|
 Both contracted the disease and were rushed to Milton Keynes
University Hospital in the same ambulance when their oxygen levels
fell dangerously low.
Kerr and O'Brien became so ill that medical staff scrambled to
organize a wedding before it was too late. When O'Brien's condition
got even worse, it was decided he should be transferred to the
intensive care unit (ICU).
Even that did not stop them: staff delayed his intubation just long
enough for them to tie the knot.
"They told me that we wouldn't be able to get married after all,
because they were going to have to intubate Simon and put him
under," Kerr recalled.
"But they held off for another hour. And he just, just rallied in
that time, just long enough for us to get married."
With mortality rates now as high as 80% in the ICU, a happy ending
was far from certain.
But O'Brien's condition improved and the newlyweds reunited on a
COVID-19 ward where both are gradually recovering, although still
receiving oxygen.
"We had to wait a few days for our first kiss," Kerr told Reuters.
'I DO'
When Kerr, 31, and O'Brien, 36, arrived at the hospital in southern
England, both needed a CPAP machine to breathe. They were placed on
separate wards for COVID-19 patients.
Kerr, a nurse at nearby Buckingham hospital, had told medics the
couple planned to wed in June, but with their condition
deteriorating, nurse Hannah Cannon asked her if they wanted to marry
in the hospital.
Kerr recalled she was told it could be her only chance.
Squeezing her husband's arm and welling up with tears as she
recalled the events, she said: "Those are words I never ever want to
hear again."
[to top of second column] |
 As staff across the hospital
rushed to secure a wedding licence, O'Brien's
health worsened and doctors decided to move him
to the ICU, reserved for the sickest patients,
where he could receive mechanical ventilation.
They waited to intubate him long enough for the
ceremony, which took place at 5.30 p.m. (1730
GMT) on Jan. 12, three days after the couple
arrived in hospital.
Cannon was a witness and filmed the marriage for
the couple's family and friends. The catering
department provided the cake.
"With lots of teamwork ... we were able to give them a wedding, not
necessarily the wedding that they would have initially intended, but
certainly something positive, remarkable and memorable for them to
really hold on to," Cannon said.
Moments after saying "I do", O'Brien was sedated and spent the night
on mechanical ventilation.
Sitting next to each other and clutching hands after his partial
recovery, the couple believe their survival was down to the staff's
quick thinking.
Kerr said the terrifying experience of fighting for every breath
made clear what was important: the people you love.
"That is everything that matters, everything" she said.
"Absolutely," O'Brien agreed, speaking through his oxygen mask.
Kerr added: "If we hadn't had each other and we hadn't been given
that opportunity to get married, I don't think both of us would be
here now."
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
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