One Michigan couple has altered their wedding plans after a life-changing diagnosis made them re-evaluate everything.
Clay Slenk and Mariah Nelesen had been engaged since Christmas 2020 and planned to tie the knot this summer. They'd just finished sending out save-the-dates when both bride and groom received the shocking news that they had cancer.
KTLA reports that the couple was diagnosed a mere eight days apart in a shocking twist of fate. Nelesen, 23, got the news first when her doctor called on January 11 and told her she had ovarian cancer.
"That's not a call that anyone expects to receive," she told the outlet.
Just over a week later, her husband-to-be received a painfully similar phone call from his doctor, telling him that it looked like he had Leukemia.
The couple's Caring Bridge page explains that Slenk, 24, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia which "required immediate treatment and is being followed by a long hospital stay."
His wife-to-be, meanwhile, was diagnosed with adult granulosa cell tumor ovarian cancer, "a low-grade cancer that requires treatment including both surgery and chemotherapy."
As their health took center stage, Slenk and Nelesen ditched wedding planning and began focusing on what really mattered. Nelesen took steps to freeze her eggs while Slenk began treatment. When it became apparent that he needed a stem cell transplant, the couple made the decision to overhaul their nuptial plans completely.
"We moved up our wedding date so we could be married during that time. So she would be here to take care of me and we could go through that hard part together," Slenk told KTLA.
His fiancee went on to say that the diagnosis had made her focus on the important things. "I was caught up in planning and excited for all the little details, like the venue we were going to be at and the food that we were going to have.
"Replanning the wedding, I've just thrown all of that out the window. It's going to be a special day no matter what and we're going to have burgers and brats on the grill," she said.
Meanwhile, a friend of the couple has set up a GoFundMe to help them cover medical bills, lost income, and gifts for their wedding and honeymoon. They've already raised more than $15,000 of their $25,000 goal on the page, which reads:
"'In sickness and in health...' These are familiar words for many couples as they often are spoken on a person's wedding day. However, no one knows these words better than Clay and Mariah. Their steps toward their wedding day and the changes they've needed to make represent a very real commitment to each other."
We wish Clay and Mariah all the best for their wedding and their treatments!
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