By When’s the big day?” the Lubbock, Texas, city clerk asked as she finalized the wedding license for Michelle Avila and her fiancé, Antonio Moreno.
“This May,” Michelle said, but she inwardly flinched.
She worried May wouldn’t be soon enough. Her father, Jose, whom she affectionately calls Apa, had not been in good health. She wished they could marry sooner, but she didn’t want to stress out Antonio by changing their plans.
But as they headed outside, Antonio surprised her. “I really think we should move the wedding date up.”
Michelle was the youngest of five children and the last to get married. “I will never be able to rest until all of my children are married with homes of their own,” her dad had said ever since Michelle was a little girl.
Her parents loved Antonio from their very first meeting, so when Antonio asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage, Jose was jubilant. “Now I can rest,” he joked.
Love conquers all
Michelle and her sister, Ana, went into wedding planning mode. They booked the venue and shopped for bridesmaids’ dresses. But then Jose started feeling very sick. “A bellyache,” he complained, but a few days later, he was admitted to the hospital with norovirus and started on strong antibiotics. Then his oxygen levels began to drop.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be home in plenty of time for your wedding,” Jose insisted. But Michelle and Ana had a bad feeling. And then their dad’s kidneys began to shut down. Doctors put him on dialysis and he required an oxygen mask to help him breathe.
Michelle had always dreamed of the day her Apa would walk her down the aisle, but now she wondered if he could even hold on long enough to attend. Then Antonio suggested they move the date even sooner. “We could get married right there in his hospital room. Our families could attend on FaceTime,” Antonio suggested, and Michelle fell even deeper in love with him.
“Would that be possible?” Michelle asked the UMC hospital ICU charge nurse, Sheena Helm.
“Let me check,” Sheena replied, and that evening, she called Michelle. “It’s a go! We’re going to give you a special day.”
A father’s last wish
As word spread throughout the hospital, nurses and other support staff offered help. “My brother-in-law plays guitar—he can play at the wedding,” offered one nurse. “I’ll go to Hobby Lobby,” said another nurse, who began making decorations out of sunflowers and red roses—Jose’s favorite flowers.
Sheena and others transformed the hallway outside Jose’s room into a resplendent venue. “We want you to look your best,” Sheena told Jose, helping him into a jacket and into a wheelchair while a doctor stood nearby watching his vitals.
“This is so beautiful!” Michelle told Antonio.
The guitarist played as the bridal procession took their first steps, cheered on by family, friends, nurses and other hospital staff, who snapped photos as the happy couple inched past.
Michelle’s brother-in-law Christian kindly walked Michelle toward her father, Jose.
As the wedding party reached Jose’s door, Christian stepped aside. Michelle took her dad’s hand and gave it a loving squeeze. When the officiate inquired, “Who gives this woman away?” despite his -oxygen mask, guests clearly heard Jose’s strong reply, “Me! I do!”
The smile in Jose’s eyes radiated love as his little girl and Antonio were pronounced husband and wife. Tears and cheers were followed by congratulations all around.
“We couldn’t have done any of this without your help,” Michelle told Sheena.
Later, after the newlyweds had changed their clothes, Michelle joined her Apa for a hospital catered meal in his room with all Jose’s favorite Mexican dishes.
“Finally, now I can rest easy,” Jose laughed, managing a few bites. And then her mom and Antonio brought in the cake.
A day later, Jose grew so weak, he needed to go on a ventilator. But his heart was full of joy, and two days later, he sadly passed away.
“I miss Apa, but it means the world to me that he was there for my wedding,” says Michelle. “I’m so grateful to Sheena and the others who made it possible.”
As for Sheena, it was a privilege to orchestrate the ordeal. She says, “Every woman’s wedding should be special!”
