A woman who became a widow 36 days after the honeymoon has found comfort in her organ donor husband saving three other lives. Samantha Knott, 48, became a widow just five weeks after honeymooning with ''love of her life'' Graham Knott, 44.
The pair married in the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, on July 2019 surrounded by family and friends before jetting off to Hurghada, Egypt, on their honeymoon. But just days after returning from their dream holiday, Samantha came home from a night out to find her groom unresponsive in bed and ''making funny noises''.
After calling 999, Graham, an industrial heating engineer, was rushed to Blackburn Hospital, and later to Preston Hospital - where doctors found he had suffered a haemorrhage and declared him brain dead. After his family and close friends had said their goodbyes, Graham, a registered organ donor, was taken to the theatre for donation surgery.
One of Graham's kidneys was donated to a 60-year-old man. A woman in her 50s received the other kidney and another man received a life-saving liver transplant.
Samantha, a cleaner, from Blackpool, Lancashire, said: "It all happened so fast. One moment we were celebrating our new life together.
"And the next, I was saying goodbye. I wish we had more time together, but now I cherish every memory.
"I'm glad parts of him are helping others like helped me." The mum-of-two met Graham on dating app, Flirty Fire, in February 2016.
After nine months of texting, the pair arranged to go for fish and chips along the Preston Docks, and quickly began spending every weekend together. Samantha said: "He was incredibly charming and very witty.
"I was annoyed that we waited so long to meet. He complimented my smile and made me feel beautiful."
Just one year after meeting, Samantha had a hysterectomy at Blackpool hospital after suffering from ''agonising'' endometriosis for 27 years. Graham nursed his girlfriend back to health for three months and even surprised her with a holiday to Kufu, Greece to aid her recovery.
After returning home in September 2017, Samantha left Preston and moved to Blackburn to be with Graham. He proposed September 2018 during a trip to Turkey.
In October 2018, Samantha had been diagnosed with sepsis after a gallstone caused a major infection in the bladder. Samantha said: "I felt awful but his proposal made me so happy.
"I knew I wanted to spend my life with him.'' The couple were married eight months later at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, with 60 guests.
They headed to Egypt in December 2019 for a nine day honeymoon. "The honeymoon was very romantic,'' she said.
"We spent quality time together and just relaxed and enjoyed it all." A few weeks after returning home, Samantha headed out to Preston for a friend's birthday.
After getting home at one o'clock in the morning, she got into bed with Graham but noticed he was making ''funny'' noises. After turning over, the mum-of-two noticed he looked transfixed and was completely unresponsive.
Samantha said: "I thought he was joking with me. We always played pranks on each other.
"I never thought he was gone." Samantha performed CPR as instructed by 999 before an ambulance arrived to take them both to hospital.
Samantha said: "I just laid in this bed with him. I never wanted to let go.
"Everything was happening so fast. I was in complete shock.
''Our time was short, but I loved him for a lifetime. I wished we had longer to grow old.
"I always thought I'd be the one to go first. It all came out nowhere."
Samantha was informed that both kidneys and liver were donated to those suitable and have saved their lives. Additionally, Graham donated heart tissue, eye tissue, bone and tendons tissue for research.
On St Patrick's Day, April 2020, they held Graham's cremation at Blackpool crematorium. Samantha said: "I miss his smile.
"Whenever you needed help he would be there. Friends of friends respected him. Now he's continuing to help people with every part of him."
