A Wedding Delayed Comes True in Duke Hospital
Duke Hospital staff members help patient make it to a special event
With the help of friends and medical staff at Duke University Hospital, 24-year-old Heidi Fisk made sure her illness wasn’t going to keep her from her wedding Tuesday.
Fisk has been ill for 6 years with kidney failure because of a condition called IgA nephropathy. She has twice planned a September wedding with her boyfriend of 7 years, only to be hospitalized from complications of her condition.
When Duke Hospital nurses in unit 4300 heard about this, they decided to plan a wedding for Heidi and fiancée Jerremie Duncan, 25. A chaplain from Duke University Hospital presided over the wedding and the nurses chipped in their own time and money to help get decorations, food, drink and a cake.
Heidi and Jerremie have known each other since kindergarten, when he used to throw spitballs at her, and she made fun of his high socks, she recalls. They have been dating since she was 18 after reconnecting through an old friend.
Though she’s from Danville, Va., Heidi has spent most of the past year at Duke University Hospital. Several friends and family came down to participate in the wedding. She was able to stand for the 20-minute ceremony and dance the first dance.
Photos by Shawn Rocco. Text by Samiha Khanna. The full ceremony can be seen below.