Renewed vows give family memories to treasure

Buy photos » Yvette and Andy Flynn celebrate renewing their vows with daughter Hannah. (s)

A DINES GREEN mum living with multiple sclerosis and cancer has renewed her wedding vows at the hospice which has cared for her to give her family a memory to treasure.

Yvette Flynn and her husband Andy decided to have their wedding blessed at St Richard’s Hospice Sacred Space to celebrate their 50th birthdays and daughter Hannah’s 21st.

Andy was being made redundant from his job as a cinema projectionist at the Odeon and the family wanted something to look forward to.

But just two weeks into planning the wedding blessing, Yvette was told she had cancer and needed her kidney removed.

The family were determined to continue with the wedding plans and were surrounded by loved ones at the hospice Sacred Space in Wildwood Drive before going on to an afternoon tea reception at Puckrup Hall in Tewkesbury.

Yvette was first diagnosed with MS when she was 29 years old and started receiving care and support from St Richard’s in 2009.

She said: “The wedding blessing was a focus for all of us at a really difficult time. St Richard’s is such a special place. It makes a big difference to me having their support, meeting others in a similar situation, enjoying relaxing reflexology, having my hair done or just a quiet time there.”

The former ballroom and Latin dance teacher set up and ran the Worcester MS support group and still helps local young people and those newly diagnosed with the disease.

Yvette’s wedding ring from her 1992 marriage to Andy was blessed along with a new ring to mark the celebration.

The couple asked for donations to St Richard’s instead of presents and were thrilled to be able to give £315 to the charity.

“It’s a privilege to come to St Richard’s and this is just my way of saying thank you in a small way,” Yvette added.

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