Bridget Holcomb of Kadoka originally planned for a Labor Day wedding this coming fall, but then her dad, Roger, started experiencing heart problems. “My dream was always to have my dad walk me down the aisle,” Bridget says. “And I was married before, and he didn’t get to do that then, so I wanted to make sure it happened this time.”
Hoping that Roger’s heart treatment might be in a good place in the spring, Bridget and her fiance, James, moved their wedding up to Easter weekend, intending to have the ceremony in their backyard.
Roger and Julie, Bridget’s mom, arrived in the area from Arizona early Easter week. James built a custom archway for the ceremony, which Bridget and Julie began decorating with flowers. However, on Wednesday of that week, Roger experienced a heart attack and was admitted to Rapid City Hospital. An upcoming heart surgery that Roger had scheduled in Arizona for later in the year became even more urgent.
By Thursday morning, plans were being made for Roger to be immediately transferred to a hospital at the University of Minnesota for his heart procedure. Bridget’s wedding hung in the balance. However, guests had already begun gathering in the area. In the midst of all the concern of Roger’s health, James and Bridget discussed alternate options. “We were gonna make this happen no matter what,” says Bridget. “James called me at the hospital, and he said, ‘If you want me to bring the rings, we can do it in the hospital room. If that’s what you want, that’s what we’re gonna do.’”
On Friday, Bridget tracked down one of Roger’s caregivers, Jeff Grande, Advanced Practice Provider at Heart and Vascular Unit (HVU) and asked about the possibility of having the wedding in the hospital. Jeff enthusiastically agreed. Spearheaded by Anna Squillace, Lead Case Manager, the internal plans at Rapid City Hospital came together quickly.
“We talked to security, we talked to dietary, we talked to executive staff, we talked to plant ops,” says Anna. “Bridget had a couple options inside the hospital to pick from for the ceremony. One of them was the chapel, and then the Healing Room and then the other one was outside in the courtyard. Bridget went and looked at all three of those, and then ended up deciding on the Healing Room.”
James and some of the family members gathered the food that had already been prepared along with the wedding cake and brought it all to the hospital. A family friend from Fort Pierre drove the two-and a-half-hours to Rapid City to perform the ceremony. On Saturday—just 24 hours after Bridget raised the idea with Jeff—everything was set.
As the ceremony commenced, Bridget, escorted by Roger and Julie, made her way down the hallway and into the Healing Room, her dream realized. “I was just glad that Dad was able to wear his normal clothes. It didn’t feel so much like we were in a hospital.”
Attendees included members of Bridget’s and James’s family and even one of Roger’s care team nurses, Cat Hintz, RN at HVU.
After the ceremony Roger and Bridget shared a father-daughter dance to the song My Little Girl by Tim McGraw. “It couldn’t have been better,” says Bridget. “It will definitely be something that we will remember forever.”
Roger was transferred later in the following week and underwent surgery on May 7. The family is hopeful for a quick recovery.
Story by Kory Lanphear
Outdoor photos by Amya Camp