Man Marries Fiancée Hours Before He Dies of Cancer

When a chaplain at Baptist St. Anthony's Hospital in Amarillo, Texas, asked Raul "Tiny" Hinojosa, 33, what he wanted his final wish to be, Hinojosa told him he "wanted to marry her. I want her to be mine." According to CNN, "her" was Yvonne Lamas, his girlfriend of 11 years, fiancée of nine. The hospital staff arranged the wedding for the couple hours before Hinojosa died.

Hinojosa proposed to Lamas years before he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. "He was determined to give me the best fairytale wedding," Lamas told CNN of wedding planning. "He tried saving up, but within that time he ended up getting diagnosed with the leukemia." A fungal infection of his throat and lungs landed him back in the hospital in October, where he'd been ever since.

When Hinojosa made his request Friday, another chaplain drove Lamas to the courthouse for a marriage license application, which the judged rushed given the circumstances, the Amarillo Globe-News reports. The hospital cafeteria staff began baking a cake and the gift shop made bouquets. Hospital workers hung white sheets in Hinojosa's room to hide the monitors, and a staff member shed his suit so Hinojosa could wear it.

A 19-minute video posted by a family member to Facebook shows critical care nurses forming an aisle for Lamas to walk down. Also in the room are Lamas's three children from a previous relationship who Hinojosa raised with her and the couple's 9-year-old son.

According to the Globe-News, miraculously, no other patients in the unit needed a nurse during those 19 minutes. Hinojosa died just 36 hours later. CNN notes when Lamas signed his death certificate, it was also the first time she signed her new married name.

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