We have a patient that has been in and out of the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and the Medical ICU since October 2013. Her stay here has been nothing short of miraculous. We all thought we were going to lose her several times during her admission. This patient's fiance has not left her side since the beginning of her admission. The two had to postpone their wedding as a result of her medical issues. Our patient wanted to get married before her feet were amputated; this procedure was necessary due to complications from her illness.

Motivated by her wishes, the MICU staff came together and created a dream day for our patient. The MICU proudly hosted a fairy tale wedding complete with princesses, flowers, music, wonderful food and a beautiful cake. The day was coordinated primarily by Brittany Schrank, ASN, RN and Paula Kicklighter, BSN, RN along with Lunese Boco, Unit Assistant. They all spent several hours of their time gathering wedding supplies and contacting vendors.

Several of the MICU staff helped bring in miscellaneous items to add to the wedding decor. The BMTU staff made her veil. During the day of the wedding, several MICU nurses covered for one another so that staff could attend the ceremony while the nurses left behind ensured that the 23 other patients on the unit and their families were well cared for. BMTU staff were also in attendance. MICU's Clinical Leader joined in to ensure we all were all on top of our clinical/infection control guidelines.

The MICU had a great deal of help from Infection Control, the STAT nurse team, Marketing, Environmental Services, Catering, and many others to pull off the wedding. Every department we contacted about planning the wedding was gracious enough to extend their help before we could even completely explain what we were thinking! A great example of all of UF Health Shands working together to put patients first.