This is the touching moment a cystic fibrosis sufferer married his partner in hospital as he battles a potentially deadly infection.
Leslie Fitz-Gerald, from the Gold Coast, wed Kaylee Evans at Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital, where he has spent the last three months in isolation, on Sunday.
Fitz-Gerald, a stockbroker, said he was forced to plan the wedding in just 24 hours amid fears he might not have much time left.
Leslie Fitz-Gerald, a cystic fibrosis sufferer from the Gold Coast, married his partner Kaylee at a hospital in Brisbane on Sunday fearing he might die from a rare infection
He and Kaylee had planned to get married next year, but they decided to bring the ceremony forward after Leslie’s condition worsened
He told the Gold Coast Bulletin: ‘We had a big wedding booked for next year but things got out of control and we wanted to make sure that if things did go south, we were officially Mr and Mrs.’
Leslie told how he and his brother Nathan were born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that causes a buildup of mucus in the lungs and digestive system.
Both had double lung transplants in their 20s, with Leslie forced to have a second after his body rejected the first set of organs.
Early last year, Nathan was diagnosed with terminal melanoma before passing away in October.
His brother’s death hit Leslie hard and he lost a lot of weight afterward, before contracting flu, a viral infection, and now a rare fungal infection.
Leslie (bottom left) became ill last year after brother Nathan died from skin cancer (pictured paying tribute to him). Leslie explained that he lost weight, became stressed and contracted a series of infections which ended up with him in isolation in hospital
He has been in isolation at the Prince Charles Hospital for three months while he attempts to fight the illness with the help of special medication brought from overseas.
Leslie says he has to take drugs just to get himself from his bed to a chair to prevent an anxiety attack which could be fatal.
All of which has left him living ‘day by day’, he said. It was that which prompted him to get married to Kaylee.
In an emotional post on his Facebook page after the ceremony, he said: ‘For a man who takes pride in a lot of things, not being able to bathe or dress yourself or stand at the altar like a man and read your vowels is an extremely hard thing to do.
‘But I’m happy to share this with anyone because with help of my family members and brothers and we did it!
‘I was blown away looking at my wife walking down the aisle next to her sister and best friend both whom I dearly love we got through it. It was perfect.
‘From here it’s a fight to the death with dangerous drugs on board fighting a potentially fatal infection. But will go the rounds as usual.
‘To those I love it’s been a hell of a journey loved every minute of it.’