DALLAS — A Dallas hospital Saturday hosted a wedding for a patient with late-stage cancer and her now-husband.
A chaplain married Letitia Re Johnson and Jerry Cox at Medical City Dallas. More than 20 attendees crammed inside the small 12-seat chapel, which does not often host weddings.
The couple decided in October to marry on Christmas Eve, they said, fulfilling one of the bride's childhood dreams.
"This is the happiest day of my life," Johnson said. "I couldn't ask for a happier day."
"She's everything," Cox said. "She means everything. She looks beautiful."
Johnson is ill with Stage 4 ovarian cancer. The hospital admitted her in July, she told WFAA.
"It defines how much we love each other and how much he's willing to be there for me," she said. "He's been sleeping on sofas and chairs in there, eating hospital food, just so he could be by my side."
"This is unconditional love," Cox said. "This bond right here will never break."
Johnson and Cox say they met at a grocery store seven years ago. Cox characterizes their meeting as "love at first sight."
"I wrote a list and I asked God to send me a man," Johnson said. "Every aspect of that list, (Jerry) checks off. I'm so blessed today that I'm Mrs. Cox."
"I couldn't ask for anything more," she continued. "That our families would literally come to the hospital just to celebrate us means so much."
Perhaps breaking from tradition, the newlyweds offered sincere advice after their union.
"When you know who the love of your life is, don't let time slip by," Cox said. "Time goes by fast."
The hospital also hosted a reception for the couple and their families.
"It makes my heart warm," Cox said. "It excites me even more that I'm marrying the queen of my life."