Terminal cancer mum's wedding dream comes true

Vivian Fittall and Jack Waller, from Auckland, had a two-year relationship and a healthy 10-month-old daughter, but their happiness was shattered last month when doctors discovered that cancer had quickly spread through the young mum's bowel, liver and lungs.

Although doctors believe the cancer to be terminal, they hope to extend the 20-year-old's life with chemotherapy.

Waller, 25, said his wife's prognosis had gone from bad to worse: "They went from saying months - the doctor wasn't so happy to say years - to kind of not so sure about months. It was a big hit.

"I said ‘look, that's it. I need to marry you, I want to marry you'."

And with that, he whisked Fittall to the top of Auckland's Mt Victoria for a sunset proposal, complemented by some of the area's finest fish and chips.

While the couple first planned to marry in April, the latest test results meant that it had to brought forward to yesterday - with just a week of planning time. 

The daunting task of planning a wedding in just over a week was made easier by the rallying of the Hibiscus Coast community, as everything was arranged and paid for through campaigning on social media.

Waller said the support had been incredible. "I'm swept away with it. It's all for Viv, it really is."

Fittall said she was "really overwhelmed", and that marrying her soulmate in the time she had left meant everything to her.

"It means the entire world. My dress is practically like a Cinderella dress," she said.

She hoped the social media campaign will raise enough money to secure her daughter Sophie's future.

Waller's hopes for his daughter are simple: "To have her mum around as much as possible - at this age, I don't think she will remember her. It's everything a father would hope for his daughter - a good life, a good education, to know her mother.

"Everyone tells me it's easy to be a single dad, but I think they're lying."

The condition that led to Fittall's cancer, familial adenomatous polyposis or FAP, is hereditary and has affected many in her family.

The decision to have baby Sophie so early was based on doctors' recommendations that the couple had a small window in which they could have a child.

Waller said that although the decision was made with mixed feelings, Sophie was a blessing.

"I see Vivian in her smiles and laughter. It's the thing that moves my world. We have done amazingly well for her with how little we have."

Yahn Fittall, Vivian's father, said chemotherapy could start only when his daughter is well enough, as she now weighs less than 38 kilograms and is having trouble keeping food down. "Vivian is trying to stay positive ... We would like to think she will last as long as possible, but we also know this is a deadly disease," he said.

The couple hope to go on a small honeymoon, though Fittall's dream of a Rarotonga getaway could be difficult in the time they have.

Fittall has a donations page on givealittle.co.nz which has so far raised more than $43,000.

- Shabnam Dastgheib and staff writers