Natalie Fornasier’s husband shares emotional message after she died from melanoma

The husband of Australian writer Natalie Fornasier, who recently lost her battle with melanoma, has revealed the powerful note she left him.

Ms. Fornasier, from Sydney, passed away on January 14th. She was diagnosed with stage III metastatic melanoma at the age of 20 and dedicated much of her life to raising awareness about the dangers of skin cancer.

Her husband Alexander shared an emotional post on his Instagram page on Tuesday, writing “our beautiful Natalie left this life.”

He then included a life tip that his wife had written.

‘Have confidence. Accept your disability. Do not hide it or diminish its existence,” the message said.

‘It’s a piece of your puzzle and every time you share it, it’s an opportunity to define yourself by your own standards. Because telling your story has power, and it’s not only powerful for you, but also for others.’

Alexander said Ms. Fornasier had and will continue to have an “immeasurable” impact on the lives of those around her, even those she did not know personally.

“While I’m struggling to find the words, I can’t help but think how Natalie would laugh out loud at my clumsy composition,” he wrote.

‘Looking at me with that twinkle in his eyes, full of love and fun. Words are her gift. How lucky we are to have been touched by the magic she created.

‘I would always call her my ‘beautiful girl,’ and by that I wasn’t even talking about those big emerald and hazel eyes. She wasn’t even talking about her flawless skin, perfected by a curated 12-step skincare routine.

I wasn’t even talking about the smile that would light up a room and make me feel at home.

He was talking about his beautiful soul. The soul of a writer, a poet, someone who seemed to have lived many lives. The beautiful soul I fell in love with. With whom I had the incredible privilege of having come across.

‘I love you Natalie, always, forever.’

He ended the post with another message from Ms. Fornasier: “Love as much as you can.”

She had moved to Australia from Germany to be with Ms Fornasier after the couple met while traveling in Europe in 2018.

The 28-year-old’s battle with cancer began when she noticed a mole on her toe had changed shape.

In December of last year, she told her 35,000 Instagram followers that her cancer had become terminal, sharing a heartbreaking hospice update.

“The last four months have been brutal. At the end of July I received the news that my cancer was already terminal and I had months to live,’ she wrote.

I have cried myself hoarse from the fear of death. I have screamed for the children I would never have, growing old, my friends, the life I was supposed to live.

‘At 28…everything feels wrong.

“The conversations I had to have, the plans I had to make, the places my thoughts went and continue to go, none of it comes naturally. It is painful.

“I have fallen into oblivion crying for (husband) Alexander, the anguish and love that he would be leaving, for the life that we were supposed to have. I have cried for my family.

‘My only goal in life was to love. I have experienced an all-consuming love, something so profoundly precious and powerful and soul-changing that I know even if I leave this earth, that energy and love will never die.’

Her latest Instagram post from December 21 includes a picture of the bouquet of flowers she was given at the hospital, and a reminder that time is precious.

“It’s one minute at a time for me right now, and I’m very grateful that it’s still a possibility.

“If my time here has taught me anything, it’s that time moves like a river,” he said.

“You can’t see the beginning or the end, but you can feel it, so you better make the most of it.”

He arrived during Ms. Fornasier’s fourth week in hospice care with more than three weeks remaining.

“It is absurd that so much time has passed, time is so fluid that it seems that nothing has happened, but the calendar says otherwise,” he wrote at the time.

Ms. Fornasier detailed the simple things she missed about home before detailing the severe damage her melanoma had done to her body.

“I can’t walk without help anymore, my legs are full of fluid, my whole body aches 24/7 and the tumor burden is intense,” he wrote.

“My pain is slowly increasing, day by day I can feel my body slowing down a bit more, which is such a strange thing to witness, especially when you can physically feel it as well.”

‘However, these yellow-stained walls with creaky old doors are the best place for me: it’s safe (and fully stocked with all the meds I need!).

“People often misunderstand hospice and what it means, but basically the weight of care is lifted off Alexander’s shoulders and he’s cared for by nurses and doctors who just want you to be pain free.”

Loved ones established a GoFundMe for Mrs. Fornasier’s family and husband before her death.

He has raised over $110,000.

Ms Fornasier was just 20 years old when she woke up one morning to find her legs covered in bruises while on vacation in Greece.

Initially she thought she had been sleepwalking until she realized that the mole on her toe, which she had had since she was born, had changed shape.

It wasn’t until two weeks after she returned home that she was told she had advanced melanoma.

His toe was amputated and lymph nodes in his groin were removed.

Ms. Fornasier, who is an ambassador for a social media campaign called #CallTimeonMelanoma, urged young women to check their skin and be more cautious in the sun.