Terminally-ill mum able to watch son get married thanks to staff

A terminally-ill mum got to attend her son’s wedding via FaceTime thanks to the dedication and support of staff at the Queens Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham.

Jillian Crossland, 70, from Nottingham feared she would not be able to see her son get married after she fell at home and fractured her hip shortly before he was due to get married.

Although the Trauma and Orthopaedics team at QMC tried their best to make it so that Jillian could attend the wedding in person, she was not feeling well enough to attend, so they did the next best thing and got her there virtually through the power of technology.

Not only did the team make sure that Jillian got to see her son get married, but they also helped to recreate the day on the ward to help make it really special.

On the big day, Jillian was assisted by the team to get ready for her son’s wedding. Her hair was washed and blow-dried, dress on and lipstick applied.

The family room in the ward was decorated, along with finger foods, cake and nonalcoholic prosecco - even the fine china was brought out to help celebrate.

Jillian’s sister, Janet and niece, Vanessa, arrived to take her to the family room in a wheelchair and her family got to see her Mother of the Groom entrance via FaceTime. Jillian watched the entire ceremony with friends in her own private ceremony on the ward.

Ian said. “We did consider cancelling the wedding, but after being reassured by Mum’s care team that they could still make it special for her, we decided to go ahead.

“It made my day because I was feeling guilty about getting married without my mum being there, but this was the next best thing.”

On the Saturday following the wedding, the groom and his new bride – Natasha, and their two daughters, Mia (17) and Sophia (12), arrived in full wedding attire to take official photographs on the ward balcony – which was kitted out with flowers from Woodborough Garden Centre.

Hannah Shaw, Ward Sister from Trauma & Orthopaedics said: “I’ve never seen Jillian smile so much as when she arrived in that room and saw the effort we had gone to, to make it as special as we could.

“It was an honour to be able to provide something so small - but that meant so much to the family and Jillian. We cannot thank chaplaincy and catering enough for their support in making this day perfect. Proud is an understatement to be able to allow this family to celebrate such a joyous occasion – This is what Nursing is all about!”

Ian added. “The nurses were fantastic. I’m really grateful the team let us do it. They really went to town and helped out. My mum was loving it. She said she felt really spoilt.”

Since writing this piece, sadly Jillian has passed away, but her family still wanted us to run this story. Our sincere condolences go to all her family and friends at this sad time.