Not many people can say they had their child and got married where they work, but I can.
I was working at Caboolture Hospital Emergency Department back in November 2002 when my then-fiancé became very sick the night before our wedding.
I brought him in to Emergency and they found he had a perforated appendix with
peritonitis.
Wedding day
Weddng held in the Chapel
He had surgery the next morning – our wedding day.
We had a beach wedding planned for that evening and friends and relatives were arriving from inter-state. I was also pregnant at the time, which I found out about two weeks after our invitations went out.
He really wanted to get to our wedding, and his surgeon was happy for him to come home for a couple of hours.
Hospital staff tried their best to prepare him to come home just for the ceremony, but he was too weak.
Seeing our desperation, my colleagues suggested that the ceremony could still go ahead at the chapel.
Tash Willmett and Josh
The chaplain was so beautiful, she walked around the hospital and picked flowers out of the gardens to put in the chapel to make it look nice.
Dezlee, one of the nurses who still works here, got him dressed and brought him down in a recliner chair and we got married in front of our family, friends and colleagues.
Dr Graham Zerk from Emergency took photos for us.
Our son, Josh, was born here in May 2003.
Even though we’re no longer married, he and I both enjoy sharing the story of our crazy wedding day.
I will always be grateful to my wonderful colleagues who did all they could to help us that day.
Have you got a story to share? Email ckw-engage@health.qld.gov.au.