A 28-year-old man proposed to his fiancée from a hospital window and married her two days before he died after a long battle with illness.
Zachary "Zac" McNally, from Bury, died in Manchester Royal Infirmary on April 15 after spending two-half-years in hospital with blood cancer.
Two days earlier, he had been able to marry his fiancée, Amy, after proposing to her by holding up a sign from his hospital window, reported the Manchester Evening News.
His step-mum Karen Stringer said "larger than life" Zac passed away surrounded by his family.
“He was just a larger than life character that everyone is going to miss. He had hundreds of friends we are expecting to come to the funeral,” she said.
Zac, known as Zac Mac among Manchester United fans, was just 25 when he was diagnosed with leukaemia in autumn 2019.
He was admitted to hospital shortly before Christmas that year.
The pandemic made it difficult for people to visit him in hospital although dad Ian, mum Lynne, and Amy were able to visit after a while.
Doctors successfully carried out a stem cell transplant on Zac but it was not enough to save him.
“He was actually cured of leukaemia because he had a stem cell transplant," said Karen.
"That cured him of the blood cancer. Because he was so ill he was induced into a coma. He could not fight infections… but we’re not sure what the doctors will say his cause of death was.
“He passed away on Good Friday. All his close family were there for the final week. We all had a sleepover on the last night. We all took comfort and solace out of that.
“On Wednesday that week, he perked up and he was allowed friends to see him. They came out in tears but they said he had a laugh even then.”
In keeping with Zac’s character he managed to propose to his girlfriend Amy when the pair could not meet, said Karen.
“He proposed in hospital when we were down in the car park. He put up a plaque to ask her to marry him," she said.
“In that final week, the hospital priest blessed the wedding. He was married by the church, but not in law, two days before he died.”
Zac also had messages of encouragement from sports stars including his favourite Manchester United player Wes Brown, and boxers Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton.
Paying tribute to Zac, Karen added: “He was just a big, handsome, loveable lad.”
