Mom of preemie carries baby instead of bouquet in hospital wedding originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
If there's one event that's truly life changing, it's becoming a parent. Getting married could be a close second.
One North Carolina couple got just about all the change they could get this summer.
Amanda Acevedo went into pre-term labor and gave birth to Oliver on June 14, who weighed in at just 3 pounds and 14.6 ounces. He has been in the NICU since his birth at 30 weeks.
Amanda and her husband, Edwin Acevedo, had to cancel their original wedding plans, as the new parents wanted to be with their son in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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Instead of getting married on a beach as they planed, they thought they could get married in a courthouse.
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But when the WakeMed family coordinator heard the courthouse plan, the hospital told "GMA," she suggested they marry in the hospital chapel so Oliver could come too. In addition to her role as family coordinator, Mallory Magelli McKeown is also a chaplain, and she performed the wedding. Among the guests were Oliver’s neonatologist and other WakeMed doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners who have cared for Oliver these past couple of months. Oliver acted as his mom's bouquet.
Hospital staff got Oliver a suit for the wedding and nurses decorated the family's room in celebration.
Edwin told "Good Morning America" he was thinking, "I’m the luckiest guy in the world; I have a beautiful wife and adorable cute baby," as he watched Amanda and Oliver walk down the aisle.
By the time the couple wed in August, Oliver was almost 8 pounds.
The hospital told "GMA" Oliver is happy, healthy and on track to go home very soon.
Amanda said she's most grateful for Edwin and the support of the people around them.
"He has been my rock and has been endlessly supportive during both of our stays at the hospital. I could not imagine a more perfect person to raise our son," she told "GMA." "I’m also grateful for the NICU staff because without them our baby would not be doing as well as he is! And I’m so grateful for our families helping us in any way we needed to make our lives a little easier so we can focus on Oliver."