My husband developed cancer symptoms within a month of our wedding and was told it was terminal the day I found out I was pregnant – he never got to meet our baby

• Jonathon Wells, from Derbyshire 28, died from cancer on New Year’s Eve 2022
• READ MORE: Campaigner who posed with mastectomy scars dies aged 38

A new mum has described how her husband died just three weeks before their first child was born.

Jonathon Wells, aged only 28, from Derbyshire, died from cancer on New Year’s Eve 2022. His baby daughter, Ophelia, was born three weeks later.

Jonathon and his wife, Sarah had been married only a month when he began to experience cancer symptoms. 

Sarah discovered she was pregnant on the same day Jonathon received the devastating blow that his cancer was terminal. It was so advanced that doctors were unable to identify whether he suffered from bowel or liver cancer. 

Now Sarah, together with family members, have three fundraisers planned in his memory.

Jonathon Wells, aged only 28, died from cancer on New Year’s Eve 2022. His baby daughter, Ophelia, was born three weeks later. Pictured on the day he got engaged to his wife Sarah, right 

Pictured: Sarah now with her daughter Ophelia, who was born three weeks after Jonathon’s death

The pair got engaged in 2020, and tied the knot in a lovely ceremony in November 2021 after four year of dating

Sarah, 30, says: ‘Jonathon couldn’t wait to become a daddy and it breaks my heart he will never meet his daughter. She is the image of him, and it is a big comfort to me that he lives on through her.’

Sarah and Jonathon met online in 2017 and she fell in love both with him and his Golden retriever, Cooper. Jonathan, an award-winning chef, wooed her with his cooking.

Sarah, a hospital divisional co-ordinator, says: ‘He cooked for me at his house, and it was a three-course meal, the sort of thing Gordon Ramsey would produce. It was amazing.

‘Jonathan specialised in handmade chocolates too, and I was chief taster.’

Though Jonathon had ulcerative colitis, his condition was managed well, and he was fit and healthy. He was also diagnosed with a liver condition but was assured complications would be years into the future.

Sarah says: ‘Nobody would ever know Jonathan had colitis. He worked 12 hours shifts, he was full of energy and fun.’

Jonathon proposed on Sarah’s birthday in 2020, and the couple got married in November 2021. But the following month, Jonathon began experiencing severe abdominal pain.

Five months on, in May 2022, a scan revealed a tumour in his bowel.

Sarah says: ‘Though it was shocking, we understood he could have surgery, possibly a stoma bag, but he would be OK.’

But days later, further tests showed the cancer had already spread and could not be cured. 

The doctors were not sure whether the primary cancer was bowel or liver. Jonathon’s condition was too far advanced by the time he was diagnosed. 

On the same day, Sarah discovered she was pregnant with their first child.

She says: ‘It was a bittersweet day. We were heartbroken at the diagnosis yet thrilled to be having a baby. Jonathon couldn’t wait to be a dad and I believe that’s what kept him fighting for so long.’

The pair’s fairytale romance came to a halt when Jonathon was diagnosed with cancer in May 2022

The pair with their dog Cooper last Christmas, a few days before Jonathon succumbed to his cancer 

Medics arranged for monthly scans, so that Jonathon could be involved in the pregnancy as much as possible and watch their daughter grow. They chose her name, Ophelia, together.

At 30 weeks, Sarah went into premature labour, possibly caused by stress. Luckily, her contractions were stopped during a stay in hospital.

But Jonathan’s health deteriorated, and he was in and out of hospital for the rest of the year.

Sarah says: ‘Jonathon was incredibly strong. Whilst he was having chemo, he decorated the nursery. Another day, with a picc line in connected to chemotherapy, he cooked a family barbeque.

The couple received Jonathon’s shattering diagnosis seven months after their 2021 wedding, pictured

The pair enjoying a beach day together. The hospital organised monthly scans so that Jonathon could be as involved in the pregnancy as possible 

Jonathon and Sarah remained positive following his cancer diagnosis, pictured, and Jonathon amazed his wife with his resilience 

‘His resilience was amazing. Even on Christmas Eve, he was intending to cook Christmas dinner; he made lists and drew diagrams of the table and planning.

‘As a chef, he was a perfectionist.

‘In the end, me and his brother, Matt, prepped the dinner Christmas Eve evening and we had to take each dish to Jonathan for his approval, which he rarely gave!

‘For Christmas, I bought him a bracelet, saying: ‘Best Daddy ever, lots of love, Ophelia.’ That I still wear today.

Jonathon was readmitted to hospital on December 27 and Sarah was warned he was beginning end of life care. She remained with him, until his death on New Year’s Eve aged 28.

She says: ‘I was absolutely heartbroken. The hospital staff were all wonderful, so caring, they couldn’t do enough for us.’

The pair made the most of their time left together before Jonathon was readmitted to hospital to receive end-of-life care 

Sarah gifted Jonathon a bracelet reading: ‘Best Daddy ever, lots of love, Ophelia’ for his last Christmas 

The birth was induced, just over a week early, and baby Ophelia came into the world perfectly healthy, weighing 6lbs 8ozs. Sarah was supported by her sister, Melissa, and her mum, Sharon.

She says: ‘Ophelia is the image of her daddy, which is a comfort, but sometimes it breaks my heart too. I know he lives on through her, he’s looking down on us. But it feels very cruel for her to grow up without him.’

Ophelia was born three weeks after her father’s death in January, pictured, and is being raised by Sarah with the help of her mother and sister 

Sarah revealed that Ophelia is the spitting image of her father, which has been both a source of heartbreak and comfort

Sarah and her family have a series of fundraising walks and hikes planned, to raise funds for Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

The first, a 10k trek, will take place on June 16th. Afterwards, Sarah’s 10-year-old niece, Evie, will complete a hike in the Lake District on July 9th. The family also plans to complete the National Three Peaks Challenge.

Sarah says: ‘There are so many people affected by Crohn’s and Colitis but there is there isn’t a cure, there aren’t many treatments, and there isn’t really anything out there for them in the way of support.

‘We hope our charity walks, in Jonathon’s memory, will go some way to changing that.’

You can donate to Sarah’s GoFundMe here.

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