by Hayley Robinson

A romantic shine has been put back into the lives of a young couple touched by tragedy.

Latham Bush was thrilled when he heard he had won wife Aimie a 14 carat white gold diamond pendant worth £600 after he entered the Be My Valentine competition.

He melted judges’ hearts with his entry describing how Aimie supported him as he battled a rare form of bone cancer. He also hoped the pendant would cheer up his 21-year-old wife as she miscarried their first child just 14 weeks into the pregnancy last month.

The 22-year-old, of Green Porch Close, Milton Regis, said: "I was devastated when I found out I had cancer, I was only 19 but Aimie was with me every step of the way.

"We’re both very young and many would have walked away but she didn’t, she stuck with me.

"Then we lost our baby. If anyone deserves the pendant Aimie does."

The couple met during a karaoke night at The Globe and Engine pub in Sittingbourne in July 2007.

In June 2008, Latham was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma after a tumour was found on the bone of his right arm.

He underwent months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in addition to surgery to replace the affected bone with a metal rod but, on April 27 last year, he received the news he’d been longing for – he was finally in remission.

Aimie said: "When we asked the doctors what his survival rate was, we were told it was 50/50. As we weren’t sure what was going to happen to him we were married at Holy Trinity Church on September 13, 2008.

"Luckily it went the other way and Latham’s now in remission.

"When I met Latham, I’d just lost my dad. He looked after me, so caring for him while he was ill was my way of looking after him. We’ve both helped each other out through some pretty rough times and picked each other up.

"People ask me all the time how I deal with everything but I just take it all in my stride. I’ve still got Latham and he’s all I need."

Aimie was presented with her diamond pendant from F. Hinds, along with a bottle of champagne and a box of luxury chocolates at The Forum shopping centre today. The competition was run exclusively by the Sittingbourne Messenger in conjunction with the shopping centre.