Posted on February 14, 2020
Love is in the air: Rick’s rehabilitation team helps bring daughter’s wedding to Mary Free Bed
When patients and their loved ones come to Mary Free Bed, they become part of the Mary Free Bed family, and “family’s the most important thing.”
That’s why Rick Kitchen’s wife, Beth, and daughter, Jaslyn, united with his Mary Free Bed team to make sure he’d be part of a very special family celebration.
Rick came to Mary Free Bed for rehabilitation Feb. 1 after suffering a stroke about a week earlier. When he arrived, Rick couldn’t walk and needed assistance to sit up.
Jaslyn was set to marry her fiancé, Scott Hatch Jr., on Feb. 13 near their home in Cadillac. When it became clear Rick wouldn’t be able to able to attend the ceremony, his family talked with Rick’s Mary Free Bed team about bringing the wedding to him.
“Mary Free Bed really has a good family sense … we all work as a team to make the patients’ goals happen,” said registered nurse Briana Abney. “This was a big goal of Rick’s to be able to walk his daughter down the aisle.”
Recreational therapist Alicia Hass arranged for the ceremony to be held in the Reflective Day Space on the hospital’s fifth floor, and music therapist Pete Muszkiewicz learned “Daddy” by Abby Anderson to play for the father-daughter dance. Others found clothes for Rick to wear, and physical therapist Tim Spaulding was ready to provide support.
The arrangements were made without Rick’s knowledge. Watch the video below for his heartwarming reaction.
“Being a part of something that special is an honor,” Tim said. “It’s something I’ll remember forever.”
