One of the most difficult things we might face in life is watching someone we love die from a terminal illness. Every day is another day to rehash old memories and to regret the future moments that we will never experience.

Some people who are facing such a problem tend to live in the moment but others look ahead. Even though they might not be with their loved ones in a physical sense, they take the time to leave some surprises behind. That was the case with one woman, and her daughter got a very special surprise for her wedding.

Emma’s mother was diagnosed in 2016 with terminal lung cancer. She had just gotten engaged to her fiancé, Richard a month earlier. Emma was in the early stages of her wedding plans and one thing she did at first was to order a pair of custom shoes.

When her mom died in 2017, it was a very difficult time for Emma. She had wanted her mother to be part of her special day but it didn’t work that way. She said: “It’s been so hard planning a wedding without having her with me, and I have had lots of tears.” She has been crying some extra tears lately.

You see, her mother had paid for the shoes and she also had a special message written on the soles. When she got the shoes in the mail this week, she saw the words in gold on the bottom:

“Wanted you to have a gift from me on your wedding day. Your wedding shoes are my gift to you. Hope you have a magical day. Lots and lots of love and big hugs, MUM xxxx”

The shoes were ordered by Emma from Lace and Love, a custom shoe business. The owner of the business, Amanda Weise said that Emma’s mother got in touch with them by email and told them what she wanted to do as a surprise to her daughter.

“It was her mum who told me she had cancer and wouldn’t be there for Emma’s wedding day. She told me on the first message she sent me. Her mum actually emailed me and said she wanted to pay for the shoes. I said, ‘well she’s already paid half’. She said, ‘can I pay for it all and then you refund her the money when she gets the shoes?’”

Weise also said they were ‘the most emotional pair of shoes’ she had ever made but she was happy to be part of the surprise. For Emma, it would be like having her mother with her on the walk down the aisle. Even though Emma’s fiancé knew about the shoes, he was able to keep it a secret. They are due to get married in August.

Emma has received a lot of support and kind words since sharing the story on Facebook, including from some who got similar surprises from loved ones. I’m sure those shoes will be a treasured keepsake for the rest of her life.