A YOUNG mum has lost her battle against cancer after giving her baby daughter a final kiss goodbye.
Samantha Davies, 27, was diagnosed with terminal cancer but was told her condition was stable two months ago.
However, her health took a turn for the worse and she died at Dove House Hospice after kissing goodbye to her little girl Coral and her partner Gareth.
Gareth said during Samantha's last few days she held on to see her daughter one last time and kissed them both goodbye.
He said: "She panicked at first but I told her to stop fighting it and rest, she just didn't want to leave us.
"She looked so beautiful and peaceful – it was as though she was just sleeping."
Samantha, of Alliance Avenue, west Hull, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2011, five months after giving birth to Coral.
She had radiotherapy and chemotherapy but would continue as normal, not letting it get her down.
Gareth, 32, said doctors were pleased with her progress and she even went back to work as a machine operative at Smith and Nephew, where she had met Gareth in about 2006.
But in June last year, Samantha was taken to hospital and was told her cancer was terminal.
Gareth said: "It was the hardest day of my life and she was on her own when she was told.
"I wouldn't wish that on anyone and I rushed to be with her.
"She was set to have intensive chemotherapy but she wanted to wait until after Coral had celebrated her first birthday.
"The cancer was controlled for some time and the staff at Dove House Hospice were fantastic."
Samantha's dad, Tony, 51, said: "When she asked the doctors 'Am I dying?', Gareth gave her a big hug and she just asked 'What about Coral?'
"It came as a shock to us all, we just couldn't take it in.
"She was planning to move house and take Coral to Disneyland and we were told the cancer was stable.
"She went in for an operation but we were then told it wasn't going to happen at all and she didn't have long left.
"Sammy was a bubbly girl who loved shopping and chatting."
Gareth said: "Sammy was very independent and loved going out with the girls.
"She liked to dress up in her heels and had such a beautiful smile."
Samantha also leaves behind mum Tina, 49, and brother, Scott, 28.
Tina, of Glasgow Street, said: "Sammy is the girl you could confide in, you could talk to her about anything and she would listen.
"She was positive and if she set a goal for something she wanted for the future, she would go for it.
"Most people would say we were more like sisters than mother and daughter.
"We loved our Sundays out shopping and we even had a two-week holiday to Benidorm, which I will always remember. It was such a good laugh and I have photographs to remind me of that special time.
"We had a special bond which I will cherish forever, a bond which should never have been broken."
