Bride in hospital bed marries love of her life just hours before her death

HARTFORD, Conn. - A Connecticut woman had a few hours left in her life but married the love of her life just hours before she died in her hospital bed.

Heather Mosher was dressed in her wedding gown and lying in bed wearing an oxygen mask as she and David Mosher said "I do" Dec. 22 at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford. The 31-year-old died the next day.

The Connecticut couple fell in love after meeting at a swing dancing class in 2015. According to David, he planned to propose to her on December 23, 2016 - the day she was diagnosed with cancer.

He still went through with the proposal.

"She didn't know I was going to propose that night, but I said to myself, she needs to know she's not going to go down this road alone," David told WFSB-TV.

The TV station reports he set up the perfect proposal that night with a horse-led carriage ride. Under a street light, David dropped to a knee and popped the question.

Five days later, she learned the severity of her cancer: triple negative, one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.

In September 2017, the cancer spread and her time was limited. 

"We found out it was in her brain and a couple months later, she was on life support with a breathing tube," David said. 

They were supposed to marry on December 30 but her doctors told David that he should move it up. 

On December 22, with her friend Christina Lee Karas as her bridesmaid, Heather and David exchanged their vows in a bittersweet ceremony in the hospital. Heather was lying in her hospital bed with her oxygen mask on as she and David were married. 

Karas took photos of the joyous yet sad occasion and shared them on her Instagram page. She also posted photos of her dear friend before cancer on her Instagram account so that people could see Heather before cancer. She shared the first photo, of Heather with her arms outstretched and celebrating her nuptials, on December 27th:

http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/us-and-world-news/bride-in-hospital-bed-marries-love-of-her-life-just-hours-before-her-death

"It reminds me of someone who is crossing the finish line of a marathon or something," David told WFSB-TV.  "Nobody thought she would've made it that far. She proved them all wrong and that's what that photo says to me."

David said he knew it was the last time he would be with his wife and her final words were the ones she always wanted to say.

"The last words she said were her vows," Karas told WFSB. 

On December 23, 18 hours after the ceremony and one year to the day since he popped the question, Heather died. 

A week later, the original wedding date of December 30th, Heather was laid to rest in the church where she and David were to marry.

"Heather said, 'I want to keep fighting,' so that's the mantra I'm picking up. She was able to fight til the end, I'm going to fight until my end," David said. 

On Monday, Karas shared another photo of her friend and this description:

"Heather chose to spend her last hours celebrating surrounded by people she loved and who loved her. How do I know God is real? Because He was filling her with joy despite the fact that outwardly her body was failing. She chose to let God carry her, instead of wasting her last hours angry at him for allowing this illness. And carry her he did. He carried her home."