Young Taranaki dad Rikki Tako diagnosed with terminal brain cancer after workplace incident dies a week after wedding [Video]

A young Taranaki dad diagnosed with terminal brain cancer following a workplace incident has died a week after his wedding.

Rikki Tako, 32, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer – glioblastoma brain stem tumour – shortly after being hit in the head in a workplace incident at his job in New Plymouth late last year.

Tako passed away on March 26, just a week after he married partner Nykalah Garrett at a beach near New Plymouth.

Speaking to the Herald last month, Garrett said she had quit her job as a registered nurse to take care of him full-time, because it was the “right thing to do”.

“I’m exhausted and it’s an ongoing battle, really – with no kind of hope on the other side of the tunnel,” she said.

Garrett explained their everyday routine, which started when Tako woke up any time between 4am and 6am.

“He kind of figures his day out – or tries to. I get up then …