Fault in Our Stars couple: Dalton Prager dies aged 25 after FaceTiming wife

The couple, who are both cystic fibrosis patients, were due to meet for a final farewell but ended up being 400 miles away from each other when Prager died

The family sought to arrange a medical transport company to fly Dalton from Missouri to a hospital in Kentucky, where he could recover and then visit Katie (Facebook / Dalton and Katie Prager's Transplant Page)

The husband from a real life Fault in Our Stars couple has died at the age of 25 after saying farewell to his wife on FaceTime.

Dalton Prager passed away on Saturday afternoon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St Louis, nearly four hundred miles from his wife Katie who was in hospital in Flemingsburg in Kentucky.

Katie and Dalton’s romance blossomed when they just 18. The pair started falling for each other as they got to know each other on Facebook. However, they were warned against meeting in real life because they both had cystic fibrosis - a terminal genetic disorder which causes damages to the lungs.

Doctors firmly advise against close contact between cystic fibrosis patients because they can interchange dangerous bacteria and endanger their health.

Despite the fact Dalton had burkholderia cepacia, a highly contagious disease for those who have cystic fibrosis, the pair chose to ignore the warnings and meet.

"I told Dalton I'd rather be happy - like really, really happy - for five years of my life and die sooner than be mediocre happy and live for 20 years," Katie told CNN. "That was definitely something I had to think about, but when you have those feelings, you just know.”

Just two years later, in 2011, the pair married at the age of 20.

The couple were widely referred to as a “real Fault in Our Stars couple” by a number of media outlets - a reference to the hugely popular John Green novel which follows the devastating story of two teenagers who fall in love while dying of cancer.

Dalton died from complications stemming from cystic fibrosis. The couple FaceTimed as he passed away. "She told him that she loved him," Katie’s mother, Debra Donovan, told the news outlet. "We don't know if he heard her.”

Katie paid tribute to her late husband on Facebook and commended him as a “courageous fighter”.

“Dalton fought a long hard battle with Cystic Fibrosis. He was a courageous fighter and 'give up' wasn't in his vocabulary. Thank you for all of your love, prayers and kind words that you have shown to us over the past few years.”

The day before Dalton died, Katie said she did not feel regretful about their choice to meet face to face. "It gave me some of the best years of my life," she said. "I'd rather have five years of being in love and just really completely happy than 20 years of not having anybody.”

The family sought to arrange a medical transport company to take Dalton from Missouri to a hospital in Kentucky, where he could recover and then visit Katie. Tragically he died before they united.

The couple had not seen each other since July 16 - their fifth wedding anniversary.

Dalton’s funeral will be held in Missouri, where his family lives, this Wednesday. A GoFundMe page has been set up to contribute to Dalton's outstanding medical bills and funeral cost. The page also sought to unite the couple for one last goodbye.

“We need him to get to his wife before she can no longer comprehend things,” the page reads. “We now have someone to fly Dalton to Kentucky. We are hoping he can be transferred very soon.”