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Houston cancer patient marries fiancé in surprise hospital wedding

They’ve been planning their perfect wedding for months all while Norina battled stage four colon cancer.

HOUSTON, Texas — It's a love story so strong, not even cancer can break it. 

A Houston woman battling stage four colon cancer finally got what she’s been waiting for - the wedding of her dreams.

But the venue may have been a little unconventional. 

After four years together, Ray and Norina knew their next step would be down the aisle. 

“He was put in my path by God. That I know," Norina said. 

They’ve been planning their perfect wedding for months, all while Norina battled cancer.

“When she came and told me, 'I’m sorry dear you have a mass and it’s stage four,' rocked my world," Norina said. 

A devastating diagnosis she got nearly three years ago. 

“I don’t want to hear about statistics. I declare myself a miracle from God, and I will be that miracle," Norina said. 

But her recent hospitalization had doctors worried.

“She wasn’t supposed to make it out," Ray said. 

So worried they told Ray to do the one thing they’d been waiting for. 

“Monday she had asked me, 'Did y'all get married yet?' Because that’s all we ever talked about. She said you want to do it pretty quick. The next morning is when I jumped up, and I knew then that we were going to get married that day," Ray said. 

November 29, 2022, was to be their wedding day. All he had to do was make it happen. 

“We just did it," Ray said. 

Within hours, he along with the staff at Memorial Hermann brought in a florist, a photographer, and even guests. The couple's family dropped everything and drove hours just to be there. 

“I think the surprise was the beautiful execution of a wedding while she’s in the ICU of the hospital," Dr. Gury Doshi with Memorial Hermann & Texas Oncology said. 

“Everybody is pitching in, getting together, making sure that I had the best wedding ever," Norina said. “It couldn’t have been more perfect.”

There, in the hospital, the two became husband and wife, with their vows carrying more weight than just words.

“Just the vow itself, just the manner in which he says it. And how we feel when we’re actually saying those things and really meaning them because we’re in a setting where that almost happened," Norina said. 

Today, the newlyweds are back home with the wedding bliss they’ve waited for. 

“I didn’t want anything to happen without us being married. I wanted her, but I wanted everybody to know that I loved her. I love you," Ray said to Norina. 

"Yes, everybody, I think, knows you love me," she responded. 

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