'Every moment counts': Calgary couple ties the knot on ICU patio

A Calgary man fighting a terminal illness married his longtime partner this week in an emotional ceremony that took place right inside the hospital where he'd been staying.

Gordie Shaver has been inside the Peter Lougheed Centre for the better part of a month. The 52-year-old is experiencing problems with his organs.

After receiving a tough-to-hear diagnosis Monday night – that he'll be lucky to make it to Christmas – his partner of eight years knew what needed to happen.

"It has always been on our minds, but this diagnosis really sort of pushed the timeline up a little bit," Amanda Morley-Shaver said. "We said we just need to make this happen."

The couple had floated the idea of elopement earlier this year, but say things got in the way.

So Monday, after chatting with Shaver's doctor, the idea seemed like a no-brainer: they were going to get married, one way or another.

"It's about us and the love that we have had over the years," Morley-Shaver said. "That's all I could've asked for, no matter what time we have together."

The newlyweds were joined by a handful of family members and some on-site ICU workers.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) staff helped the Shavers find a local officiant and photographer and then went to work transforming the unit.

They decorated room dividers, the patio and corridor with flowers and candles.

One worker even donated a cake.

"Wherever you go in this hospital – not to mention especially here in the ICU – the care and attention is just so incredible," Shaver told AHS.

"They were just very adamant of creating the most special day for us, which was pretty amazing in my eyes," Morley-Shaver added.

Registered nurse Rianne Pater was the groom's nurse on Wednesday.

"Everyone is just so excited to have a happy moment in our ICU," she told AHS. "I feel incredibly lucky. Gordie was talking about it this morning (and) said, 'life is so fragile and I want to take advantage of every moment that I have.'"

Morley-Shaver called it an unforgettable experience.

"When I met him, his love for life was immense. He is the most outgoing person I've probably ever met. We got to have so many adventures together," she said.

"I'm just so proud of him and so proud to be his wife."