HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to a Flintshire mum who bravely fought terminal cancer.

Kelly Pendry, from Ewloe, was diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma in 2021, several years after her symptoms began.

The mother-of-two's initial symptoms were passed off as prolonged period pain which began in 2016 and she sought to raise awareness and urged women with similar sympoms to demand further investigations. 

She said that when she first described her symptoms to a doctor she was told her body was "normalising " after pregnancy.

The Leader: Kelly and Michael Pendry with childen Sam and Isla.Kelly and Michael Pendry with childen Sam and Isla. (Image: Family photo)

Tragically, Kelly died on December 3, aged just 42. 

Kelly's husband Michael, who raised thousands of pounds by running from Ewloe to Bristol to pay for her to have potentially life-extending surgery in the USA, paid a touching tribute to her.

He said: "Words simply cannot describe how I feel, Kelly was and always will be the love of my life, she was my angel. Wherever Kelly went and whoever she met Kelly would make a difference, her smile was infectious and so was her laugh.

"Kelly would light up a room the moment she entered and the room would keep that light long after she left, that’s the effect she had. When Kelly was diagnosed all she cared about was fighting for our kids, the thought of not watching them grow up and them growing up without a mum terrified Kelly and that’s what kept her going each and every day and embracing every treatment imaginable regardless of side effects."

"Kelly was an incredible mum who brought so much magic to our kids' childhood, especially around this time of year. Kelly really wanted to use her story to make a change and I believe she did that."

The Leader:

Michael said he will be continuing to raise awareness of leiomyosarcoma (LMS) because the couple had "so many" people contact them with similar stories to Kelly's.

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​"It’s purely because people are unaware of LMS and that needs to change," he said. "I do want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support, I’ve had messages, cards, phone calls from all over the world and without that support this would be a lot harder and it’s hard enough as it is."

Kelly's funeral - being labelled a fun-er-al takes place on January 4. It's an all-day event and will take place at the Of the Forest Barn Temple venue in Pontblyddyn. It was a place Kelly visited and has a space for the service.

Afterwards, there is a separate barn where in the afternoon there will be music, games, food and drink. It will also be streamed live on The Run for Kelly page on Facebook.