AN ISLE of Wight widower with advanced prostate cancer is still toiling away in his garden, lifting the spirits of those around him, and rediscovering love along the way.
Christopher Ryan-Taylor, 64, from Newport, moved to the Island from Southampton in 2016.
The web designer of 23 years made the switch to be with his late partner, Colin Taylor, who was born and raised on the Island, and the pair married in 2017.
“I always loved gardening, and working from home meant I could get out there and do bits in between working,” said Christopher.
“Colin had poor health and was taken to hospital in May 2022, after falling and fracturing his shoulder.
“He had serious liver problems and died in June of that year.
“A month later, out of the blue, I passed some blood while urinating.
“I contacted my doctors, and they asked me to come in immediately.
“Up until that time I had never had a day’s illness, had not seen a doctor for ten years, and never been to hospital.
“In a matter of a few weeks I was diagnosed with advanced stage four cancer, for which there is no cure.
“Two weeks before my diagnosis, I had started talking to a man in Peterborough on a Facebook gardening group.
“His own husband had died a week after Colin, of a heart attack.
“The connection was immediate, and we spoke continually on the phone.
“He was due to come to the Island for a few days for a break just after my diagnosis.
“I asked him not to, as I had so much to deal with, but he insisted.
“When it was time for him to go back to Peterborough, he said he was going back to tell his employer he wanted a career break of four months or else he would resign, bearing in mind he had 12 years' good service behind him.
“He was adamant he wasn’t going to let me go through chemotherapy on my own, as I knew hardly anyone here.
“True to his word, his employer agreed, and he moved in with me three weeks later.
“He was a rock during my treatments, and after his career break came to an end, he secured a job on the Island.
“He encouraged me to get back into my gardening.
“Over the past two years, it has been amazing how many people have stopped and looked at the plants on their way to Sainsbury’s.
“Many people have told me how the colours and plants lift their spirits, and that has helped me immensely.
“In January of this year, my PSA levels went through the roof, and an MRI scan showed the cancer had appeared again in multiple areas of my bones, predominantly the spine.
“I am currently having more treatments, which are amazingly controlling the cancer, and I feel in good health overall.
“A few weeks ago, on June 27, Gareth and I got married.
“It wasn’t a quick decision, but despite everything that happened in both of our lives the past two years, it was inevitable.”
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