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Groom dies at the altar as his bride is walking down the aisle with their son

A terminally-ill groom died at the altar as his bride was walking down the aisle with their eldest son.

Paul Wynn, from Ayrshire, Scotland, collapsed at Saltcoats town hall on 25 June, moments before he could wed his fiancée Alyson Wynn.

The 57-year-old had received a diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer that had spread to his liver and lungs eight days earlier.

Doctors had told him that he likely had between six and eight weeks to live.

He and Ms Wynn had been in an on-and-off relationship for 21 years, and had five children together.

Ms Wynn told Ayrshire Live that her fiancé’s death had left her whole family devastated.

She said: “If I had known we didn’t have long I would’ve tried to arrange the wedding for the beginning of the week. He never actually got any treatment.”

She told the outlet that she had left her home on the afternoon of her wedding feeling overwhelmed from organising a wedding in such a brief period of time, that she forgot her flowers at home.

She said that she spent 10 minutes waiting outside Saltcoats town hall for a friend to retrieve her bouquet.

“By the time I had gotten my flowers and went up the stairs, everything seemed to be okay, although Paul seemed to be a bit uncomfortable by this point and his kilt had been loosened a wee bit to help him feel more comfortable,” she said.

She added that Mr Wynn had been wheeled into the venue in an office chair as he had very little energy, and that he had been out of breath and struggling somewhat.

Once Ms Wynn had her flowers, she was joined by their eldest child, Sandy, to walk down the aisle. She said that when she first spotted her betrothed, she knew something wasn’t right as he was slumped in the chair that brought him into the ceremony.

“By the time I got to him I called his name a couple of times,” Ms Wynn said.

“He didn’t turn round, he didn’t look at me and I realised there was something wrong and I started breaking down and I started shouting his name and we knew something wasn’t right.”

Danielle Sood, Mr Wynn’s “best woman” at the wedding and friend of the couple, moved Paul off the chair and onto the ground. First-aiders then rushed to help Paul, administering CPR and using a defibrillator, but it was to no avail, Mr Wynn could not be revived.

Ms Wynn, who changed her name by deed poll a few years ago, said that it had been hard on her since Mr Wynn’s death.

“It’s taken me a wee while to get where I am now and every day just seems to merge into one,” she said. “I’m having to get up and moving every day for the sake of my children but I can’t eat.”

She said that she and Paul had lost a child in a miscarriage in 2004, “so it gives me a bit of comfort that he’s up there with our child.”

Mr Wynn’s mother also passed away in 2020, “so at least he’s with her now too,” Ms Wynn said.

After noticing bleeding and dramatic weight loss, Mr Wynn contacted his GP in May. An endoscopy revealed that he had three hernias, and a CT scan revealed his cancer.

Mr and Ms Wynn’s wedding had been set for 16 July, but it had been brought forward in light of his diagnosis.

Ms Wynn added that he was a “fantastic dad and his kids were his life.”

A GoFundMe page has been launched to help the family pay for Mr Wynn’s funeral, set to take place on 6 July 2020. 

Reference: Independent: Celine Wadhera