Wedding on hospital: CRITICAL CARE PATIENTS WEDDING AT ROYAL PAPWORTH HOSPITAL
- 4 years ago
The couple tied the knot in Cambridge's Royal Papworth Hospital's critical care room, where the groom is awaiting a desperately needed heart transplant to save his life
A critically ill dad desperately waiting for a heart transplant has married the love of his life in hospital.
Liam Hanrahan wed Sarah Cousins in a civil ceremony in the Royal Papworth Hospital's critical care room in Cambridge where he is being treated.
The wedding came together quickly after the pair got engaged at the hospital just weeks ago, on February 1.
The couple were joined by their mothers and Sarah’s two children, 10-year-old Leon and Lyle, six, for the moving ceremony on Thursday, reports Cambridgeshire Live.
Nurse Jenny Beckett, who has looked after Liam for much of his stay in the hospital, also attended the ceremony in the hospital room.
As well as hospital staff, relatives of other patients who have befriended Liam and Sarah were also in attendance for the wedding.
The heartwarming video of the ceremony has gone viral across social media with thousands of people commenting on how amazing and inspiring the couple's love story is.
Liam, 31, is currently on a BiVAD (biventricular assist device), which is supporting his failing heart.
The machine works by helping to pump blood out of his heart’s ventricles and around his body.
“Liam was admitted to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow in mid-January”, Sarah, 32, said.
She explained: “From there we came to Royal Papworth and have been here ever since. We got engaged here, too, on Saturday, February 1, so it’s all happened very quickly.
“Liam is currently waiting to be put on the heart transplant waiting list, and so we could wait until a potential transplant happens and have the wedding then.
"But Liam’s condition just made us think ‘life is too short, let’s just do it’, and as he is being supported by a BiVAD device that meant having the wedding here at Royal Papworth.
“The nurses on critical care have been amazing. If we were to get married elsewhere in future we would probably invite them anyway, so it made sense to just go ahead with it.”
The beautiful wedding was made possible thanks to the hospital’s critical care team who sourced cakes, flowers and food for the blessing in the hospital’s chapel after the service.
The civil ceremony was followed by a blessing in the hospital’s chapel and multifaith area, conducted by chaplain Revd Anthony Gill.
The couple has said they would like to say a huge thank you to all the people and organisations involved for their amazing help in making the wedding happen at short notice.
Royal Papworth Hospital is the UK’s leading heart and lung hospital. Having performed the UK’s first successful heart transplant in 1979, the hospital now performs more heart and lung transplants each year than any other UK centre.
A critically ill dad desperately waiting for a heart transplant has married the love of his life in hospital.
Liam Hanrahan wed Sarah Cousins in a civil ceremony in the Royal Papworth Hospital's critical care room in Cambridge where he is being treated.
The wedding came together quickly after the pair got engaged at the hospital just weeks ago, on February 1.
The couple were joined by their mothers and Sarah’s two children, 10-year-old Leon and Lyle, six, for the moving ceremony on Thursday, reports Cambridgeshire Live.
Nurse Jenny Beckett, who has looked after Liam for much of his stay in the hospital, also attended the ceremony in the hospital room.
As well as hospital staff, relatives of other patients who have befriended Liam and Sarah were also in attendance for the wedding.
The heartwarming video of the ceremony has gone viral across social media with thousands of people commenting on how amazing and inspiring the couple's love story is.
Liam, 31, is currently on a BiVAD (biventricular assist device), which is supporting his failing heart.
The machine works by helping to pump blood out of his heart’s ventricles and around his body.
“Liam was admitted to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow in mid-January”, Sarah, 32, said.
She explained: “From there we came to Royal Papworth and have been here ever since. We got engaged here, too, on Saturday, February 1, so it’s all happened very quickly.
“Liam is currently waiting to be put on the heart transplant waiting list, and so we could wait until a potential transplant happens and have the wedding then.
"But Liam’s condition just made us think ‘life is too short, let’s just do it’, and as he is being supported by a BiVAD device that meant having the wedding here at Royal Papworth.
“The nurses on critical care have been amazing. If we were to get married elsewhere in future we would probably invite them anyway, so it made sense to just go ahead with it.”
The beautiful wedding was made possible thanks to the hospital’s critical care team who sourced cakes, flowers and food for the blessing in the hospital’s chapel after the service.
The civil ceremony was followed by a blessing in the hospital’s chapel and multifaith area, conducted by chaplain Revd Anthony Gill.
The couple has said they would like to say a huge thank you to all the people and organisations involved for their amazing help in making the wedding happen at short notice.
Royal Papworth Hospital is the UK’s leading heart and lung hospital. Having performed the UK’s first successful heart transplant in 1979, the hospital now performs more heart and lung transplants each year than any other UK centre.