A Connecticut bride lost her battle with breast cancer just 18 hours after getting married. Heather Lindsay and David Mosher tied the knot in a ceremony held in the chapel of St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford.
The 31-year-old psychologist was dressed in her wedding gown and lying on her hospital bed when she finally got to marry the love of her life. The young couple fell in love after meeting at a swing-dancing class back in 2015.
Mosher proposed to Heather back in December 2016 after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. “I had planned to ask her on Dec. 23, 2016,” the groom, David Mosher, 35, told ABC News of the proposal. “That morning we had gone to the doctor after she had found a lump on her breast.”
“Now more than ever, I needed for her to know that she’s not going to do this alone,” the 35-year-old said.
The couple went about planning their wedding. But as Heather’s health continued to decline, the doctors told the couple they should look to wed “sooner rather than later.”
So, they pushed things forward a bit and married on Dec. 22.
One of Heather’s bridesmaids was photographer Christina Karas. The pair became close friends after meeting at a dance class four years ago.
“She was dying and it was clear while we were all there that these were the last moments of her life,” Karas, 36, told ABC News. “She held on to stay alive for the wedding … a wedding to the man of her dreams.”
Christina spoke of her heartache at watching the pair marry, captioning one of her photos:
“Of all the photos this one breaks my heart the most. He was longing to have a chance to build a life with his bride, but knew she had to say goodbye. He wished more than anything to take her pain away. But knew the only way her pain would end, was if her body finally gave up the precious life within. I cry as I write these words.”
The photographer also wrote of the hope that Heather had in the Lord even in the face of her impending death:
“Heather chose to spend her last hours celebrating surrounded by people she loved and who loved her. How do I know God is real? Because He was filling her with joy despite the fact that outwardly her body was failing. She chose to let God carry her, instead of wasting her last hours angry at him for allowing this illness. And carry her he did. He carried her home.”
The photos are absolutely heartbreaking:
Christina went on to talk about Heather’s family, and explained how her mother leaned heavily on her faith to see her through the devastation of losing her daughter:
“The amount of strength her mom showed could only be possible because of her unwavering faith in God, despite the certainty she would lose her only daughter on this earth,” the photographer wrote on Instagram.
“Her outpouring of selfless love reminded me of Heather’s reaction to tragedy in other’s lives. Heather has shown me this same care when I was in a very dark and hopeless place. She learned this language of love from her family and was able to comfort others in this same way.”
“I am in awe of the strength Dave’s love inspired in Heather even in her last hours,” Christina said of Heather’s husband David. “She was his great love and he was hers. I pray these moments give Dave the same strength now to carry on the legacy of their love.”
“Heather, you are greatly missed. The earth froze yesterday as the warmth of your light ascended to be with God for eternity. Until we meet again my dear friend. Watch over us.”
David explained the surreal experience of holding a funeral for his wife on a day the pair were expecting to be on their honeymoon. “It was just like surreal because I’m supposed to be exchanging vows to her and here I am saying goodbye,” he said.
“Some of her last words were her vows.”
Do pray for David and the extended friends and family as they deal with this enormous loss.