‘Very special’ wedding moved to Cleveland Clinic so father can attend days after quadruple bypass

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) — Rick Nelson has been recovering at his Seven Hills home for 10 days after a 10-day stay in the hospital. He and his family are grateful he could see his daughter get married, and be home for his 37th anniversary and Father’s Day because he almost didn’t make it to any of them.

On May 31, six days before his daughter Rachel’s wedding, Nelson was feeling chest pains. He was quickly taken to the Marymount Emergency Room. Within minutes of being there, he was taken via helicopter to Cleveland Clinic’s main campus in Cleveland.

A mechanical device was put in his heart to keep it pumping and he was given blood thinners after it was discovered he had severe blockage. Because of the blood thinners, it wasn’t safe to perform open-heart surgery for several days.

It was scheduled as early as possible, which turned out to be June 4 — just two days before the wedding.

The surgeon who performed the procedure, Dr. Faisal Bakaeen, told FOX 8 that it takes five days to be healthy enough to be discharged after a procedure like this, but Nelson was telling every caregiver he could that he needed to be at that wedding.

Cleveland Clinic staff decided that since Nelson couldn’t travel to the wedding, they were going to help bring the wedding to him.

They coordinated to change the venue of the ceremony to the hospital’s rooftop and got Nelson cleaned up and dressed for the wedding.

Bakaeen said Nelson’s power of the mind over his body helped his recovery.

“He was really determined to get better and that helped. I’m a true believer in that, and he did it. We did our part, but he did his part and we are very happy with the outcome,” he said.

It was an emotional moment. Every Cleveland Clinic employee who wasn’t helping a patient watched Nelson get wheeled up to experience a first look with his daughter and then escort her down the aisle with nearly 100 friends and family members watching.

Rachel, who’s last name is now Schultz after marrying her husband Dana, told FOX 8 those moments took away all the stress of nearly losing her father and then seeing him go through a major surgery while also dealing with last-minute wedding preps.

“It was just so reassuring just in that moment of like, OK, all the worry kind of washed away,” Schultz explained. “It’s not how I pictured it, but [it was] better than I could’ve imagined.”

“It meant the world to me,” Rick said. “I had something to come back and live for. I just kept saying why didn’t they take me, then I just started thinking about the wedding. I just want to see my daughter walk down the aisle.”

After the fact, as they sat on their couch, Rick and Gail Nelson were able to reflect on how scary the situation really was.

“I didn’t know how bad it was at that point,” Gail recalled thinking back to the first trip to the hospital on the 31st. “It wasn’t until after that it hits you that ‘Oh my god, I could’ve lost him.’”

But they were so thankful for the staff at the clinic and how accommodating and helpful they were. From getting Rick a clean shave, dressed, and all ready to go for the wedding to covering the parking for all of the wedding guests. They told FOX 8 it was top notch.

“The Cleveland Clinic, the doctors, the nurses, everything, were just fantastic. Couldn’t have asked for better,” Rick said.

Bakaeen told FOX 8 it was just as special for him and the team of caregivers who worked so hard to make sure Rick didn’t miss one of the most important days in Rachel’s life.

“I have a daughter and there’s nothing that would stop me from attending her wedding,” Bakaeen said. “This was special for him, but very special for me and the team.”