A MUM whose daughter and husband died days apart said that walking behind their two coffins was devastating.
Alice Palmer’s world was turned upside down when her husband John, 61, was diagnosed with liver cancer back in March 2019.
SWNSAlice with her late husband John who passed away from liver cancer[/caption]
SWNSBeth died just days before John passed away[/caption]
SWNSAlice Palmer, 68, and new husband Lee Palmer, 58, holding up pictures of their children Beth and Joe[/caption]
The 68-year-old was already was a lifetime carer to daughter Beth, 20, who suffered with cerebral palsy, scoliosis, blindness and epilepsy.
John’s cancer was deemed terminal in 2019 and by August he had been moved to a local hospice to live out his final days.
At the same time John was diagnosed, Beth’s health began to decline.
It meant Alice spent weeks travelling between Beth’s intensive care ward and John’s hospice to support them both at the same time.
The brave mum was left devastated when she got the news that Beth had died on August 26.
But just six days later tragedy struck again as John passed away too.
The heartbroken mum had to organise a double funeral for Beth and John with their coffins side by side.
Alice said she made sure that Beth wore a beautiful dress for the funeral, so she could look like Audrey Hepburn.
She said: “I think having to organise the double funeral was the worst, it was so sad.
“Then at the funeral, walking behind the two coffins in the church, it was devastating.”
Alice was so traumatised she couldn’t sleep at home for months, staying with sisters because the house felt so empty.
‘DEVASTATING’
Upon receiving the devastating phone call about her daughter, Alice said: “I was expecting the news, but when it came I still didn’t quite believe it.
“I wished I had been there with her, I was 10 minutes away because I had just visited John at the hospice.
“I didn’t want to tell John because he was so ill, but eventually we had to tell him.”
But nearly three years on, Alice has remarried after meeting her new husband, Lee Palmer, 58, on a support site to connect grieving widows and widowers.
Just like Alice, Lee had lost a child and his wife – and their relationship bloomed as they supported one another through their traumas.
Alice, from Anfield, Liverpool, said: “When Beth and John died, I was devastated.
“I never thought I would find love again, I just felt a deep sadness and loneliness like there was nobody I could feel close to.
“Going back into dating, I was very wary after what I had been through – the fear of losing them and being hurt again.”
“I never thought I would find love again, I just felt a deep sadness and loneliness like there was nobody I could feel close to.”
Alice Palmer, 68
She continued: “But we have both been through it – we both have doubts sometimes but it is a relief and a comfort to love and be loved again.
“You have to learn to live with the loss otherwise it eats away at you – it’s not easy, but you have to move on.
“I personally feel sorry when people just don’t find new love – you only get one life and you have to make the most of it.”
New husband Lee said: “After I lost Joe and Michelle, I realised none of my close friends or family had lost anyone in that way and it was hard.
“I never went on the group looking for romance but there was just something about her.
“When we met, we just clicked. Now we’re married and it’s nice to feel alive again.
“I spent nine or ten months on my own, and now I have someone to look forward to when I get home from work.”
‘MAKE THE MOST OF LIFE’
Alice met up with Lee for the first time in June 2020 and sparks flew as they spent a weekend together.
She said: “Similar experiences brought us together, but we had to meet in person to see if there was a spark there.”
In January 2021, Lee moved up to Liverpool to live with Alice, and the pair married on March 22, 2022.
Alice said she wore an emblem of Beth on her dress, while Lee wore one of Joe on his lapel.
Despite Beth and Joe not being there to celebrate, Alice said it was a “happy day” for them both – and next month they celebrate one year of marriage.
She said: “You have to rebuild. We both saw on that widow site, a lot of people who give up hope of ever being happy again.
“Some people just wait to die, it seems. And that’s such a waste.
“In my view, you have to learn to live with your loss otherwise it eats away at you. You have to move on.
“You have to make the most of your life because you only get one.”
SWNSDespite the heartache Alice and Lee found love with each other[/caption] Read More