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A hospital organized a wedding for a terminally ill patient

Gus and Rachel Jiménez said "I do" on February 23 at Wilmington Hospital. (ChristianaCare)

A hospital in Delaware helped organize a wedding for one of its terminally ill patients and his fiancée.

Doctors in August had found a small lump on Gus Jiménez's lung, his wife told CNN affiliate WABC this week. He was diagnosed with NUT carcinoma, a rare and fast-growing cancer that cannot be cured, according to the National Cancer Institute.

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"Everything kind of changed in August," Rachel Jiménez said.

Then on January 31, the couple went to the emergency room at Wilmington Hospital, where Gus was admitted for dehydration.

"His pain progressed, and he has been in the hospital since that day," Megan McGuriman, a spokeswoman for ChristianaCare, told CNN.

On February 15 -- knowing he might never go home -- Gus proposed to Rachel from his hospital bed.

"We kind of just talked about, 'Why would we get married if we know this potentially could lead to him not being here much longer?' and I said I didn't care about that," Rachel said.

Just a week later, Gus and Rachel were at the altar -- in the Wilmington Hospital atrium.

"Our caregivers helped decorate the atrium with flowers, brought the wedding cake and cupcakes and set up seating for guests," McGuriman said.

Many even attended the wedding to help Gus and celebrate the special day.

Generous donations from Men's Wearhouse and David's Bridal ensured that Gus and Rachel had a fitted tuxedo and the perfect wedding dress, McGuriman said. A photographer volunteered to take pictures.

"The perfect definition is 'just bittersweet,'" Rachel told WABC. "We're still on cloud nine."

“We’re still living in the moment, and that’s basically what we’re doing every day,” she said. “I still want to be his wife no matter what.”


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