Andre Pearson, a heart failure patient who has been at Mayo Clinic since March, initially was too ill to leave the Rochester, Minn., hospital to go to his daughter's wedding in Indio, California, so the 61 year old had resigned himself to watching it online. But a few days before the Saturday evening ceremony, Pearson was doing well, and his care team began brainstorming whether it might be possible for him to make the trip after all. With a hospital staff member accompanying him, Pearson surprised his daughter, Alexandra, the night before the wedding in California — promising he would walk her down the aisle.
The hospital posted two emotional videos online: the first (above) shows Pearson's surprise reunion with his daughter — and his daughter's understandably emotional reaction — and him meeting his new son-in-law's side of the family; and the second (below) shows the beautiful sunny California ceremony, complete with flower girls, a ring bearer and Pearson in a wheelchair walking his daughter who's wearing a stunning sleeveless tulle wedding dress, holding a pretty white bouquet and has her long dark hair loose and wavy — down the aisle.
When Pearson arrived at the Mayo Clinic in March, hospital officials said it looked like he might have only a year to live: He was too ill to qualify for a heart transplant, and his kidneys were failing. After surgery, ongoing dialysis and physical rehabilitation, the Mayo Clinic says Pearson is now well enough that he will likely return home to Omaha, Nebraska within the next month.
Watch the videos to see the sweet father-daughter reunion — but be warned, it's a tear jerker!
