French Hospital Staff Makes Cancer Patient's Dream Wedding a Reality in 24 Hours

While hospitalized, Tomás Hernández, a Stage IV cancer patient, expressed his wish to marry his fiancée. Hospital staff members worked together to organize a dream wedding.

San Luis Obispo, CA, October 10, 2024 – In a display of love, compassion, and community, staff at French Hospital Medical Center worked together to organize a wedding at the Swanson Family Chapel for a patient battling Stage IV cancer. 

Tomás Hernández, a patient at French Hospital, married his fiancée Kassandra Salcedo during a ceremony inside the Swanson Family Chapel on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. 

The team at French Hospital jumped into action to coordinate the wedding in just a day’s time,  after Tomás, 26, expressed his wishes to marry Kassandra, who’s been by his side throughout his treatment. 

Tomás and Kassandra, who celebrated 10 years as a couple on Oct. 4, had long been planning to wed, but life had a way of interrupting their plans. 

“We always wanted something small – but nice,” Tomás said of the couple’s wedding plans. “We always talked about 10 or 15 people at our wedding, but now we decided to just go for it. If it wasn’t for the nurses and everyone here, we wouldn’t be married today.”

“He’s my everything,” Kassandra said of Tomás. “I will be there for him for all of my life. He’s the most important person in my world and I will always be there to support him and love him.”

Staff members worked to acquire rings for the ceremony and reached out to the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s office to arrange the marriage certificate. Another staff member officiated the wedding while the Nutrition Services team procured a cake, sparkling apple cider and celebratory champagne flutes. 

The French Hospital Medical Center Foundation arranged a Spanish-speaking singer to perform at the ceremony while staff from French Hospital’s Hearst Cancer Resource Center coordinated to have Tomás’s mother travel from Mexico. 

Monica Ruelas, the Supervisor of Environmental Services at French Hospital, played a major part in organizing the ceremony and was happy to see it fulfill the couple’s wishes.

“Seeing his face when he talks about how much he loves her and how important it is for him to do this – we had to make it happen,” Ruelas said. “Whatever it takes, we had to make it happen. That’s what it’s all about – our patients and making sure we give them everything that they need. Whatever we can do to brighten his spirits and make his day and this definitely, I think, did it.” 

"It was truly a team effort,” said Sue Andersen,President and CEO of French Hospital Medical Center. “Everyone, from the nurses to the nutritional services team, and our foundation and staff at the Hearst Cancer Resource Center, came together to make this happen. It was a beautiful reminder of the power of compassion and the human spirit.”

The newlyweds said they are thankful and enjoyed their special ceremony. Some family members attended along with hospital staff and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. 

To learn more about French Hospital Medical Center, please visit dignityhealth.org/frenchhospital.

 

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About French Hospital Medical Center

French Hospital Medical Center is a state-of-the-art, 98-bed acute care hospital located in San Luis Obispo, California. French’s Oppenheimer Family Center for Emergency Medicine is the area’s most advanced emergency services center. The modern facility is home to the Copeland, Forbes, and Rossi Cardiac Care Center, the county’s premier cardiac center, providing the latest cardiac and imaging technology, and the Hearst Cancer Resource Center offering free education, resources and support to cancer patients and their families.