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THEY’RE spending their first Christmas as a married couple, knowing it could probably be their last together in Tamworth.
Angela and Stephen Woods are the couple the Tamworth region threw its support behind to help them get married in a ceremony they will always remember.
The couple were married on November 2, with everything from the venue to the wedding dress and photography donated by the Tamworth region community, family and friends, after word of Stephen’s diagnosis of terminal cancer was made public via Facebook.
“For the community to get behind us like that was amazing,” the new Mrs Woods said.
“It was only because of family friend Julie (Crosby) that it happened.
“If it wasn’t for her, we would’ve ended up having a barbecue in the backyard.”
Mrs Woods said the wedding memories were something Mr Woods could carry with him for the rest of the time he had.
“They’re the memories we hold here on in,” she said.
Mrs Woods said their five children enjoyed seeing the photos of the wedding, and their sons particularly spoke about getting a ride on the golf carts on the wedding day at the Longyard Golf Club.
“We were overwhelmed – there are no words to describe the thanks and idea of everyone else planning our wedding,” she said.
“People spend years planning their weddings and ours was done in three days, with everything offered in eight hours. It was one of the happiest days of my life.”
Mr Woods began his cancer treatment the day after the wedding and is now on his third lot of chemotherapy, with one more to go for this round of treatment.
“He’s had two biopsies and we are meeting with doctors to talk about other treatments,” Mrs Woods said.
“It’s not going to change the prognosis, but it’ll just give him quality of life.”
Although the couple has been together for more than a decade, getting married has changed a number of aspects of their lives.
“The children love that mum’s now a Woods,” Mrs Woods said.
“Especially my eldest, who used to ask how come mum had a different last name. I’ve had to change the way I sign my name and I think it’s brought us a lot closer together.”
This Christmas could be their last together as a family, but they are focused on the positives.
“The children know what’s going to happen, they know dad’s not going to be around forever, so they’re just spending as much time as possible with him. Christmas will be with mum and then we’ll go camping for a couple of weeks,” Mrs Woods said.