A hospital hosted an impromptu wedding ceremony for a Waukegan couple after the pregnant mother was admitted to the ICU with serious complications before giving birth to a baby boy.
Jatiana Silencieux, who was 34 weeks pregnant, and her then-fiancé, Midelson Silencieux, were eagerly preparing for two momentous occasions — their upcoming courthouse wedding and the birth of their baby boy conceived through IVF.
Health complications quickly changed their long-awaited plans.
Severe chest pains sent Jatiana to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge the day after her baby shower and clinicians determined she had suffered a heart attack, hospital officials said.
She awoke to similar chest pain a few days later while in the hospital and learned her lungs were filling with fluid and her blood pressure had spiked.
The complications stemmed from preeclampsia, which is a serious pregnancy condition characterized by high blood pressure and elevated protein levels.
The matter prompted an emergency C-section and treatment to deliver the baby and save Jatiana’s life.
With her newborn, Grayson Noah Silencieux, in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Jatiana spent the next few days recovering in the intensive care unit and formed a close connection with her nurses and physicians, hospital officials said.
She shared with them that she and Midelson had planned to get married on March 22.
The couple already had their marriage license, outfits and rings acquired for the occasion before her health complications derailed their plans.
Advocate Lutheran General and Advocate Children’s Hospital teams sprang into action to give the couple a wedding they would never forget, hospital officials said.
Jatiana wore a white dress and carried a bouquet of flowers as she walked down the ICU hallway to a breakroom decked out in wedding decor on March 25.
Jatiana was “blown away” by the ice bucket of sparkling juice, the cake that she and Midelson would soon cut in celebration and the rows of nurses, doctors and teammates who gathered for their nuptials.
A hospital chaplain who was performing the ceremony waited at the front of the room.
The couple’s newborn baby Grayson, who was dressed in a bowtie, made a special appearance. He had been transported in his incubator from the NICU so he could be present for his parents’ marriage.
“We were overjoyed,” Jatiana said. “We couldn’t believe our baby was there with us on our wedding day. I was in tears.”
While it was not the wedding they had initially planned, Jatiana said she and her new husband would not change it for the world.
“The entire Advocate team was so sincere and genuine. You could tell they all really cared and wanted to make this a special moment for us,” Jatiana said. “Not only did they put myself and my baby first as patients, but they also gave my family an unforgettable experience.”