It wasn't a part of her job description, but that didn't stop Laura Peterson from taking on the extra role of emergency wedding planner.
Peterson, an oncology nurse at Salem Hospital in Salem, Ore., had been asked to help coordinate a wedding ceremony in the hospital so a terminally ill patient, Sherri West, could look on as her daughter, Sarah, got married.
"It’s not just every girl’s dream to have her wedding day be perfect," Peterson explained in a media release from the hospital. "It’s also the mother of the bride who wants to be there for her daughter to see that day. I wanted to make it happen for them."
In a video of the event, Sarah said she and her boyfriend, Ethan Schowalter-Hay, had been considering a wedding for some time when her mom's health began to decline sharply.
"When her illness really took a turn for the worse, it was the first thought in both of our minds that we've got to do this," said Sarah. Her father, Glenn, added that the happy couple wanted to get married anyway, "They just didn't want mom to not be part of it."
And in a span of three short days, Peterson made it happen. The nurse wrangled donations from all over town to make the hospital wedding happen, including a donated wedding dress and a photographer who offered to document the affair. A hospital chaplain and a harpist also volunteered their time for the ceremony.
The wedding was held February 1st, in front of family and friends who flew in at the last minute. According to KPTV, West passed away two weeks later.
"It was just beautiful," West said on her daughter's wedding day, smiling. "I can die happy. I can die happy."
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