23 April 2023 , 23:50
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A woman who was diagnosed with cancer just a month after tying the knot with her childhood sweetheart has been remembered by her family.
Kim Barrington-Hines, of Swanwick near Alfreton in Derbyshire, was given the heartbreaking news soon after marrying long-term partner Steven Boyd in July 2021. She died two months later.
Kim originally beat breast cancer in 2014, only for it to be later discovered again in her spine.
She and Steven had originally met aged 16 through their fathers, who had served together in the RAF, and ended up dating for a few months.
Her children are now planning a charity skydive in her memory to raise money for Royal Derby Hospital's ward 303 (Derby Telegraph)They then lost touch after Kim's family moved away to Grimsby, and went on to forge their own paths in life, eventually having children in separate relationships, DerbyshireLive reports.
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But the stars re-aligned when Kim moved down to Belper in Derbyshire in 2012, bringing them closer together geographically.
And after she reached out by email, their romance blossomed once again - a whole 30 years after they'd first met.
A heart-stopping moment for the couple came when Kim found a lump on her breast a few days after moving in, and within two weeks she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
After fighting it for a year through intensive chemotherapy, she was finally given the all-clear in 2014.
The couple would eventually get engaged on Kim's 56th birthday on Boxing Day 2020, and wed in an intimate ceremony on a farm in Ashover six months later.
Her stepdaughter Lauren described the day as "so nice and chilled out".
Tragedy struck only a month later when a routine blood test revealed a secondary cancer in her spine, which was confirmed to be a result of her previous illness.
It was already at a later stage by the time it was found.
On September 23, Kim suffered a brain haemorrhage overnight in hospital. Her family were called to her side, and she passed away aged 56 the next day.
Her stepchildren are now planning a skydive 18 months on to raise money for ward 303 at Royal Derby Hospital, where Kim was cared for in her last few weeks.
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Lauren Boyd, Kim's stepdaughter, said: "She was literally like my mum. We were pretty close. My brother was very close to her too. She was very loud and funny and would always joke. She was one of those people you'd meet and wouldn't forget."
Lauren and stepson Harry will take the plunge on June 24, and have already raised £2,145 from 49 donations on their GoFundMe page.
The brave stepdaughter said the family decided to give something back "because the nurses were so good to her and to us", adding: "They were very supportive. Kim would appreciate us doing something like this".