Tony Majczyk’s youngest daughter put on her wedding dress and walked into his intensive care unit room at AHN Saint Vincent.
Majczyk, 88, was nearing the end of a 10-year battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other lung illnesses. He was too weak to walk Linda Majczak down the aisle or even meet her at the hospital chapel for the ceremony.
So the wedding came to him.
“Saint Vincent had arranged flowers in the room and had a really nice blanket on him,” said Linda Majczak, who works as a nurse at an AHN medical office. “He saw me and instantly lit up. I said, ‘Are we having a wedding here today?’ He smiled really big and put out his arms for a hug.”
Linda Majczyk and her fiancé, Michael Pennington, had been planning their wedding for nearly two years. Those plans suddenly shifted, however, as Majczyk’s health declined.
The seriousness of the situation struck the couple on June 17, three days before the scheduled wedding. Majczyk had been readmitted to Saint Vincent with severe breathing issues and low blood pressure.
“We got a call from my nephew, who lives with him,” said Linda Majczyk, 51. “Dad wasn’t doing well. He was unresponsive and his body was shutting down.”
“The lung issues were taking a toll on his heart,” said Pennington, 50.
When Linda Majczak returned to Saint Vincent the next morning, her father was alert and talking — though it was nearly impossible to understand him through his breathing device.
Realizing that this was probably their best chance to have Majczak participate in the wedding, the couple decided to get married that day and cancel their original wedding plans.
“It was 11 a.m. and I called the officiant and asked when she was available,” Linda Majczak said. “The best time was 2 p.m.”
The couple, and Saint Vincent, had three hours to get ready for a wedding. If the timeline wasn’t tight enough, Pennington’s daughter, who was serving as a bridesmaid, was in Pittsburgh.
Gina Lombardo, a Saint Vincent social worker, helped organize the ceremony. She said it was important to keep the preparations quiet, so that other ICU patients wouldn’t be bothered.
“We decorated the room with flowers and brought in extra chairs,” Lombardo said. “We created a staging area in the waiting room, and opened the chapel so the bride could get ready and later for photos.”
Saint Vincent has hosted other weddings in the past, though it had been at least five years since one was held in the ICU, Lombardo said.
This was the first wedding anyone could recall that was held in the hospital to accommodate a parent. Others involved either the bride or groom.
“The ICU nurses gave Dad the best possible care,” Lombardo said. “They made sure he was feeling his best.”
Pennington’s daughter made it to Erie and got dressed at Majczak’s home. Majczak put on her wedding dress at her sister’s house, while Pennington threw on his tuxedo at his home in Meadville.
The couple is in the process of buying a home together.
Everyone made their way to Saint Vincent, where other friends and family members were gathering. It was a few minutes after 2 when Linda Majczak walked into her father’s ICU room.
“We were running a little late,” she said with a laugh.
Couple married at the foot of Majczak’s ICU bed
The ceremony itself was brief, less than 15 minutes long. Nurses had turned down Majczak’s breathing device so everyone could hear the vows.
Saint Vincent nurses and staff watched from the hallway as the couple was married at the foot of Majczak’s ICU bed.
“Though we couldn’t understand what my dad tried to say, he definitely knew what was going on,” Linda Majczak said. “He kept giving us a thumbs up and he smiled a lot.”
After the ceremony, people shook Majczak’s hand as the couple went to the chapel for photos and a simple reception of soda and cookies.
Linda Majczak later returned to the ICU to visit her dad.
“He was great all day long, though he was tired at the end,” she said. “I left around 8 p.m.”
Majczak’s goal was to make it through the wedding
She returned the next morning when Majczak’s nephew called and said her dad wasn’t doing well. He was once again unresponsive and died around 1 p.m., surrounded by his family.
“Everyone said that his goal was to make it through the wedding,” Linda Majczak said. “It was so important for me that he was there, because I was the youngest and the last one to get married — and everyone knew that I was his favorite.”
Majczak laughed at her own comment before continuing.
“The fact that Saint Vincent opened everything up to our family and put up with all of us was so special,” she said. “I never in a million years thought they would do that.”
