‘Love conquers all’ – Wakefield couple marry on extensive care unit

When 49-year-old David Fontana advised his female friend he liked her for the primary time, Jennifer Rush’s hit music The Power of Love was once taking part in within the background.

Nine years later, the similar observe was once taking part in as Joanne Stringfellow, 55, walked down a hall at an extensive care unit to marry him.

The pair, who married at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield simply 24 hours once they had been advised to mention their ultimate goodbyes, had been talking to the BBC.

“We thought it would be something nice to do before it happened,” Mrs Fontana mentioned.

Mr Fontana has an extraordinary autoimmune situation impacting the lungs and is assessed as being in unmarried organ failure.

When Mr Fontana’s dependency on an oxygen device become extra critical, he was once advised there was once little extra medics may do to assist him.

“It was a big shock, and we said about getting married,” Mrs Fontana mentioned.

Newly married Mrs Fontana mentioned sanatorium personnel “did everything” to make the South Elmsall pair’s marriage ceremony on 29 April really feel particular in tough instances.

Mr Fontana were the usage of a CPAP hood to lend a hand together with his respiring, however they as a substitute fitted him with a nasal cannula for the marriage to permit the couple to kiss.

Overcome with emotion upon seeing her groom’s face, Mrs Fontana ran down the makeshift aisle on the sanatorium in West Yorkshire.

“When we got to the door I was so pleased to see Dave’s face that I just let go of my dad’s hand and ran up and kissed him,” she mentioned.

Six of the couple’s pals had been provide on the provider, a poem provided by way of the registry administrative center was once learn and the sanatorium canteen supplied a cake.

Mr Fontana’s ward room was once adorned by way of sanatorium personnel with out the couple’s wisdom.

“The day before they had been running around with the banners and balloons trying to avoid me,” Mrs Fontana mentioned.

“To be fair, that day, you probably could have smacked me in the face and I would not have even noticed because we were absorbed in ourselves having had that news.”

Against all odds, Mr Fontana’s well being has stepped forward for the reason that marriage ceremony and he has been moved to an acute care ward.

He described the enjoy as “surreal” after observing again a marriage video made by way of sanatorium personnel.

“Here I am three weeks later, still alive and kicking,” Mr Fontana added.

While it won’t had been the marriage the couple typically would have deliberate for, the pair described it as “very special”.

“I keep telling everybody that love conquers all and it is the love and the care between us that has spurred him on, though science will probably say that it was the drugs kicking in,” Mrs Fontana concluded.