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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Naina Bhardwaj & Ed McConnell

Terminally ill man marries wife in whirlwind wedding planned in less than 24 hours

A terminally ill man got his wish of marrying the love of his life in a whirlwind ceremony organised in a day.

Royal Victoria Hospital patient David Hughes was so desperate to tie the knot with Kathleen Murray that he brought the day forward and NHS staff organising were left with 24 hours to prepare.

But staff at the specialist palliative care unit at Roxburghe House in Dundee didn't let the tight schedule get in their way and pulled out all the stops to make it a day to remember, the Daily Record reports.

Nurse Dawn Chaplin and ward clerk Pamela Massie only realised the date had been moved a day before - but the pair didn't let it stop them.

David Hughes, a palliative care patient at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Dundee, marries Kathleen Murray (NHS Tayside/Facebook)

They decided to put all their effort into making the couple's day as special as it could be, despite the extremely tight deadline.

The pair decorated the Sanctuary within Roxburghe House with flowers, balloons, bunting and organised a cake and food.

Following the close-knit ceremony, the newlyweds cut their wedding cake and enjoyed treats with their guests.

Pamela said the Roxburghe House team were thrilled they were able to organise the wedding for the happy couple.

Staff had just 24 hours to plan the wedding at Roxburghe House in Dundee (NHS Tayside/Facebook)

She also thanked a number of local businesses, who donated food and decorations to help the whirlwind arrangements.

Pamela said: “When we realised that David and Kathleen had brought forward their wedding day and it was happening within 24 hours, Dawn and I were absolutely determined to make their day as special as it could be.

“We could not have achieved what we did without the incredible support we received from local businesses who donated cupcakes, sandwich platters, cakes, beautiful arrangements of flowers and helium balloons.

"So a big thank you to Asda, Balloons For You, Morrisons Superstore, Broughty Ferry florist Williamsons and Clark’s Bakery.

“Staff in Specialist Palliative Care were delighted that David and Kathleen’s wedding went ahead and that we were able to sprinkle a little bit of wedding magic on their day.”

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