Woman who was widowed at 22 travels the world to complete her late husband’s bucket list

Watch: 'I became a widow at just 22 - I'm now travelling the world to carry out my late husband's bucket list'

A woman who was left widowed at 22 has revealed she is travelling the world solo to help carry out her late husband's bucket list.

Isobel Barnes, an emergency medical dispatcher, from Nottingham, lost her husband Luke, earlier this year aged just 34.

Having been diagnosed with a heart muscle disease in 2019, Luke died from multiple organ failure while waiting for a transplant.

At the time his bereaved wife vowed to honour her husband by going travelling – something they both loved. So she sold her house and booked a ticket to Australia.

Isobel hopes to spend the next few months seeing the world before returning to "real life".

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"No matter who I'm surrounded by, I'm grieving and I'm sad," she explains.

"But I'd much rather be doing that on the beach than in Nottingham.

"[Luke would] want me to go and live and have the best life – and I want to do it for him too.

"Sometimes you feel guilty for not crying at certain times but grief is complex and you can't live your life like that."

Isobel says she has booked a one-way ticket as she wasn't sure how she would feel about returning home.

"I don't have a clue what I'm going to do but so far so good. I'm feeling quite at peace with the journey," she explains.

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Luke – who was an IT service desk manager – was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy four years ago following a test for a dislocated shoulder.

After routine six-monthly MRI scans, his health began to worsen, and he was eventually put on the list for a heart transplant in March 2022.

But Luke's health continued to deteriorate and he was kept in hospital permanently in November 2022 while he waited for a heart donor match.

Luke had a BiVAD (biventricular assist device) administered in December to help blood move through his heart.

After two matching hearts no longer being suitable, Luke passed away peacefully after suffering a catastrophic haemorrhage and multiple organ failure due to excess bleeding from a BiVAD failure on the March 17, 2023.

Knowing how much Luke loved travelling, Isobel decided she would continue his legacy by heading off herself.

"Luke used to document his health journey on Instagram and he spoke about travelling on one of his posts," she explains.

"He wanted to see the world.

"Luke and I had already made the decision to sell the house anyway because financially we had no income between us, so selling the house freed up some money, which is what I'm using as my safety net now."

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Luke and Isobel tied the knot at the end of June 2022, just over a year after they met at work.

She now plans to celebrate their upcoming one-year anniversary in Bali.

"I just plan to lie around and drink a cocktail," she says. "I think that's what we would have done together so why shouldn't I do it?"

Isobel hopes to spend time touring Thailand and South East Asia before returning home briefly in August.

"The latest I can come home is the middle of August so that's when reality will hit again, but I think once I've sorted stuff back at home I might come back again over Christmas," she adds.

"I also want to go over to the east coast of Australia as I've connected with a lot of transplant survivors on a Facebook page and we've bonded over this journey that we've been through.

"It would be amazing to go and meet them in person."

Isobel also hopes to change the narrative surrounding grief and organ donations and believes that sharing Luke's story has encouraged others to donate their blood or organs.

"So many people screw their face up when you talk about donating organs but ultimately, Luke died because not enough people donate their organs," she explains.

"But through sharing his story on social media so many people have said they are now donating their blood or planning to donate their organs one day."

She also hopes that her husband would be proud of her decision to carry out his bucket list.

"Of course the only thing I want to do for the rest of my life is make my husband proud," she adds.

"There have been days where I've thought, 'This is pointless'.

"But I just know he'll be looking down at me and saying, 'That's my girl living her best life.'"

Additional reporting SWNS.