A woman with terminal brain cancer surprised her husband with the wedding of their dreams in a heartwarming video posted on YouTube.
Jessica Oldwyn, 37, was diagnosed withdiffuse astrocytoma in April 2010 after experiencing severe headaches and blackouts. Since then, she has experienced more than three major brain surgeries to keep her tumors at bay, but most surgeons did not expect her to live as long.
In a clip of a previous episode of the CW's The Last Days, Jessica surprises her husband, Dan, with their dream wedding after they initially couldn't afford one because they had to pay her hefty medical expenses.
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Romantic: Jessica Oldwyn, 37, surprised her husband with a wedding after they were initially only able to get married through the courts because of finances
Warrior: Jessica, who is from Washington, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer when in April 2010. She has since undergone at least three brain surgeries
Stunning: Jessica tricked her husband, Dan, into thinking they were just gathering for her birthday party in an episode of the CW's The Last Days
Supporter: Dan has helped Jessica recover from multiple brain surgeries, including one that left her paralyzed on the right side of her body
'We have been secretly conniving behind his back,' Jessica said laughing during the episode.
For her birthday, the pair organized a Kentucky derby part with their closest family and friends.
But what most didn't know, including Dan, was that Jessica was planning to secretly turn the birthday party into the wedding the both of them have always wanted.
On the day of the wedding in 2016, Dan was distracted by director Justin Baldoni, who was documenting Jessica's disease, when he told the husband that they would film a surprise video for Jessica.
Dan got all dressed up for the video without knowing that in a few short hours he would be attending his dream wedding.
'To be able to have Dan experience a ceremony and everything that goes with a wedding, it’s going to be awesome,' Jessica said in the documentary. 'It’s going to blow his mind, I hope.’
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Heartwarming: Jessica organized the secret wedding to surprise Dan for all that he has done for her
Serious: Doctors did not expect for Jessica to survive a month after her diagnosis let alone eight years. She has undergone multiple brain surgeries
Survivor: Jessica tried to keep her bubbly spirit while battling the disease
Before the surprise wedding, the couple went through a lot to keep Jessica as healthy as possible despite her terminal diagnosis.
In her blog entitledToom-ah? What Stinkin' Toom-ah!, Jessica addresses the moment she woke up in Seattle, Washington after her back-to-back brain surgery.
Jessica wrote: '(I was) paralyzed on my right side, with severe aphasia (the inability to communicate verbally or using written words). I didn’t know the alphabet, couldn’t use more than a single syllable word, people had to dumb down for me, to talk slowly, and I still didn’t understand most of what was said.'
During this rough spot in their lives, Jessica detailed how committed Dan was to making sure she was OK.
'Dan during this time was the most kind and receptive and gentle person on earth,' she said in the episode.'
She described how he would carry her around, feed her and even shave her legs when she was unable to do it herself.
'Our time we had before that was amazing and I had fallen in love,' Dan said in response to his new role as caretaker.
'Regardless of deficits, regardless of her abilities at the time, I loved her and was just happy she was alive.'
Happy: Jessica was able to pull off the surprise with some help. They were married by the coast in front of family and close friends
Battle scars: Jessica had multiple brain surgeries to target the growing tumors
Hanging on: She has kept a blog about her battle and last updated it in April of this year
The couple got engaged while Jessica was still recovering from the debilitating surgery and signed documents three months later because they realized they were unable to afford a wedding.
But that all changed one afternoon in 2016 when Jessica surprised Dan with a wedding next to the water.
During the surprise, Dan was guided over towards the venue where it was revealed he was actually going to be in his own wedding instead of attending a birthday party.
'I think my dream is to just be old with her,' Dan said. 'That’s the most important thing. That’s the thing I want more than anything.'
Many guests teared up when they arrived at the venue because they, too, thought they were attending Jessica's birthday party.
'Dan, thank you for loving me so deeply,' Jessica said in the documentary.
'For always helping me heal and making me laugh even when things were just incredibly hard. I appreciate the way that you love me. I never thought I could love anyone the way that I love you.'
The pair was able to have the island wedding of their dreams in front of family and close friends.
Jessica last updated her blog at the end of April of this year to inform her followers that she is still battling her cancer diagnosis, but she admitted she is unsure how much blogging she will do in the future as she continues to fight the terminal disease.
