ulcerative colitis - is a risk factor, as are gallstones, which can get stuck in the bile duct. 

When Mr Thomas, an accountant, was diagnosed with terminal bile duct cancer in February last year the pair officially became engaged.

His widow said: 'He couldn't have chemotherapy but that meant he was able to be at home for those last months. Jonathan badly wanted us to get married before he died.

'The wedding was booked for a couple of weeks later but he took a turn for the worse and we knew he wouldn't make it.

'We rang the registrar and they said they could marry us the next day. His parents were there along with other family and friends - it was very special.'

Football fan Mr Thomas - known to everyone as JT - raised thousands of pounds for charity through his favourite team, Celtic.

His widow is walking from Mr Thomas' home town in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, to Celtic Park, arriving on October 22, the anniversary of his tragic death.

She will walk the last full-day leg of the journey on her wedding anniversary.

Mrs Thomas, of Surbiton, London, said: 'I started the walk from where Jonathan was born and it's wonderful I will arrive at Celtic Park to bring his memory back to a place he loved.

'He totally got what Celtic stood for, he loved what the club was all about. It was about much more than the football.'

Tax adviser Mrs Thomas is raising funds for the Celtic FC Foundation and Crohn's & Colitis UK. Her husband was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis as a teenager.

Other Celtic fans, including members of the Tyneside No.1 Supporters Club, have joined her on the two-week trek named 'A Walk for Jonathan - from the Valleys to Paradise'.

Organiser Iain McGovern, who is doing the walk with Sian, said: 'Jonathan was a very fit guy and a great friend. The walk gives us all something positive to focus on.

'Jonathan meant so much to so many people and he loved to be involved in charity and with Celtic. I know he would have been so proud to see this happening.'

The pair met and fell in love at university in Newcastle and knew they would marry one day

The pair met and fell in love at university in Newcastle and knew they would marry one day

Mrs Thomas (pictured) is walking from her husband's home town in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, to Celtic Park, arriving on October 22, the anniversary of his tragic death

Mrs Thomas (pictured) is walking from her husband's home town in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, to Celtic Park, arriving on October 22, the anniversary of his tragic death

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