Mikaila Brisbane, from Albion Park on the south coast of New South Wales, died after struggling with stage four cancer at the age of 24.
The terminally ill mother fulfilled her dream wedding before saying a final goodbye to everyone.
On February 2018, the community gathered to bring their dream wedding forward. Her husband has paid a tribute to his wife after she died on Sunday from an extremely rare soft tissue cancer called alveolar soft part sarcoma.
The couple shares two young kids together, five-year-old daughter Indie and son Reef, aged three. Harley wrote on Facebook, ‘We sadly lost our beautiful amazing earth angel Mikaila. She fought to the very end with every bit of strength she had. Mikaila was such a powerful strong woman,’
‘[She] cared for anyone and everyone with the biggest heart. Her children were her whole life and loved them unlike any words imaginable. She was an amazing wife, mother and daughter. I will cherish each and every moment I spent by her side forever and ever.
‘Myself and her family will never stop loving her and will make her memories live on forever. I love you Mikaila my beautiful wife. I really don’t know what to believe or say at this time, it just does not feel real.
‘It’s very hard for all of us at this time and we do appreciate the words and thoughts. But just remember Mikaila of the amazing person she was and smile for her knowing we are all thinking of her with all our hearts. I love you Mikaila to the moon and back, forever and ever.’
‘Harley and I decided to bring our wedding forward and get married at soon as possible because we didn’t know how soon cancer would take me,’ Mikaila told Daily Mail Australia at the time.
‘We planned our wedding booked for September [2017], but unfortunately I had to get surgery to remove the tumor.’
Mikaila described her wedding day as perfect. ‘Our wedding day was perfect. It was sunny all day and then right before it ended, it started raining. Harley and I are free-spirited type of people so it was just perfect,’ Mikaila said.
‘It was more than just a dream wedding. I was feeling nervous when I saw Harley at the alter but I thought “I don’t know why I’m nervous, I’ve known you for five years.”
The couple first introduced to each other by Mikaila’s brother as Harley was working as an apprentice mechanic with him. After three years of being in a relationship, Harley fell pregnant with their first baby – daughter Indie. Two years later, they welcomed son, Reef.
On Valentine’s Day in February 2017, Harley asked her for marriage and during their romantic getaway, she noticed the lump on her buttock was bigger than usual.
‘I noticed the lump six months prior to the cruise. At the time, I got it checked a few times but I was told I had nothing to worry about,’ she said at that time.
‘The lump would go away but kind of come back. But it popped up one day suddenly. During the cruise, it became noticeably bigger. It was really unusual.
‘It was swelling up really big, it didn’t seem normal. I decided to go to the hospital because by that stage, it was getting really hard to sit.’
One week later, she received the shocking news that she had stage 4 alveolar soft part sarcoma following a PET scan and biopsy. ‘I immediately knew what that meant, my friend passed away from sarcoma just two years earlier so I highly doubt I’d survive from it,’ she said.
‘I was very anxious and upset. I have two kids… There’s not much I can do but try to stay positive and live my life.’
The photographer Beth Fernley, who offered to shoot the event free-of-charge shared Mikaila’s story on Facebook. She paid an emotional tribute after learning about the tragic news.
‘I just found out that we lost the incredible Mikaila Brisbane after her fight with cancer. She fought for so long and she fought with everything she had,’ Beth wrote.
‘She was courageous, funny, an incredible mum and wife. She inspired me and so many others to live an amazing life and I will always be grateful that I met her.
‘My heart is broken but I’m thinking of her beautiful family and sending them all my love and support. I love you Mik.’
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