Mick and Emma

EMMA TELLS THEIR STORY

*How we met and our love story*

Mick and I met when I was 29 and he was 40, we were introduced by my current boyfriend at the time. After my former partner and I split up I had asked the Universe for ‘a man who likes dog hair in everything’ as my dog was very important to me.

I met Mick again and apparently he told a friend of his ‘I’m going to be with her’, the friend laughed and said ‘no chance’.

Mick and I got together, and I moved in within 3 weeks, we have now been together for nearly 16 years. After Mick and I had been living together for 6 months I was offered the opportunity to travel to Tasmania with my father to look at buying a house on the West Coast, in Rosebery. So I went. While I was there I rang Mick and told him I had bought a 3 bedroom house for $7000.00, he didn’t believe me.

I returned to Brisbane and asked him to move to Tasmania with me, which he did. Mick already had a diagnosis of Polymyositis at this time and the change did him the world of good. Mick and I have spent the last 15 ½ years together, spending nearly 24 hrs a day together.

Mick’s diagnosis:

Dr Graham wrote:

“Michael has multiple life-threatening illnesses, the most recent of which was extensive pulmonary emboli. His current cardiac performance on echo shows significant impairment of both right and left ventricular performance, severe bilateral enlargement and substantial pulmonary hyptertension. His situation remains parlous. He has numerous medical impairments that will result in early death, none of
which are reversible. We are maintaining a very fragile situation, which can fall over in a matter of hours as a result of deterioration in any of his cardiopulmonary performance markers, or for that matter an infection.

*What makes our relationship special*

There are many things that make any relationship special, for us it is the little things.

Mick has made me coffee every morning for the last 15 years, we don’t celebrate Valentine’s day or other commercial holidays but he will pick me flowers when he walks the dog in the bush and bring them home, he is always honest with me, he is the only man I have ever met who will say ‘yes, you look fat in that’.

He is supportive, loving and makes me laugh all the time. We share a black sense of humour and at times only have to look at each other to get the joke.

Mick and I spend all our time together, we chose not to have children for many reasons and he is my best friend. For myself, I enjoy pouring all my nurturing into Mick, I love to cook and try new things, and he supports me through all of it. Mick helped me to overcome abusive relationships from the past, when I first started dating Mick I thought a cuddle meant sex, Mick showed me the true meaning of unconditional love, that not all men are abusive.

For me it is nearly impossible to put into words the many ways Mick has improved my life and my soul, all I know is that through his love and support I am a nicer, kinder person because of his love and friendship, he is my best friend.

*How do you foresee the future*

When Mick and I had the conversation with Dr Stewart Graham we decided to get our priorities straight. We were living in a 2 bedroom flat at the time, Mick was unhappy and had always dreamed of living on property and growing some vegies and having a few chooks. So I found us a place to rent that ticked all the things on Mick’s wish list and moved.

We decided that we are going to have an amazing summer, get married, have a few chickens and try to grow some vegies. We plan for Mick to sit in the sun, we’re going to have friends around, have BBQ’s and make some awesome memories.
Should Mick last the 12 month lease that we have taken we will reassess where we are going from there.
My goal is to make Mick happy and that is what I intend to do.

MICK AND EMMA’S WEDDING

Tasmania held its first My Wedding Wish wedding on 05 December 2017 for Emma and Mick. Mick is battling multiple life-threatening illnesses but his outlook on life is incredibly positive. He leaves the worrying to Emma and just gets on with living.

Although Emma and Mick had always wanted to marry, Mick’s health prevented them for doing so. They could never find the time needed to organise it. Their friend, Naomi stepped in and said she would organise the wedding … but wasn’t sure where to start. She spoke with Celebrant, Jane Collins, who knew exactly what to do. She contacted My Wedding Wish to see if we could help.

An application was forwarded and approved, and within 36 hours, all suppliers needed were sourced from the amazing Tasmanian wedding community.

A surprise was in store for Mick. Naomi, drove up in a 1965 XD Ford Falcon to take Mick for a spin before the wedding. Mick had this model car many years ago and he always loved them. He was in his element and grinned from ear to ear.

Their wedding was just as they wished it to be. It was intimate with only a few friends to witness their special day and was held in the couple’s garden – with Neville the dog was also in attendance.

Mick said that the last fifteen years have been incredibly difficult. For most of that time he has been unwell and no news has been good news. He said that their My Wedding Wish gift had been the first time he had felt that something positive had come from his illness.

Mick was incredibly touched by the generosity of the wedding suppliers who gifted their services so generously. He is a quiet man who obviously adores his bride, Emma, and was so delighted with his wedding outfit, gifted by a local menswear store, that he felt on top of the world.

For her part, Emma looked radiantly beautiful. There is usually no time for pampering so to have her hair, make up and nails done was a rare treat. She was worried that Mick may not recognise his glamorous bride. She had no need to worry. Mick’s face was beaming when he first caught sight of his amazing wife-to-be.

A special toast was made by the couple to My Wedding Wish to thank us for making this wonderful dream come true.

Mick and Emma: it was a true honour to be part of the My Wedding Wish team and to see you both so obviously enjoy your beautiful wedding day.

Read about their wedding in The Advocate.

The couple had almost 17 months of married life before Mick succumbed to polymyocitis on the 15 April 2019