Daniel Forrester came to faith in Jesus through Caroline, his late fiancé. He is now planning to walk from the UK to her home country of Ghana to raise money for the hospice she died in. Here he tells his story…
Caroline and I met in January 2023 on a dating site, which is proof that with a little bit of luck and Gods blessings, they can actually work. We chatted for a few days, the conversation flowed effortlessly, so we both felt confident enough to meet for a date. We arranged to meet in Central London for a bite to eat and a cocktail or two. The first moment I laid eyes on Caroline I was blown away by her external beauty, a beauty that I’d soon come to realise would be tenfold surpassed by her internal beauty.
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I’ve honestly never met such a kind, caring, loving, selfless person in all my life. We got on extremely well on the date, and before we knew it, it was half past eleven, well past Caroline’s original curfew of 10pm. I took this as a good sign, which it was, we’d definitely clicked.
Fast forward six months and after many fantastic dates and even better weekends away, we are now well past the dating stage and very much in love
Fast forward six months and after many fantastic dates and even better weekends away, we are now well past the dating stage and very much in love and both so happy, then boom our world came crashing down around us. Caroline’s cancer returned. She’d beaten colorectal cancer 18 months previously before [where she’d initially been given 6 months to live] and now it was back in her lungs, her consultant advised a revolutionary new chemotherapy treatment coming over from the states. She was the only recipient of the treatment in the UK to trial it and was told it was her best chance of survival. The treatment was supposed to last three months but lasted five as some weeks Caroline physically couldn’t receive it.
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Christmas 2023, Caroline and I attended a meeting with Caroline’s consultant, where we were told, despite the treatment shrinking the cancer in Caroline’s lungs, the cancer was never going away. I left that meeting utterly deflated. Straight away in her typical selfless fashion, Caroline looked at me, gave me the biggest smile and reassuringly said to me, “Babe I’ve proved her wrong before and I will do it again, have faith.” This filled me with confidence immediately, and my mood instantly lifted. She then suggested we go on holiday to Tenerife, to celebrate her improved health and to get some much-needed rest and relaxation, as she needed a break from the chemo. Two weeks later we are in Tenerife and that’s where I decided to propose, and much to my delight she said yes and immediately set out planning the wedding.
Caroline remained calm and had absolute faith in God that she would get through this.
Fast forward four very difficult months for Caroline health wise. She was then told the cancer had spread to her brain and she now had less than six months to live. Again, Caroline remained calm and had absolute faith in God that she would get through this. It was during this time that my faith took root. It was witnessing the strength, courage and perseverance that Caroline’s faith in God gave her, that ultimately brought me to faith too, something I will be forever grateful to Caroline for, as I wouldn’t be able to get through my grief without my faith in God. Our relationship now took on an even stronger bond, as we tackled her cancer together whilst also being connected spiritually.
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The next six months I watched Caroline’s health deteriorate rapidly. By August of 2024 the tumour had caused her to lose most of her sight, and this was the first time I saw her mood dip. We both prayed relentlessly for Caroline’s sight to return, and she was then given radiotherapy to reduce the tumour which was crushing her optic nerves. This worked to an extent but the radiotherapy left her physically exhausted and pretty much housebound.
Watching my fiancé’s demise from a fit woman who used to get up at 4am to attend the gym, to become so frail, that she even struggled just to walk to the toilet was heartbreaking to witness. Eventually Caroline decided that she needed to go to the hospice. She was adamant it was just for symptom management and she would be home in no time, unfortunately this wasn’t the case. Five days in the care of the wonderful staff at Saint Francis Hospice Caroline was taken from us to a place where I am confident she is pain free and safe and that fills my heart with so much joy and comfort.
Now I’m ready to fulfil a promise I made to her, by taking her home back to Ghana. I’m aiming to walk approximately 5000 miles from London to Kumasi (Caroline’s hometown) in Ghana, to take Caroline home to her final resting place and to raise money for the hospice she died in. I want to create a legacy for such a beautiful woman who saved my life. I want the whole world to see how incredible she was and how much I love her. The start date for the walk is 20th September, which was originally due to be our wedding day.
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