Family mourns death of nurse Laura Newman after courageous battle with leukaemia

“She changed the world” is how the husband of Adelaide nurse Laura Newman remembers his young wife, who has died after a courageous battle with cancer.

The Newman family: Laura and Stephen Newman with their three children, Liam, 5, Mae, 2 and Isla, 6 months. Picture: Supplied

Adelaide nurse Laura Newman died holding the hand of her husband, Stephen, after a battle with leukaemia.

Laura, 34, was first diagnosed with an aggressive form of acute myeloid leukaemia when she was 31 weeks pregnant with the couple’s third child in October last year.

After welcoming baby Isla, Laura, an emergency nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, began intensive chemotherapy, however, lost the fight earlier this month.

Laura, from Semaphore, is survived by her three young children, five-year-old Liam, three-year-old Mae, and one-year-old Isla and her husband, Stephen.

Mr Newman, also a nurse, remembered his wife as being “such a beautiful person inside and out”.

The Newman family: Laura Newman, Stephen Newman, Liam, 5, Mae, 3 and Isla, 1. Picture: Facebook

“You were a remarkable partner and mother and I’m so lucky you pursued me the way you did because without that I would have missed out,” Mr Newman said.

“I miss your smile, your blue eyes and your whale tattoo.

“I miss having my arm around you in bed with your head resting on my shoulder. I miss your kind, gentle nature. I miss sitting around showing each other cute videos of the kids.

“I’m so grateful for the time we shared and I’m so grateful for the three beautiful children of ours you grew inside you and gave birth too.

“Thank you so much for being my person. You are free now. I’ll always remember you and the life we shared.”

Laura and Stephen Newman. Picture: Facebook

The night Laura died, her husband told her he loved her.

“She smiled then puckered her lips for our last kiss. That evening she passed away while holding my hand,” Mr Newman said.

Mr Newman said Laura didn’t want to be forgotten.

“We have a fair amount of video of Laura for Isla including Laura speaking directly to the kids, which is nice,” he said.

Laura Newman with baby Isla. Picture: Facebook

“Liam told me the other night, if you want to remember Mum you can just look at us because we look like Mum because she made us, which is very true,” Mr Newman said.

While Laura has passed, the three young children she left behind “will be a constant reminder of Laura and clear evidence of the way she changed the world,” Mr Newman said.

In the last months of Laura’s life she achieved her dream of living in an old stone house near the beach.

“At some point, without knowing it, we went for our last walk near the beach together as a family – had our last meal together as a family, the kids had their last bath with Mum, Laura and I put the kids to bed together for the last time and Laura and I slept in the same bed at home for the last time,” Mr Newman said.

The Newman family bathing baby Isla. Picture: Facebook

In the days before Laura’s death, Mr Newman would play relaxing piano music and rainforest sounds.

“I put on a nice smelling oil diffuser. I gave her regular foot and leg rubs. I held her hand and told her I love her lot. Often we would think Laura was asleep but she would surprise us and respond appropriately to conversation happening around her,” Mr Newman said.

Laura was born April 20, 1988 and died November 8, 2022 – she was 34.

Hundreds of people gathered in what Mr Newman described as a “celebration of life” to remember Laura in the way she would’ve wanted.

Mr Newman told The Advertiser, Laura wanted to raise awareness for the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry – an organisation that connects people with patients in desperate need for bone marrow.

Throughout her journey with leukaemia, Mr Newman said Laura required a stem cell transplant.

While she received one from her sister, others are not as lucky and forced to endure long waiting lists.

To support the Newman family, donate to their GoFundMe.