Husband pays emotional tribute to wife taken by Covid

An Audenshaw man has paid tribute to his wife on the first anniversary of her death.

Nicola Meah died in hospital in May 2020, after contracting Covid. 

She was well known in the Tameside community for her work with her multiple sclerosis group, which she suffered from herself.

Her husband, Suleman Meah, now wants to pay tribute to her one year on for the positive effect she had on many people’s lives.

“She just loved people,” said an emotional Suleman.

“You get people who get awarded OBEs and all that, she deserved that.

“She always put others first, even with her MS. The love that she had - I’ve never met anyone so loving.

“She had a heart of gold and would do anything for anybody.”

The pair first met in 2007 in a supermarket in Denton where Suleman was doing charity work - it was love at first sight.

“Coming down the aisle was this lovely lady and we just got talking,” he said.

“We looked at each other and spoke for a bit. 

“She went and then I looked round and she was still there near the flowers. I thought I can’t let her go.

“I said to her ‘do you want to go out with me and my friends?’ 

“I thought if I just said for me she’d say no. I got her number and I texted her that night and then phoned the following day.

“We both knew when we were talking, you just know, she was beautiful,” he added.

The pair spent many happy years together before Covid sadly split them apart. They would’ve celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary last Monday (May 24).

Suleman’s favourite memory of Nicola is at Heaton Park, where the pair would often go on dates - including their first.

It’s also the place where he proposed to Nicola, surrounded by flowers and squirrels - Nicola’s favourite.

Now, Suleman wants to tell everyone to cherish time with their loved ones, whether that be a significant other, friends or family.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” he said. “One of those mistakes was not telling Nicola how much I loved her and I should’ve done.

“I would say to everyone, life’s so precious, and your loved ones, whether it’s your wife, sister, brother, mother, even your pet dog, do everything possible. Don’t hold back. 

“If you can’t do it, if you can’t get out, just be with one another and say I love you. I wish I’d have done that more.

“Nicola kept saying it to me. Those words ‘I love you,’ are worth more than gold and I regret not saying it enough. 

“She kept saying it to me all the time,” he said.

“My faith is that I will be with Nicola again in Heaven.  

“I can’t wait to say those words to her again, and dance.”

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