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The care team on 4Oncology at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital went all out when Bernard McBryde asked if he could marry his fiancé while he was still receiving care as an inpatient.


The care team on 4Oncology at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital went all out when Bernard McBryde asked if he could marry his fiancé while he was still receiving care as an inpatient.

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Mr. and Mrs. Bernard and Jasmine McBryde

From the softly streaming Pachelbel’s Canon in D, to the multi-tiered cake and sparkling cider, to the carefully scattered faux rose petals on the floor that formed the outline an aisle, it was clear that something special was happening in Bernard McBryde’s room at the North Carolina Cancer Hospital, UNC Lineberger’s clinical home.

McBryde, a resident of White Oak, North Carolina, is being treated for lymphoma. When he shared with his care team on 4 Oncology that he wanted to marry his fiancé, Jasmine Cooper, while he was still admitted on the inpatient floor, they were honored to help arrange the ceremony.

“Since the first time I met Bernard and Jasmine, you could see the love they shared,” said Laura Blanchard, PA, a member of McBryde’s care team. “Bernard shared with me he was planning to get married in September but was scared they may have to postpone due to his hospitalization. We discussed the option of getting married in the hospital, and they agreed they did not want to wait any longer.

“So, being the sappy love-struck person I am and having the privilege of working with the best and most caring staff,” Blanchard added, “we were able to pull together an amazing wedding that brought the room to tears!”

Blanchard, Rev. Steven Chewning, the oncology chaplain, members of the rehabilitation therapies team, including Farrell Wiggins, OT, Tracey Nelson, OT, Korre Scott, PT, Laura Andrews, PT, and Allison Allen, RT, and Samantha Daoust, RN, BSN, of nursing, were among the many staff members who worked with the couple’s families to coordinate the wedding ceremony, including decorating McBryde’s room.

Finally, it was time for the ceremony. Walking through a hallway lined with family members and hospital staff, Cooper tearfully made her way into the room where McBryde was waiting. The inspiring ceremony included McBryde and Cooper reciting vows they wrote themselves, after which Rev Chewning pronounced them as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Bernard and Jasmine McBryde.

Reflecting on her wedding and the journey she and her husband have already taken, Jasmine McBryde said they are ready for whatever comes next. “No matter how hard you fall, God will always be there to pick you back up.”

See more photos here.