An American army veteran spent the last few hours of his life fulfilling his wish to marry his girlfriend before passing away from cancer.
Tristin Laue joined the US National Guard in July 2016 before he was medically discharged in April last year following his diagnosis, Daily Mail reports.
Tristin was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer called fibrolamellar carcinoma and last month doctors told his family he had just weeks to live.
The 20-year-old had one final wish – to wed his girlfriend, Tianna Hargrafen – whom he’d started dating while he was getting his last round of chemotherapy.
When the pair first met, they bonded over their love of dogs. Tianna described Tristin as an “incredibly smart man”.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, in 2018 Tristin began studying engineering design at the University of Northern Iowa. His family described him as being “very goal orientated and had a bright future ahead of him”.
The young man proposed to his girlfriend on 20 April and in that same week, doctors delivered the news that he had only weeks to live.
“He said he wanted to make sure I wanted it because he was in rough shape and wanted to be fair to me,” Tianna said.
“And I said of course I wanted to marry him. I always told him it wasn't that easy to get rid of me so I'd always be there.”
The two young people’s families spent 48 hours organising the wedding, which was held in the backyard of Tristin’s father and stepmother’s home, complete with a large tent and about 60 guests in attendance.
“Tristin was just excited to be marrying me so he was ready for it,” Tianna said.
“When I met him at the end of the aisle we looked at each other and he smiled in a way I hadn't seen in a long time. I got teary eyed and could hear the bridesmaids breaking down.”
“I knew no matter what I'd always love him and he'd always love me,” she added.
Five hours after the ceremony, Tristin tragically passed away.
A GoFundMe Page was set up by Tristin’s former classmates to raise money for a memorial bench at the university in his honour.
They describe him as someone who “brought laughter and kindness” to everyone.
Sources: Daily Mail, FOX 5 Atlanta