COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) 鈥� Jonathan Johnson spent weeks on a ventilator battling COVID-19, then decided to get married 鈥� in the hospital.
The 28-year-old man surprised his fianc茅e with the help of hospital staff and arranged a wedding last month in the intensive care unit of the hospital in Council Bluffs, tying the knot with 28-year-old Mariah Copeland from his bed, reported.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want any regrets,鈥� Johnson said Tuesday. 鈥淎fter coming off the ventilator, you view a lot of things differently in life.鈥�
Johnson was diagnosed with COVID-19 in September. He quarantined in the couple's bedroom away from Copeland and their 2-year-old son.
Copeland also tested positive, but it was Johnson whose condition worsened. He landed in Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital and was on a ventilator for more than three weeks.
As soon as Johnson got off the ventilator, he decided the time was right for the wedding.
鈥淵ou see a lot of sadness, and sometimes the end isn鈥檛 always what we wanted,鈥� nurse Jenna Harvey said. 鈥淲ith Jonathan, this gave us hope and it kind of keeps us going. ... It鈥檚 something they both deserve.鈥�
Family, friends and an officiant were looped in and persuaded Copeland to do her hair and makeup and head up to the hospital for a visit on Oct. 14. When she got to Johnson鈥檚 room 鈥� where he was no longer in isolation or contagious 鈥� he told her that she was there for a wedding.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think that was going to happen so soon,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 am so happy it did, so I can spend my forever with the man that I love.鈥�
Legal paperwork lists the wedding date as Oct. 22, the day Johnson was released. He is on the mend at home, and still uses oxygen. The couple hope to have another 小蓝视频 after he fully recovers.
The Associated Press
