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Melrose couple gets married in Beverly hospital after father of the bride suffers heart attack

BEVERLY, Mass. — While getting ready for the biggest moment of her life --

Alesha Strycharz got one of the biggest scares when her soon-to-be husband, Bruce, texted her. “Is everything okay? There are ambulances here, there are fire trucks and I hear them mentioning the bridal suite,” she said.

Turns out, Alesha’s father, Ed Strycharz, suffered a mild heart attack just hours before her May 7th wedding.

He was rushed by ambulance to Beverly Hospital. “My heart sank and I was just devastated that this day that we planned to have my dad walk me down the aisle wasn’t going to happen,” Strycharz said.

But the staff at Beverly Hospital sprang into action. With Ed feeling well enough, they quickly put together a makeshift wedding ceremony, later in the day, in the courtyard garden. Allie Bleil, a registered nurse at Beverly Hospital, stayed close by her patient during the ceremony.

“We hid the IV and the wristband the best we could and he actually looked really good you wouldn’t know he was a patient if you had seen him,” she said.

With only hospital staff and immediate family members on hand, Alesha’s father walked her down the aisle.

“Seeing Bruce at the end of it and then all of the smiling faces looking up in the windows and around us it was just, the emotion in that courtyard was just unbelievable. There are just no words to describe it,” she said. Groom Bruce Baisch added, “You know it wasn’t where we planned to get married but I wouldn’t change it, it was a magical moment.”

Ed Strycharz had open-heart surgery. His daughter said he is home resting and doing well. The couple did have a second ceremony and reception at the Briar Bar Inn in Rowley later that evening.

If you have a Positively Massachusetts story, contact Boston 25 anchor Chris Flanagan at: positively-ma@boston25.com.

To see more pictures and videos of Alesha and Bruce’s wedding, go to https://www.beaboutexposure.com/ and www.scarletroots.com.