CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Maria Isabel Cipple Leon, a cancer patient at UNC Hospitals, was supposed to get married in a wedding at her church earlier this month.
But when it became unclear if she would be healthy enough to leave the intensive care unit, her medical team and UNC’s chaplain’s office rallied together in under a week to put on a wedding at the hospital’s own chapel.
A medical student on her team brought a cake. Residents brought a bouquet of flowers, which they used to decorate the bride’s wheelchair. The physical therapy team and the bride’s nurses helped her, with all her lines and tubes, into a wedding dress. The chaplain’s office coordinated with her pastor on scheduling, paperwork and logistics. Food Services made sure there were enough cupcakes to go around.
