There have been bedside weddings before. In this one though, the bride is still a teenager and the groom a young man. And their future is lived day by day and hour by hour. But the point is they're seizing every moment of happiness they can -- that's what real love does.
Lindsay and Ryan Miller tied the knot inside an MD Anderson hospital room. Miller is fighting a rare form of bone cancer.
In dark times, there can be light. In the face of death, there is life. And in a hospital room, there can be love -- and marriage.
Until this summer, this was the story of Lindsay and Ryan Miller: She's 19. He's 28. They met and fell in love in their hometown of Edgarton, Kansas. He proposed last year, but in September, Ryan was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Ewing's sarcoma. There was a massive tumor in his lung.
"He doesn't have the bone cancer, he has the soft tissue and it's such a rare cancer and mutates differently," newlywed Lindsay Miller said.
Last week, Ryan, Lindsay and his family came to MD Anderson hospital in search of a miracle. Ryan began specialized treatment, but with his condition so serious, the family had to confront the possibility the treatments might not work. That's where the light in the dark began to shine -- with a wedding.
"Love never should wait. If you love somebody, be with them no matter what it takes, and that was what me and Ryan did," Lindsay said.
Last Thursday, in a corner hospital room, two people pledged their commitment. The room was decorated by nurses, who also provided the bridal veil.
"We got the veil out and she almost started crying and said you know I was really hoping I'd get a veil and I didn't think I was going to get one, so that really warmed our hearts," MD Anderson nurse Danielle Gorski said.
Father Rich Hauser III, a hospital chaplain, performed the ceremony.
"Their profession of love to each other in front of family and God and of all that," Hauser III said.
Ryan is said to be showing some improvement, but there is a long road ahead. The difference is they're traveling it together, grateful for the gift they've been given.
"You just only live in the moment and that moment was just absolutely amazing," Lindsay said.
The couple is also trying to raise money to offset medical bills. A local foundation called 'Miracles for Ryan Miller' helped guide the couple to MD Anderson hospital.
