A week after getting married, this Columbus cancer patient’s condition worsens
A terminally ill cancer patient who was married last Wednesday at Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown Campus has taken a turn for the worse.
Alex and Heather Ramirez Santos were married on July 19 after the couple asked a patient experience representative if it would be possible to have a wedding in the hospital. Alex, 25, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in November of last year, and the cancer spread to his brain.
The couple married in his hospital room with immediate family members, including their 2-year-old son, in attendance.
A week later, Alex is now in hospice care, Heather said in a post on Facebook. He was rushed to the hospital unresponsive, according to the GoFundMe page organized by Heather’s mother, April Duke.
“The brain bleeding is worse because of (the masses) getting bigger,” Duke wrote. “He is in nothing but pain.”
Alex may have days to weeks left to live, she said in a statement to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Heather is proud of the way Alex is fighting and proud to be his wife, she continued.
“I’m proud of everything he has done for me in the past four years,” she said. “And I’m proud that he is my son’s father. I wouldn’t want to choose anyone else to be his father.”
Alex’s illness has caused the family to struggle financially because Heather has not been able to work while being a caregiver. The family has raised $2,820 of their $6,000 goal on GoFundMe to help with their expenses.
“We all love you, Alex,” Heather said in her statement.
