Caroline, from Retford, Nottinghamshire, recalled how she and Jason first crossed paths in a Asda supermarket, “of all places”, in 2018. She said: “Jason said he had seen me around months and months before. One day I noticed him in Asda, walking in sort of behind me, doing his shopping and we He said hello to me He then messaged me out of the blue on social media and it all started from there – to Asda, of all places.

The couple got engaged in December 2020 and were due to marry on November 5 at a registry office in Nottingham.

“He was amazing, he couldn’t do enough for me,” Caroline said. On the morning of October 10, Caroline remembers that Jason was complaining of some discomfort in his chest. He woke up like any other morning, completely fine, but he said he had a bit of heartburn – he’s suffered from that before. » She suggested he take Gaviscon and paracetamol, but that didn’t seem to help.

“He made himself breakfast but the pain came back and he said, ‘this heartburn is killing me,'” she said. When she suggested he call an ambulance, Jason refused, preferring instead to go to the Morrisons service station opposite their two-bedroom apartment to buy some aspirin.

Jason “collapsed” in the street suffering a heart attack, prompting a passerby to immediately begin CPR. East Midlands Ambulance Service dispatched a large emergency response, including solo paramedics, two ambulances and an air ambulance, and informed Caroline of the incident due to her proximity; her house is “literally a second” from where it happened.

“I had a heartbreaking feeling, I ran outside and the first thing I saw was Jason’s sneakers,” she said. “I screamed at the top of my lungs and ran to him and tried to comfort him.”

She added that the public was incredibly supportive, helping with CPR on Jason until the ambulance crew took over. Despite being told to wait inside due to his distress, Caroline witnessed the efforts of paramedics who successfully resuscitated Jason twice, even though his heart continued to fail. After about 48 minutes of treatment in the ambulance, Caroline was informed by paramedics that the outlook was bleak.

“I went to the back of the ambulance and held his hand the whole way while they did a heart scan to see if there was any activity,” she explained . Caroline faced a heartbreaking decision when she asked if there was any hope of recovery and was told the chances were very slim.

“I asked if there was any way to go back, but there was very little chance. I said if there was no going back, we would have to turn off the machines and (the ambulance crew) agreed. They said if we bring him back, his heart will continue to fail.

Caroline sat with Jason, “held his hand” and “kissed his forehead.” “They took the machines away from him and took the tube out of his mouth…I was with him until he took his last breath.” Caroline revealed Jason was pronounced dead at 4.35pm and they were waiting for a coroner to arrive to take his body to Queen’s Medical Center in Nottingham. “I see it every day,” she admitted.

“I can’t get into our room, I start panicking when I get near it – it’s the last place he was.” Caroline is now awaiting the results of an autopsy to establish Jason’s cause of death, after an initial autopsy failed to determine the cause of the heart attack. She also found out on October 14 that she was now seven weeks pregnant with Jason’s baby.

“I wasn’t feeling well, so I thought I’d take a test and it came back positive,” she said. “I felt absolutely numb, but then it was like a miracle. When I feel really depressed and I can’t stop crying, I just think a part of him is growing inside me.”

To help their young daughter, Paignton, understand the loss, Caroline told her that Jason was now “a star in the sky”.

“There are lots of pictures of us all together in the apartment and she’ll say ‘daddy,'” she added. Caroline has since had to cancel the couple’s wedding plans as they were due to tie the knot on November 5.

“I’ve had to cancel the wedding notice and things like flowers – but to be honest I’m not too worried,” she admitted. To meet the costs, she launched a crowdfunding campaign which has already raised more than £1,500 for Jason’s funeral costs and to support their daughter.

“I am grateful and overwhelmed by people’s generosity and support,” she expressed her gratitude.