DON'T WEAR BLACK TO MY WIFE'S FUNERAL; Exclusive Grieving dad's request.

Byline: By Natalie Walker

MOURNERS at tragic mum Nicola Shearer's funeral have been asked not to wear black.

Husband Derek revealed yesterday that he wants friends and family to remember the happiness Nicola, who died hours after giving birth to second son Sam, brought to them.

Nicola, 31, who kept an emotional internet diary of her pregnancy, will be laid to rest today.

Derek, 35, said: "Nicola was a very bright and bubbly person so we have asked people to wear bright clothes to remember her by.

"The last thing she would have wanted was people dressed in black. We want this to be a day to celebrate her life.

"She brought happiness to so many people and we want to remember that."

Nicola, a team leader at the Dounreay power station, showed no signs of illness before she gave birth to Sam on December 18 at Caithness General Hospital in Wick.

But she was suddenly hit by an anaphylactoid reaction - a rapid allergic reaction which can affect multiple parts of the body.

Derek had to watch helplessly as medics battled in vain to save her. They are still trying to establish the cause of the reaction.

The grieving dad, who has been left to bring up Sam and two-year-old Leo alone, said Sam was doing well after being allowed home on Christmas Day.

He added: "He is bringing us all so much joy. Everyone is being so kind and supportive which is a great help."

Nicola, whose funeral will be at Wick Old Parish Church at 2pm, started her blog on networking site Bebo when she was 14 weeks pregnant.

Over the next six months, she wrote about how she was getting bigger and more and more excited about the birth.

In July, she noted how the baby was wriggling a lot and added: "Already breaking up my sleep. Must be another boy."

In August, she wrote: "Leo starting to take more and more interest in the new baby."

And in her last entry, three days before the birth, she wrote: "Hoping to be home for Xmas but health is more important so will take it as it comes."

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TRAGEDY: Nicola and husband Derek