Staff at Peterborough City Hospital have made this Christmas extra special for a patient and his partner by arranging for them to marry on Boxing Day.
Bob Stevens is a patient on the Oncology ward at the hospital and is being cared for by the hospital's Palliative Care Team, led by lead nurse Bev Goose. She has been helping him fulfil a number of wishes in the past few days - but the most important of all, was his desire to marry Pat, his partner of 37 years.
Thanks to Bev's quick arrangements, and a fast response from the Peterborough Register Office team, the couple were able to have a wedding on the ward - complete with flowers, decorations and celebratory fizz. The ceremony was witnessed by Pat's son Brian and nurse Bev.
Bob and Pat, who live in Netherton, Peterborough, had talked of marriage for a number of years, but had never got round to making the arrangements. Pat joked: "Bob has often said: 'if it aint broke, why fix it?' but it turns out that he was looking in secret for us to marry at Gretna Green earlier this year. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, that could not happen. When he became unwell, we discussed marriage again. We have been amazed at how so many arrangements have been made at short notice to enable us to become husband and wife. We are so thankful to Bev for all she has done to make this happen for us."
Bev said: "It was an absolute pleasure to help Bob and Pat to marry. I was honoured to witness the ceremony. It was a very special moment indeed."
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