Corey Edwards was born with a congenital heart defect, which required eight traumatic open heart surgeries.
This terminally ill boy had only one wish in his short life – and that was to see his parents marry. The wedding had been put on the back burner due to little Corey’s illness.
Corey’s condition deteriorated after he was admitted to hospital in January with a cold. His parents, Jemma, 21, and Craig Edwards, 28, were told he might only have days to live.
So the staff at Bristol Children’s Hospital helped them marry at his bedside in early April.
Corey made an adorable ring bearer.
It took 48 hours to plan the wedding, and the couple received special permission from the Archbishop of Canterbury so the wedding could go ahead. Five days later, Corey passed away.
Corey’s father said it was “a day we will never forget“.
He told ITV that he and his wife thought they would “cheer him up a bit”. He added that “getting married is usually the bride and groom’s special day, which it was, but it [was] more Corey’s special day because he [was] such a special boy.”
The hospital’s chaplain, the Reverend Stephen Oram, described the day as “emotional”.
“It was emotional because we knew the outcome for poor Corey [wasn’t] going to be a good outcome and everyone was just aware of the specialness of the day for Mr and Mrs Edwards and Corey.”
“We couldn’t believe the generosity of all those involved. One nurse helped to do Jemma’s hair, whilst another two members of staff made the cake and iced it.”
“Chairs were pulled together to form an aisle and decorations were put up to make it feel like a wedding venue. It may not have been the day we had initially planned in our heads but it didn’t matter to us.”
