BOSTON — A Cohasset 78-year-old who was hospitalized days before her son's wedding day got a front-row seat to the nuptials, thanks to South Shore Hospital staff.
Joan DeCruz told her nurses she was upset she was going to miss her son Todd DeCruz's big day last Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, my mother got ill the previous weekend,” Todd DeCruz said. “So when she wasn’t going to be able to attend, the nurses at South Shore Hospital called me a few days in advance and said, ‘Why don’t we set up a video chat for your mom?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s awesome.’”
The hospital gift shop provided a gown, shawl and corsage for the mother-of-the-groom, and Nutrition Services delivered a cake and celebratory treats that met Joan's dietary restrictions.
Todd's 13-year-old son Brian recorded the ceremony on his phone, broadcasting it by Zoom to Joan who was watching on an iPad in her room with the support of hospital staff.
"I just held the phone, so she could see it, and I did have to do a little bit of turning to make sure she could see the whole thing," Brian said. "She sounded really happy."
“She was happy,” Todd added. “You could hear her in the background saying, ‘Oh, there’s the bride!’ And she had a great time. And I heard clapping of the nurses in the background.”
The nurses held a champagne glass toast with Joan as Todd and his new bride, Yen, had their first kiss as husband and wife. Joan waved at the happy couple and blew kisses to the grandchildren as they walked down the aisle.
The ceremony was also live-streamed for the bride's family in China.
“She was definitely a little sad that she wasn’t going to be able to make it,” Todd said. “And I think it lifted her hopes and spirit quite a bit to be able to participate in that way.”
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