CHILDHOOD sweethearts Lisa Clark and Jason Burton rekindled their relationship after 30 years and want to get married - only for one of them to be diagnosed with terminal cancer.

       It was only eight months after they got back together that Jason found out he had terminal cancer on November 3 - his third diagnosis with the illness which took his mum and brother.

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       Lisa Clark and Jason Burton rekindled their relationship after 30 years apart Credit: Lisa Clark/MEDIA WALES 4

       Jason and Lisa in the '80s Credit: Lisa Clark/MEDIA WALES

       The news was a "huge blow" to the couple who were already talking about getting married.

       But Lisa was determined to make Jason her hubby and on December 9, she popped the big question, not knowing how much longer they'd be together and wanted to get married straight away - which seemed nothing short of impossible.

       But thanks for family and complete strangers, the couples from Wales will be tying the know on January 30.

       Lisa, 48, said: "Jason's dad and my mum got together and we hit it off while we were both 16 in 1989. We were together around eight or nine months.

       "Prior to that, Jason lost his mum, Wendy, and his brother, Darren, to cancer. His brother had bone cancer and his mother had breast cancer. He lost his mum just before his 16th birthday and lost his brother just after his birthday.

       "When our parents split, at the time, we didn't have laptops or phones or anything like that so we just lost contact."

       Then in May 2021, some 32 years after losing contact, Lisa received a Facebbok message from Jason out of the blue describing how his marriage had broken down.

       They met up right away and, suffice to say, hit it off as though they had never been apart.

       Lisa said: "His marriage fell through and he got back in touch with me on Facebook about eight months ago and we hit it off again.

       "I have a rule where I think you need to get to know someone for a good two years before you move in together, but he moved in with me after two months. It just felt right."

       She said Jason had been diagnosed with cancer twice before: he had testicular cancer when he was four and a tumour cut out of his arms in 2013. But the latest diagnosis came as a shock.

       She said: "He had been to the doctors for other reasons - he had restless legs which might be unrelated - and they sent him for blood tests.

       "They said his liver enzymes were high and suggested he stop drinking, which he did for two months.

       "They then took another blood test and his liver enzymes were still sky high even though he stopped drinking.

       "He then went for tests and scans and that's when they found out he had cancer of the colon which had spread to the liver.

       "It impacted us massively because all your dreams came crashing down. We were no longer planning our future, we were just focusing on each day."

       Jason was told by doctors the cancer was inoperable and that chemo was the only way to slow it down.

       Lisa, desperate to make Jason her husband, proposed to him at Bute Park in Cardiff on December 9.

       Lisa said: "We always said even before we knew about this that we'd marry each other tomorrow if we could, so marrying each other seemed like the right thing to do. I said to him that he's not leaving me as just his girlfriend.

       "With his head all over the place, I decided to propose to him. I told his family and my family so they could all come with us to Bute Park, but the romantic idea all went out of the window.

       "I was going to propose to him in the heart of glass. I thought it was going to be on the floor and all our family could gather around us while I proposed, but it turned out that it was floating in the air like a giant bauble.

       "Our family had walked ahead and I couldn't get hold of anyone so I just asked him myself quickly.

       "We had an ongoing joke about marrying each other with Haribo rings so I gave him one of those and he [casually] said 'yeah', I said 'no really, will you marry me', and he said yes again.

       "I managed to find the family and get everyone to come over and see us and to tell them he said yes, and he said he thought I had been joking. I asked him again and he said yes for real."

       With time of the essence, the couple got cracking on their wedding plans and hoped to pull of the special day as early as possible.

       That's when friends, family and strangers came together to make it happen in under two months from the proposal date, Lisa said.

       "We've been really lucky because my sister has set up the GoFundMe page for the wedding and Jason's best mate knows the owner of Pencoed House who has offered us that.

       "We've had lots of friends who know people who have all come forward and want to help. We went to Pencoed house and really liked it so we're going ahead with the wedding on January 30.

       "I chose my dress yesterday (December 29) and the lady gave us discount on that. Everybody has been very helpful and they've come out left, right and centre to try and help us out.

       "With the GoFundMe we have been able to pay for a package at Pencoed House, My son is going to pay for a harpist, which is something I really wanted.

       "We're not going to have a honeymoon because Jason will have started his medication so Jason is just going to have a quiet stag at his regular pub and I'll have a hen weekend in Tenby which was gifted by my cousin."

       Lisa said the couple still have their "ups and down and our grey days".

       She said: "We've both gone through the angry days of 'why us'. I'm going to hopefully become his full-time carer, but that depends on finance as I'm self-employed.

       "Because I've never been through this before, I don't know what's going to be involved or what to expect, but I also don't want to miss out on any time with him as well as we don't know how long he's got left.

       "I'm his lover and will also be his carer. It's switching roles between being in a relationship and being a carer."

       Lisa said though it was amazing to meet someone like Jason, she was devastated they would not grow old together.

       She said: "He's such a lovely guy and he has so many friends. Everyone tells me they adore him. All my family adore him and are just as devastated by this.

       "My family have all been so happy that I have finally found the one and to have that taken away from me is going to be devastating.

       "I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life, but now Ill be with him for the rest of his."

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       Lisa proposed in front of Jason's family in Buton Park, Cardiff in December Credit: Lisa Clark/MEDIA WALES 4

       The couple will get married on January 30, 2022 Credit: Lisa Clark/MEDIA WALES