“A little over two years later, I was given wonderful news by the oncologist. My scans remained clear and the transplant had been a success. Cancer was in my rearview mirror!”
The Proposal
This helped propel his desire to take the next step with Sarah. “We had been living together for almost a year and I wanted to propose. During a lunch break, I wandered into a jewelry store in New York City. Using pictures Sarah had posted to her Pinterest account, I found a ring nearly identical to what she liked and bought it on the spot.”
That evening, he drove to Sarah’s parents’ house, asked for their blessing, and made a reservation at the restaurant where they shared their first kiss. “At the restaurant, we walked along the water. As Sarah looked across the river, I dropped to one knee and proposed.
“After dinner, we drove to my parents’ house, where both our families were waiting with a champagne toast. It was one of the best nights of our lives. Despite sacrificing two long years of my life to an arduous battle with cancer, I had found the person with whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life. We were both in that hospital at the same time for a reason; one for which we are forever grateful.”
Mutual Support
“About a year ago, Sarah was facing an increasing workload and was also struggling to cope with the loss of some of her patients. As the stress increased, Sarah began to consider leaving nursing. After dinner one night, I reminded her that she chose to be an oncology nurse to make a difference and to help save lives.
“Although patients may pass away, a nurse’s impact remains, especially on the grieving family. It is Sarah’s day-to-day attentiveness, kindness, and care that give both patients and families a reprieve from the horrors of this deadly disease.
“She may not have known it then, but Sarah was continually giving people a different kind of reason to live and that is irreplaceable. After hearing me out and realizing the countless lives she had already changed, Sarah agreed, and took on her job with a new attitude and eye-opening perspective on the lives of her patients, as well as her own.
“It is truly a blessing to have gone through the hell that is cancer and come away not only with my life, but with an everlasting relationship with Sarah.”