Abby and her tuxedo-clad groom, nurse Matt Hickling, pose for their first post-wedding photo. (Photo: Albany Medical Center)
In many respects, it looked like any other wedding: the beaming bride wore white, her two bridesmaids dropped rose petals at her feet as she walked down the aisle, and she and her
handsome groom exchanged rings at the altar.
But the ceremony that took place Thursday morning inside Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Albany Medical Center in New York was anything but ordinary.
The “bride,” 4-year-old Abby, was diagnosed with leukemia last October. Since then, she’s undergone outpatient treatment at Melodies Center, about 15 minutes from her home outside Albany. These days, she comes to the hospital every few weeks to undergo maintenance chemotherapy with the goal of sending her cancer into remission.
Abby walks on rose petals dropped by her two bridesmaids (Photo: Albany Medical Center)
The “groom” is her favorite nurse at Melodies Center, Matt Hickling. He’s worked at the hospital for three years and he has known Abby since she started her treatment. Hickling and his young patient took a shine to each other. “I noticed that every time she came in, she’d come looking for me,” Hickling says.
“Abby told her mom, Renee, that she was planning to propose to me,” says Hickling. “Renee told me about it last Wednesday, so I thought it would be fun to make it happen.”
With less than 24 hours to go until the Thursday morning ceremony, Hickling enlisted a hospital social worker and patient life specialist to serve as Abby’s bridesmaids. The three reached out to local business owners, who donated flowers and a wedding cake. “It was fantastic that it all came together so quickly and perfectly,” says Hickling.
Abby and Hickling leave the nuptials in her ceremonial toy car (Photo: Albany Medical Center)
At the 10 a.m. wedding in a room at the hospital, Hickling wore a tuxedo T-shirt. Abby, wearing a hospital mask, popped the question. Renee gave her daughter away. Abby and Hickling exchanged ring pops before they hopped into a toy car Hickling had festooned with wedding decorations.
On a Facebook page called Amazing Abby , Renee wrote, “I know the people at the Melodies Center and know their creativity and thoughtfulness but never expected all of this. Abby’s response: ‘This is the best day ever!’ We are both in awe from today’s visit and smiling ear to ear.”
Later that day, one of the local businesses posted a video Hickling sent them of the wedding. It was then picked up by a local news station, and from there went viral, with more than 24 million views to date.
Post-wedding, Abby and Hickling have gone back to being good pals. Hickling, who is actually married to his real-life bride of less than one year, credits his wife with helping make the ceremony happen. “She was the one who told me all the things we needed to get to make it happen, like flowers,” says Hickling. “It was a nice moment for Abby’s family, and something the staff won’t forget.”
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