THE wife of a transplant patient has died, four years after her husband got a new heart.

Curtis Jackson was able to resume caring for his wife Diana, who first showed signs of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1993, thanks to his transplant.

Mrs Jackson, who lived in Harwood, died aged 55, on October 6.

Mr Jackson said: “She was kind and generous. She just fought all the way.

“Whenever a treatment or piece of equipment was suggested she would stay without it for as long as possible.

“She was so independent. She would never moan and say what rotten luck that I should get this.

“Your problems were your problems. A wonderful quality of hers was to appreciate other people’s troubles, even when they seemed much less serious than hers.”

The first signs of Mrs Jackson’s illness appeared just six weeks after the couple had got married, when she suffered with double vision.

She was examined by experts and doctors told her she may have the same condition as her mother, who also suffered from MS.

Her condition deteriorated but she only left work in 2005, when the sales company the couple met at dissolved.

In 1998, Mr Jackson suffered a heart attack and heart failure meaning he was unable to properly care for his wife.

But their lives were transformed on October 5, 2010, when he was given a new heart at Wythenshawe Hospital.

Mr Jackson added: “She never let you down and was so loving and supportive to me, including when I was ill.

“I like to remember further back. It is hard to get past the last seven or eight years when life was so difficult for her.

“I could not have asked for more. She was the best person I have ever met.”