When Mark Villada was in the middle of planning his wedding to his fiancée, Elise, a terrible car crash upended everything.
The accident, which happened in October, left the Connecticut resident unable to walk after suffering multiple broken bones and fractured vertebrae, according to local outlet WFSB. Mark was admitted to Gaylord, a long-term acute care hospital in Wallingford, Conn., where he began an intensive rehabilitation program to help him learn how to move again.
As Mark’s recovery slowly progressed, he and Elise decided not to wait to get married. Instead, they chose to exchange vows at Gaylord itself — with the help of Mark’s physical therapist, Donna Piercey, and the hospital staff, who came together to turn a hospital wing into a wedding venue, complete with decorations, a cake and celebratory drinks.
“Just little touches to make that day more special for them,” Dorothy Orlowski, manager of patient relations, told WFSB.
Mark set himself one major goal for the ceremony: he wanted to stand beside Elise while they said their vows. On Saturday, Nov. 29, he did exactly that.
Speaking with WFSB, Elise reflected on how difficult life had been since the crash.
“Going through something as traumatic as that accident was for him and for us as a whole family was hard, [so] to have a team that was so supportive for him definitely made a huge difference,” she said of the Gaylord staff.
Mark shared the same gratitude. “I’m really, really thankful for them, for everything that they did here. For getting me back on my feet, literally,” he said.
As a wedding gift, the couple received something priceless. On Sunday, Nov. 30, Mark was discharged from the hospital and went home, where his young daughter was waiting for him.
“That was the main drive for me to get back,” he said of reuniting with his child after so many weeks apart.
Now that he has reached his goal of standing for his vows, Mark told WFSB that he’s focused on his next milestone: one day being able to run again.
