About 70 well-wishers, including family and hospital staff, join Tomás Hernández and Kassandra Salcedo, to celebrate their marriage Oct. 9 in the chapel at Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, California.
Since Tomás Hernández started treatment for what is now stage four colorectal cancer, Kassandra Salcedo has stayed by his side day and night.
The staff at Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, California, noticed.
The couple had told staff about their relationship, about their hopes and dreams, about their desire to marry someday.
"They just haven't had the time or money to do it," said Monica Ruelas, supervisor of environmental services at the hospital. "He was talking to the housekeeper, the CNAs, and it was really his wish to do it, and they brought it to my attention. And we just made some calls and said, hey, can we do this?"
Within a day, the staff at the hospital arranged a wedding for the couple. On Oct. 9, about 70 people, including family, staff and clinicians, witnessed the couple say "I do" during a ceremony at the hospital's Swanson Family Chapel.
There wasn't a dry eye in the place, the couple and Ruelas said.
"I was really happy, really nervous," said Salcedo, 29. "It was everything in that moment for me, when I saw him, just in front of me. It was just wonderful."
A quick team effort
When the staff told the couple that they could and would plan the wedding within 24 hours, Hernández, 26, thought they were joking. "I was surprised, but they did it to make everything possible," he said. "It was the greatest day ever."
Hernández, a cancer patient, wed Salcedo in a ceremony that was organized by French Hospital Medical Center staff.
Staff members acquired rings for the couple and got in touch with the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder's office to get the marriage certificate. A staff member who is ordained to officiate weddings performed the ceremony in Spanish at the couple's request. The nutrition services team procured a cake and sparkling apple cider served in champagne flutes.
Staff from French Hospital's Hearst Cancer Resource Center arranged for Hernández's mother to travel in from Mexico. The French Hospital Medical Center Foundation arranged for a Spanish-speaking opera singer to perform "Ave Maria" at the ceremony. A former patient who had been treated for cancer at the hospital and stayed in touch with staffers donated flowers from her own garden, including for Salcedo's bouquet.
"It was truly a team effort," Sue Andersen, president and CEO of French Hospital Medical Center, said in a statement. "Everyone, from the nurses to the nutritional services team, and our foundation and staff at the Hearst Cancer Resource Center, came together to make this happen. It was a beautiful reminder of the power of compassion and the human spirit."
The hospital's parent company is CommonSpirit Health.
The wedding was the first in the hospital's chapel, which opened in April.
"I'm a very big advocate for our patients," said Ruelas. "Tomás has been here with us for a few weeks. And this is not his first visit here. But whatever we can do outside the box to make our patients feel better in any way we can — and this was something that they really, really wanted. And if I can make it happen, if we can make it happen together as a team, then why not?"
Continuing support
The couple has been together since they were teenagers. They met during a chance encounter on a pier while Hernández was fishing with friends.
Since Hernández first got sick in January, Salcedo has been a constant presence. "She's always there for me, no matter what I say or how I behave," he said. "We have our fights, because it's part of life, but she's still there. She understands the way I think, the way I look to people, she can even read my mind."
In the days following the wedding, they said staffers and even other patients at the hospital have come by to express their well wishes. The staff has taken care of Hernández as well as Salcedo, they pointed out.
Hernández said he and his new wife have become close with staff that they have only known for a few days. "I realized that you can have family in another person without knowing them for too long," he said.
The couple is taking one day at a time as Hernández fights an infection.
"All these things are hard, but I'm just here for him," said Salcedo. "I just love him, and I want to be with him my whole life. He's my everything."