Shortly after her dying wish was granted, 24-four-year-old Emily Wood lost her battle against cancer.
Wood passed away over the weekend, not quite two weeks after she married her love of nine years, Shawn Wood, 28.
Emily was diagnosed with Stage 4 aggressive large-cell lymphoma in January and underwent various chemotherapy treatments, but near the end of June, doctors told her the treatments weren't working and gave her three to 12 months to live.
Her dying wish was to marry Shawn, and because the couple was short on cash due to health related costs, Shawn reached out to the community for help. The community responded with offers of goods, services and cash streaming in from businesses and individuals right away.
Shawn also set up an indiegogo account online with a goal of $5,000 to help with the wedding expenses — that account received over $12,000 in donations.
The couple had a small wedding and reception July 3 in Courtenay. After the wedding, Shawn noted Emily's health had deteriorated, which he said was partly due to all the activity the couple experienced leading up to the wedding.
But, he also said Emily was very happy, and the wedding was amazing for both of them.
They planned a larger community party to say thank you to everyone for their support later this month or early August.
The newlyweds did not get to go on a seven-night Alaskan cruise — which was donated to them for their honeymoon — and scheduled for the end of the month.
See Wednesday's Record for the full story.