A grandmother with terminal cancer is planning her wedding while also making arrangements for her funeral.
Linda Boniface, 52, is hoping to marry long-time partner Mark, with whom she has a 12-year-old son, Riley, in the coming days.
A fundraiser set up by a friend will help pay for the big day and make sure there is some left behind for Riley’s future.
Ms. Boniface, who has three children and three grandchildren and lives in Larkfield, Kent, has been told that she may only have six months to live.
She said the coronavirus lockdown made things more difficult and meant she had to give Mark and her adult children the news by phone rather than in person.
Not only will her and Mark’s wedding be an expression of their love for one another, but also something for Riley, she said.
Linda Boniface said son Riley really wants her and his father Mark to get married (Linda Boniface / PA)
Ms Boniface told PA News Agency, “One of the things that he has really specified over the years is that he really wants us to be married, not just for us but for him too.”
She said the “hardest part” of the whole process of finding out she has terminal cancer is to tell Riley about it.
The devastating news came after she had already had breast cancer treatment.
She told PA, “I started to get fit again, to run a mile again, and then, within a couple of weeks, I got really breathless and couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“I was panting a lot and even as I walked from my living room to my bathroom, which is a short walk down the doorway, I got really breathless.”
She underwent tests to see what was going on, and the medical staff later informed her of the news that cancer had spread to her brain.
Ms. Boniface, who worked as a school inspector and volunteer social worker, said she probably had six to nine months left.
She said, “I was actually half expecting it, so the news wasn’t really difficult for me. It was difficult for me to have three children and three grandchildren, and one of my children is only 12 years old.
“So he’s going to lose his mother within a year, so I try to plan and make sure there is as much as possible for his future.
“At the same time I was planning my wedding, I also planned my funeral so that I could make it as cheap as possible. When both things are paid for, whatever is left will go to its future. “
The fundraiser of one of her friends has already more than tripled the original goal.
It can be accessed at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kim-linksted
Ms. Boniface said she was determined to make the most of the remaining time, adding, “What’s the point of crying about it? I’m just wasting the time I have with my family and friends continuing to make memories. “
