Couple With Terminally Ill Baby Marry In Hospice So He Could Be With Them

A couple, with a terminally ill baby boy, who had only weeks to live, moved their wedding day and married in a hospice their baby was in, so he could be there with them.

Patricia and Christopher Armstrong exchanged vows last week in a North Carolina hospice while Christopher was cradling their one-month-old son, Conner.

“We were told we didn’t have much time left with Conner. So we wanted him to be there,” Christopher told WFMY.

Patricia also said that the whole family watching on, including their two young daughters, made their special day “perfect”. “It’s been scary. It’s been emotional, but it’s well worth it,” she said.

Conner was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Trisomy 18 (also known as Edwards’ syndrome), which causes severe birth defects, and affects around one in 2000 pregnancies in the US.

The Trisomy 18 foundation said that only 50 per cent of babies who are carried to term will be born alive. “Basically [Conner] has an extra eighteenth chromosome. It has more internal effects,” Christopher said.

Sadly, three days after the ceremony, on March 17, Conner died.

Christopher posted a heart-wrenching Facebook message to his little boy. “You are loved by so many and will be missed by all. My heart is broken but I know you are in a better place and you are watching over your sisters, your mama and me,” he wrote.

Patricia also shared a heartfelt tribute to Conner, whom she called a “fighter”. “He proved so many doctors wrong so many people wrong by making it as long as he did,” she wrote. “And he touched so many people’s lives, ours the most.”

The family paid tribute to Conner’s short life and released colourful balloons into the sky.

Source: Essentialbaby.com.au