Bride moves wedding to hospital after dad's stroke
It wasn't exactly the June wedding that Stephanie Quillen had planned.
But it was a June wedding. And most importantly, her father was able to be there.
A month ago, that wasn't at all certain.
Steve Ellison had been feeling out of breath, so he saw his doctor, his wife Brenda said. With two of his coronary arteries seriously obstructed, a quadruple bypass was scheduled for May 7.
To his family's relief, he came through the day-long surgery. But overnight, Brenda's husband of 46 years suffered a massive stroke, leaving him completely paralyzed on his right side.
"We watched all the videos and listened to all what could happen. But you always think that's not going to happen to me," Brenda Ellison said.
"We didn't know if he would wake up. And a couple days later, they said we may need to make some serious decisions. We were walking around in a nightmare."
For the next week, he lay unconscious in the ICU.
Fearing what might happen, Stephanie postponed her wedding.
"I said there's no way we're going to do this big wedding now," she said. "And I wasn't going to do it without him."
Stephanie had met her fiance, John Hovanec, through mutual friends. They'd actually gone to Wren High School together.
They set the wedding, which would be the second for them both, for June 6.
But now, with the nuptials called off, Stephanie set about returning her dress and decorations, canceling the cake, and trying to get a refund for their honeymoon trip to Daytona, which was set for a month before a scheduled church mission trip to the Dominican Republic.
Then Steve Ellison, the 69-year-old owner of Handling Services Inc., a Piedmont company which builds and installs hoists, cranes, and conveyors for large industries, woke up.
Stephanie had been unable to get the honeymoon trip refunded. So they just decided to go ahead and get married wherever her father was at the time.
On Friday evening, Stephanie and John had their ceremony in the garden at Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Hospital, where her father was transferred Thursday afternoon to further his recovery.
Though he still can't walk or talk, he was there in a wheelchair.
"The important thing is getting married and dad's going to be there," Stephanie said before the ceremony, noting that she was even able to get hold of her original wedding dress.
"It means the world, honestly," she added. "Just to be there with him ... regardless of the situation he's in right now. We know he's getting better. And we're thrilled we're going to be able to do it."
Since her father, who's been the one the family always turned to for help, couldn't give her away, Stephanie's two twin 9-year-old sons, Cooper and Ellison, dressed in tuxedos and took on the job.
And John Hovanec's son, John Joseph, served as best man while his daughter, Emma, was a bridesmaid, Brenda Ellison said.
"We're thrilled we're going to be able to do it," Stephanie said. "It's all working out."
The mother of the bride was thrilled as well.
"We still have our faith and we believe in miracles," Brenda Ellison said. "Everything's going to be OK."
