When nurses at Baptist St. Anthony’s Hospital in Amarillo, Texas realized the end was near for Raul “Tiny” Hinojosa, they grew determined to fulfill his dying wish — to marry his longtime partner Yvonne Lamas.
The staff quickly organized a thoughtful wedding for the couple in Hinojosa’s hospital room. He passed away 36 hours later.
As reported by Amarillo.com, Tiny, 33, had been suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia and a fungal infection of his throat and lungs since 2012.
The couple had been saving up for a wedding, but wound up having to put the money toward Tiny’s medical care, delaying their nuptials.
“He was determined to give me the best fairytale wedding,” Lamas told CNN. “He tried saving up, but within that time he ended up getting diagnosed with the leukemia.”
A friend of the couple, Domingo Rodriguez, shared a live video of the moving ceremony on Facebook.
“Tiny had been fighting cancer for 3 years. About 6 weeks ago he got admitted into the hospital, everything started shutting down lungs, kidneys etc. Yesterday he finally threw in the towel,” Rodriguez captioned the video.
“Tiny wanted to go home but not before getting married first and make his family complete. The hospital gave him a few days and was able to get his wish Tiny has gone to be with the Lord now. Thanks for all the prayers and God bless everyone. If God puts it in your heart to help his family please go to the link below. Love you fam and thanks in advance,” he said. Mashable has reached out to Rodriguez for comment.
The link he is referring to is a GoFundMe that Tiny’s aunt Angie Paiz set up before his death.
“I am raising money to help Yvonne and Tiny with utility bills and gas money for Yvonne to be able to come back and forth everyday to be with Tiny,” Paiz wrote on the GoFundMe. “I believe in family coming together and helping each other in time of need and Tiny needs our help. I want thank you in advance for your donation. Please continue to pray for this family!”
Even though Tiny has now passed away, the GoFundMe is still active, in order to help Lamas.
Image: GOFUNDME
Lamas and Tiny had a 9-year-old son together. Lamas also has three daughters with whom Tiny was close.
“As a father figure he was very loving, very caring to my kids,” Lamas told CNN. “He gave them the world and was there for them when times were tough.”
The couple’s son and other family and friends were present at the ceremony. Cake, champagne and a last-minute wedding dress and suit were put together for the celebration.
Image: domingo rodriguez/facebook
