When two wedding plans fall through, Cleveland Clinic nurses step in to ensure a dying father can walk his daughter down the aisle.
CLEVELAND — Courtney Coccaro had one non-negotiable on her wedding day: Her father had to be there.
“He’s always been my hero,” Courtney said.
John Weidow, 55, of Pennsylvania, has always been the love of his daughter — her soccer coach, her role model, the man who taught her to hunt, fish and see the good in humanity. Courtney was also a paramedic for most of his life.
“There was never a time when we walked by someone in need and he never jumped in the car and went to help them,” Courtney said. “We have a lot of family and friends in our house who would call him when they were having a hard time and just needed someone to talk to, someone to listen, someone to give them honest feedback and life advice. He was always that person.”
Now John is fighting for his life, battling stage 4 melanoma that has spread to his brain.
When Courtney became engaged to Michael Coccaro, John immediately welcomed him—teaching him how to fish, teaching him how to change oil, and stepping in to act as a father figure when Michael’s father became ill.
“Especially when my dad was sick, he was there for us,” Michael said.
The couple were scheduled to get married on May 30. But weeks before the wedding, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic told the family that John might not live that long. They rescheduled it for May 10 in Pennsylvania. Then, a blood clot sent John back to the hospital – and he would miss that too.
For Courtney, there was only one answer.
“I didn’t want to have a wedding without him walking me down the aisle,” she said. “This is non-negotiable.”
So on May 17, with the help of Cleveland Clinic nursing staff, Courtney and Michael hosted John’s wedding. The nurses prepared chairs, decorations and even a wedding cake. They found a photographer. They helped Courtney change into her dress. As the sun set over Cleveland, John Weddow was pushed onto the hospital roof to watch his daughter get married.
“Everyone came together to make this so special,” Courtney said. “It’s so beautiful. So beautiful. The sun sets perfectly.”
Michael said the staff’s performance far exceeded anyone’s expectations.
“They did a lot of things they absolutely didn’t have to do,” Michael said.
For Courtney, the moment her father appeared on the roof was one she’ll never forget.
“It felt like a dream,” Courtney said. “I felt like I was going to wake up and it wasn’t going to be there. He wasn’t going to be at my wedding and everything was going to be against us, but it felt, it almost didn’t feel real. We both cried a lot – a lot of happy tears.”
She said the outpouring of love from the Cleveland Clinic staff was greater than all of them.
“It’s a miracle,” Courtney said. “There’s no other way to describe it. The kindness you see in people – you forget how much is going on in the world. Sharing that kind of love in a room is absolutely spectacular.”
John now lives at home in Pennsylvania with his family. Courtney said they are making the most of every day — taking jeep rides, planning fishing trips, watching movies together.
“We don’t want to just sit at home and watch TV,” Courtney said. “We want to do everything we can to get him out and make sure we’re as happy as possible.”
As for the future, Kourtney and Michael say they hope to start a family soon. If they had a son, his name would be part John.
“Dad, I love you with all my heart,” Courtney said.
