Delaware hospital holds wedding for terminally ill cancer patient
WILMINGTON, Delaware -- A hospital in Delaware held a special wedding for a terminally ill cancer patient.
Gus and Rachel Jiménez said their vows on Sunday, but they've been following the pledge "in sickness and in health," since long before they said, "I do."
"Everything kind of changed in August," explained Rachel. "That's when they did an x-ray and found a small little lump on his lung. That was it."
It was cancer, a kind that currently doesn't have a cure. It was a sudden jolt in a whirlwind of a romance that started just six months before the diagnosis came.
"From the first date, he basically proposed to me every date after that. Just kind of jokingly, but we both knew it was kind of serious," said Rachel.
Gus proposed for real February 15, knowing there was a chance he wouldn't leave Wilmington Hospital after being admitted for dehydration a few weeks earlier.
"The pain progressed because the cancer progressed while he was here," explained Rachel. "We kind of just talked about why would we get married if we know this potentially could lead to him not being here much longer and I said, 'I didn't care about that.'"
The newlyweds say they just witnessed a miracle, after all: their wedding.
The hospital staff transformed a wing into a venue. The community stepped up and offered a free dress, a free tux, and free photography. The wedding happened within a few days of the proposal giving memories that will last a lifetime, however long that may be.
"The perfect definition is just bittersweet," said Rachel. "We're still on cloud nine. We're still living in the moment, and that's basically what we're doing every day. I still want to be his wife no matter what."
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