I met Marie as she would like to have been called,18 years ago, in my local bar in Dennistoun, when i had just been laid off from my job as assistant manager of Novasport, she was sitting with a group of her friends, one of whom I knew, I asked if anyone was going to the dancing after the bar and one of them said ask Marie, so we started to talk and i asked her if she wanted to go out to the dancing and to my amazement she said yes, then we started dating, She had our first child, Marc, nearly 16 yrs ago, then Shannon, 12 yrs ago, we were so over the moon, we had the perfect family 2 beautiful kids, she was a fantastic mother who doted on her kids, and they loved her so much, Marie was the head of her family, she was the oldest of a family of 4,Ralph ,Jeannette, Maureen and John, when her father John was ill she said she did not want her father going into hospital so she asked me if it was ok for him to stay with us, I said of course, he then moved into our house, he lost his first leg through thrombosis, then about 6 months after lost his other leg, Marie was his carer, and looked after him for about ten years, before he sadly passed away. before that we took in Marie’s niece and nephew, and had them for 11 years, 2 years ago we went on holiday to Marmaris, Marie just loved the sun and the pool, she noticed a girl with one breast swimming in the pool, and she said to me how brave is she to go on like that, after we got home she went to her docs and was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was the one who was so brave, she just told the doctor take it off, within a week she was in hospital having her breast off, we got on with that, then we got told that the cancer had moved to both sides of her liver, again we got on with that, but Marie started to take bad headaches she explained it as really crunching into her skull and went to see her doctor, it was a locum and he said it was a nerve at the back of the neck that moved, and sent her home with painkillers, then after a couple of weeks, she went back to see another locum and he sent her home with another tablet and booked her physiotherapy, after a total of 5 weeks Marie’s sister Maureen came and saw her in her bed and told her to call an ambulance, I’d been telling her to go to the hospital from the start but Marie was putting her faith in the doctors, Marie was diagnosed with 3 brain tumours and kept her in for 10 days. once again we were getting on with the treatment of Herceptin at the Beatsons and the liver flared up, and we got told there was nothing more they could do for her, they were talking weeks and months, so we decided to get married, after an engagement of 16 yrs she said yes, I bought the rings on the wed, and tried it on Marie, it didn’t fit so Marie’s sister changed it for a bigger size, I had planned to go to Martha street on the Friday, to put in the forms we agreed to marry ASAP, i asked the doctor at the hospital for a letter to explain that Marie was a terminal ill patient so i could get a special license to marry within days but sadly that wasn’t to be i got a phone call from the hospital on the Friday saying Marie had deteriated and to get there ASAP, when I got there she was close to dying but I kissed her and held her hand and a single tear fell from her eyes, I told her to hold on for her sisters which she did, with myself at her sisters at the hospital, Marie just closed her eyes and passed, I loved her from the bottom of my heart she was a part of me as much as I was a part of her, she didn’t show her feelings to me as much, but i told her that I loved her every day and she said, tough, I always responded with I know its tough to love you, but somebody has to do it, that was just us.

With all my Love, I place this wedding ring upon your finger, there wont be time to share our love for we must say, goodbye.


"Please sign my Maries petition,i need your signature.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/J...

Marie's Story is printed in the daily record, page 7,

but thats only part of the fiasco.

My Name is Michael Harland,(45) my long-term Partner of 18 years Marie Slevin (51) passed away on Fri. 16th Jan 2009 at Stobhill hospital. We have 3 kids, Marc(15) Shannon (12)and seana 18
On Sat 17th Jan we went to see the undertaker, Chris McLean at Alexandra Parade, Myself and my Wife's Brother Ralph and her Sister Maureen left having booked my wife's remains in to the church on the Tues for the funeral next day on Wednesday ,we left satisfied that there would be no backlog as he reassured us that everything was done and told us to relax as he said he was a professional, not the co-up, we then went to see the priest at All Saints in Barmulloch and he was ok about the booking, Everything was in place the flowers were booked for the church and the friends and family were told.
I then received a phone call on the Mon 19th Jan, from the undertaker stating that there was no way my wife could be buried on the Wednesday because the gravediggers were too busy, this was 1 day before she was to go to church, I then explained that i had people coming from different countries and he told me i shouldn’t have done that till i got the confirmation that he already gave. These people had already booked their flights and boats, He then phoned me to say they could fit her in for the Thursday at 10.30, as my own priest is away on Mondays we had to change the church to St Catherine’s on Lamont Road, for a 9.30 mass with father McDonald, this again was fine so when i phoned the undertaker to confirm he then said i was too late someone had taken the booking, we then went back to the priest to let him know, as we could not agree a time or date, father suggested we phone the undertaker to arrange a date and time suitable to everyone. This was agreed for Monday the 26th Jan at 9.30 mass for a 10.30 burial with Marie’s remains going into the church at 19.30 on the Tuesday. when I went to the parlour with friends to visit Marie, I noticed that there was a big scratch on the lid of her coffin. I phoned Chris to advise him of this and he said he missed it because he was half blind,
I phoned to let Chris know that the hearse was to drive down to Ryehill road and stop to let the mourners get into their cars and drive behind the hears to Wallacewell road and stop to let the mourners walk behind and into the church, this was confirmed by the undertaker Chris. On the Tuesday night the hearse came and there was quite a lot of mourners, we then walked down Cardow Road turning right onto Ryehill Road, where he wanted to turn left this is where we planned to stop, i had to shout the undertaker to stop which he did, standing beside me at this time i told the mourners to get into their cars to drive to Wallacewell Road and vacate their cars to walk to the church, Marie’s other sister Jeannette said that we will continue onto to the church without the other stop from Ryehill road, I then told the mourners this, when i turned back to look at Marie’s hearse it was driving up the road at a good speed, I had to run to catch up but it was far too fast my kids were very upset.
On the Monday after the funeral mass, at the graveyard in front of 200 to 300 mourners, the coffin was being lowered into the grave and the top of the coffin stuck, and she was standing up in the grave, the gravedigger said what do you want us to do now, and i said get her back out, we cant leave her like that, it was very distressing to everyone but especially my kids, we got her back out and she was left there on top of the grave till the mourners left the graveyard, then the undertaker said we were to go back to our cars, the gravedigger said we'll put a sheet over her to cover her, as we were leaving we could see the tractor heading to the grave, now i did not bury my wife, I did not see my wife laid to rest, that was done later with nobody about.
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I asked Chris if he got the scratc