Couple Weds at Hospital After Groom Is Taken Off Ventilator amid COVID Battle

Methodist Health System Jonathan Johnson marrying his fiancée, Mariah

A 28-year-old man got the chance to marry the love of his life inside the very place he had been fighting for his life just weeks earlier.

Jonathan Johnson battled COVID-19 inside the ICU of Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital for more than 40 days, the hospital tells PEOPLE in a statement.

After being taken off a ventilator recently, Jonathan didn't remember much – but he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his second chance at life: marry his fiancée, Mariah.

"It really puts your life in perspective. I decided right then and there that I wanted to marry her," Jonathan said in a statement. "You don't get too many chances in life. I wanted to make sure I had no regrets."

Thanks to the help of Methodist's staff members, Jonathan was able to create an unforgettable wedding for him and Mariah — complete with cake, photos, music and flowers — all from his hospital bed.

Methodist Health System Jonathan Johnson holding hands with his fiancée, Mariah, during their wedding ceremony

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"We wanted to go above and beyond," nurse Amy Waldstein, who took photos of the ceremony, said in a statement. "You can't get any sicker than he was. He wanted to do this. We thought, 'Let's make it happen for him.'"

Added nurse Jenna Harvey: "At every nurse's core, we care. That's why we do this job: to make people feel loved and taken care of. A wedding is a special day, so we tried to make it as special as possible for them."

Prior to the hospital ceremony, Mariah said Jonathan's battle with COVID was a rollercoaster of emotions.

"It was extremely stressful," she said in an interview. "I'm not gonna sit here and lie, I cried a good portion of the time because I was terrified."

Methodist Health System Jonathan Johnson and his fiancée, Mariah, getting married in the hospital

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"It's a very scary situation watching someone go through that... and not knowing if he's gonna be there in the morning," she continued. "It was very heartbreaking and very scary to think about. It was a whirlwind of emotions."

Jonathan — who, along with Mariah was not vaccinated — admitted that he never thought he'd be put in that position.

"I was one of those people sitting there like, 'I wouldn't get it, there's no possible way. I'll be fine,'" he recalled. "And I got hit with COVID and pneumonia, so let that be a lesson to everybody. Go get the vaccine. Totally worth it."

When he finally started showing signs of improvement and came off the ventilator, Jonathan asked the staff about organizing a surprise wedding for Mariah.

The staff immediately agreed and started planning a ceremony for the "non-traditional, hip couple" that would "fit their personality," they said in the interview.

"I was hoping she wouldn't catch on to what was happening because she has great intuition," Jonathan noted. "I wanted to marry her but I want it to be a sweet surprise."

Methodist Health System Jonathan Johnson with his new wife, Mariah

Once everything was prepared, Mariah made her way to the hospital with family, completely unaware of what was about to occur.

"It was shocking," Mariah said of the ceremony, adding that she had purchased her black wedding dress "about six months" after Jonathan proposed. "I was completely blown back."

"After that, I was an emotional ball because I was so shocked and didn't think it would happen that soon," she went on. "But I am so happy that it did, that way I can spend my forever with the man that I love."

Mariah later changed into her dress before the couple said "I do" in front of staffers.

"When she came in, she looked beautiful," Jonathan recalled, jokingly adding that, "I didn't cry, it was raining inside!"

"It was great and I'm very happy I got to marry my best friend," he noted.

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Today, Jonathan has been discharged from the hospital and is working his way back to a full recovery — a process he said has been tedious and at times, challenging.

"I'm doing a lot better," he said during the interview. "I think the hardest part about all of this is trying to get back to normal. Trying to walk, pick up my son, it's a very difficult process but luckily, I have a great support system helping me out to get back to normal."

The duo also plans to get vaccinated so that they don't have to go through a similar experience again.

"I plan on getting vaccinated because this came as a shock," Jonathan said. "It was a very scary situation I went through and I definitely don't plan on doing it again."

Added Mariah: "We are working on it... I do plan on it in the next couple of weeks, once I get everything settled down."

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