#Critical COVID-19 patient recovers after nurses arrange hospital wedding

These nurses know that sometimes love is the best cure for a broken body.

When Carlos Muniz arrived at a San Antonio emergency room in July, he was in bad shape: The 42-year-old had COVID-19, and soon after being admitted his condition became critical. He was placed on life support — and the wedding he and fiancée Grace Leimann had planned was placed indefinitely on hold.

When Methodist Hospital nurse Matt Holdridge learned that the couple’s nuptials had been cancelled, he made the possibly life-saving decision to hold them anyway. Despite Muniz being incapacitated, frontline health-care workers began putting together an in-hospital wedding, to take place around Muniz’s bed.

“A lot of people started volunteering for it — and before you knew it, every nurse in the unit knew about it and was trying to figure out ways to make it more special,” Holdridge said in an emotional Facebook video. “What better way to help him recover than to fulfill their dream of getting married together?”

Footage of the ceremony shows Muniz with a tux-like shirt laid on top of his body as nurses applaud while rolling him through a hallway. A break room was transformed into Grace’s wedding dressing chamber (the bride matched her white mask with her gown).

The ceremony took place in a hospital atrium, with multiple doctors required just to get the groom into the space. Letters spelling out “Just Married” were attached to the back of his bed. Although extremely limited in his physical movements, his foot can be seen visibly shaking beneath his bed sheets as his wife places a kiss upon his mask.

After staff initially told Muniz of the upcoming celebration, his health began to miraculously improve, and he continued to grow stronger after the Aug. 11 wedding.

“The day after his wedding he got out of his bed for the first time, which was a huge step for him,” said Holdridge.

By Aug. 14 — almost a month after he’d been admitted to the hospital, and 20 days after he’d been placed on life support — he became strong enough that he was taken off his ventilator.

Muniz still has residual symptoms of the virus but now officially tests negative for COVID-19.

The ceremony, while far from what he and his wife once imagined, was heartwarming and unforgettable not only for the couple —  but for all the dedicated health-care workers who attended.

“During this pandemic we’ve had to find creative ways to connect with our patients,” said Holdridge. “The wedding was amazing … It was intended to be part of his recovery, but it also was part of our recovery, too.”