Michelle Avila and Antonia Moreno wed while Jose Antonio Avila looks on.Photo:David Patton
David Patton
A caring team of healthcare workers and a big-hearted wedding planning company rallied together tofulfill a dying father’s final wishto watch his daughter say “I do.”
On the morning of March 8, nurses at UMC’s Medical Intensive Care Unit in Lubbock, Texas, called Julie Hodges, owner ofEventfully Yours, with an urgent request to help the hospital throw an impromptu wedding for Michelle Avila and Antonio Moreno, according to theLubbock-Avalanche Journal.
Michelle’s father, Jose Antonio Avila, was a patient in UMC’s intensive care unit and his health was rapidly declining. He had expressed his hope of seeing his daughter get married before he died.
Michelle Avila is walked down the aisle in the ICU.David Patton
She and her team then hurried over to UMC to prep for a 2 p.m. wedding that day. With lots of flowers, balloons and other festive decorations, the group soon transformed a small area of the hospital into a wedding venue.
Michelle Avila holds her father Jose Antonio Avila’s hand.David Patton
Jose Antonio Avila with Antonio Moreno.David Patton
“When [Michelle] turned the corner, it was just a neat thing,” Hodges recalled to theLubbock-Avalanche Journal. “A lot of tears, it was bittersweet, but it’s just a really cool experience.”
“We were honored to do it and donate our time and all the things,” she added of her role as a wedding fairy godmother.
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Michelle Avila with her father Jose Antonio Avila.David Patton
Hodges' colleague Trevor Evinger, a team member at Eventfully Yours, told the outlet the company has never executed an entire wedding with such a quick turnaround.
“None of us have ever really put on a wedding in that time span,” he said. “It was heartwarming.”
Avila later shared atouching photoon Facebook of herself and her now-husband posing with her father at the hospital wedding as she took a moment to express her gratitude to the “amazing people” who made her ailing father’s dream a reality.
“It was so nice to hear him talk about how overjoyed he was. By 3/9 his health took a turn for the worse and I was no longer able to hear his voice. Sadly, today he passed and we feel a peace that surpasses understanding even within the midst of grief,” she continued.
She went on to thank Eventfully Yours, UMC and “the kind-hearted nurses” for making the wedding day so special for their family.
“It gives our hearts peace in knowing his last wish was fulfilled,” Avila added. “Please continue to keep our family in your prayers as we try to process and navigate the next steps.”
source: people.com
