Bride with rare form of cancer gets hospital wedding: ‘It feels like it was supposed to be this way’
After a devastating cancer diagnosis, staff at a Colorado hospital gifted a bride and her longtime partner a “perfect,” free wedding that the couple says exceeded their dream expectations.
Aliana and Bailey Gleason, a couple for 11 years, were married this week in a hallway at HCA HealthOne Swedish in Englewood, just two days after their engagement. Aliana is undergoing treatment for a rare sarcoma, cancer of the body’s connective tissues, that has spread to her spine, with limited treatment options available.
The couple told 9 News that they had long delayed their wedding, hoping to one day afford the celebration they envisioned. However, news about Aliana’s condition led them to reconsider their timeline.
“With some recent developments in our lives, we are thinking that life is short and that we want to be married,” Bailey Gleason told the outlet, which was onsite for their ceremony.
Hospital staff lined the hallway decorated with a heart banner, balloons, and flower petals, as Aliana, wearing a strapless, white wedding dress, went down the “aisle” in a wheelchair.
“It feels like it was supposed to be this way,” Aliana said, to which Bailey agreed, adding, “It doesn’t feel like it’s not the wedding we wanted; it feels perfect.”
“I’m just blown away,” Aliana continued. “It was amazing and made me feel really supported and see the goodness in people, besides just the few I know are good.”
The couple said their ceremony solidified their unwavering commitment to confront life’s challenges together.
“To always stand beside him, even through the hard stuff,” Aliana said in her wedding vow. “We are going through some [of] the hardest things you can go through right now in our lives, not just medically, in every aspect and… it was a promise to just stand next to each other and face the storm together.”
Hospital staff quickly rallied to organize the couple’s wedding after learning of their engagement, according to nurse manager Matt Turrie, who works in the hospital’s oncology department.
“There is not a lot you can always do, so when there is something you can do, by supporting the family, supporting the patient, being able to put on something like this, a wedding, a celebration,” he said.
Turrie also applauded the remarkable strength and courage Aliana has shown throughout her treatment.
“A lot of fight that we have seen the past couple of days. Hasn’t been the best news, but every day she wakes up, and she is smiling,” he said.
Despite the challenging circumstances, both Aliana and Bailey said they wouldn’t change a thing about their wedding day, and shared some advice for other couples.
“Once you find the right person, don’t let little things get in the way. Don’t let little fights slowly chip away at the magic that you have found,” Aliana said.
