'I'm only 40, I shouldn't have to be facing this'

“She was the most beautiful person, if anyone needed anything, she’d do it for them."

Joel Erickson

2 min read

February 22, 2024 - 12:48PM

Sally and David on their wedding day. Picture: Supplied

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David and Sally met each other at the right time of their lives.

Sally had lost the father of her two sons, but found a kind, supportive man in David, and the two kicked off a whirlwind relationship that culminated in their marriage in 2022.

But now, as the couple should be celebrating their second anniversary, David is instead planning his beloved wife’s funeral.

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Sally and David on their wedding day. Picture: Supplied

"They just told us it was endometriosis"

The couple first sensed something was wrong when Sally began to have back pain late last year, so they went to their local hospital in the southeastern suburbs of Brisbane.

After testing, the couple received tragic news: Sally had stage-four cervical cancer.

David told Kidspot they received the news just before his wife’s 40th birthday.

“Every time she got her period she was getting really bad pain, and the hospital just told us it was endometriosis and period cramps,” he said.

“We went into hospital just before her birthday because the pain was too much, and they ran some tests and called us the next day to tell us she had cancer.”

David and Sally were only married for two years before her tragic death. Picture: Supplied

"None of the treatment worked"

Sally started treatment two weeks after her diagnosis, but unfortunately her cancer was too far advanced.

“They started chemo, and it worked on the little tumours that had spread, but the tumours on her liver and cervix fed on it,” David said.

“She had two different types of chemo and radiotherapy, but none of it worked.”

Tragically, Sally lost her battle on Sunday, February 18, a day before the couple’s second anniversary.

The couple with Sally's two sons. Picture: Supplied

"She was the most beautiful person"

David is now left to pick up the pieces after losing his wife at the tender age of 40.

“I didn’t think I’d be doing the funeral thing,” he said. “I only just turned 40 a couple of days after Sally, and I just don’t know what to do now.

“She was the most beautiful person, if anyone needed anything, she’d do it for them.

“You could always call on her when you were in need, and she’d help you out.”

David will now look after Sally’s two sons, who have lost both their parents within a few years.

Sally's family have started a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs. Picture: Supplied

"Her family has done so much"

Sally’s family has also started a GoFundMe to help David with funeral costs and any costs moving forward.

“Her family has done so much,” David said. “Her mum was a nurse, so Sally got to stay at home with us right until the end. She didn’t want to die in hospital.

“The funeral will be $11,000, so any money will go towards that. Both the boys have just started high school too.

“They’re both going to live with me, that was Sally’s wish.”