Dying woman marries her true love
Not even a tsunami warning could stop Hollie Welsh from marrying the love of her life, Andrew Welsh.
The Northland couple were getting ready to marry on low-lying Ruaka¯ka¯ Beach on March 5 when Whanga¯rei’s tsunami sirens went off, triggered by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake near the Kermadec Islands.
Formerly known as Hollie Mcintyre, she has faced numerous hurdles and setbacks since being diagnosed with terminal cancer in October 2019, after being misdiagnosed with a benign cyst months earlier.
Due to her type of rare and aggressive cancer, the 31-year-old had to raise tens of thousands of dollars for unfunded chemotherapies, including spending $50,000 on Halaven (eribulin mesylate), which is funded in Australia.
Last month, Hollie Welsh was told the cancer was rapidly spreading, and she had just weeks to live. She had already proposed to Andrew Welsh on Leap Day 2020, after winning a competition at Auckland’s Ellerslie Racecourse Derby Day, which included contributions to their wedding.
Knowing time was short, four of her close friends got together to make the wedding
happen in a week, calling on the community to help pull everything together.
The tsunami evacuation on the wedding day seemed like just another bump in the road for the bride-to-be. ‘‘If we have to, we will get married wherever,’’ she messaged her wedding guests from her North Haven
Hospice bed. ‘‘If I have no dress, no big deal. If our hair and makeup isn’t done, I don’t care. If there is a tsunami, we have heaps of wedding food to share with the community.’’
Friend Kirsty Halliday said everyone was hoping for a miracle. When the land warning was lifted that afternoon, friends and family swung back into wedding mode, getting the bride ready and preparing a new venue on higher ground in under three hours.
‘‘There was not a dry eye in the crowd as family and friends gathered to witness two kind souls marry the love of their life,’’ Halliday said. ‘‘The evening went as smooth as possible, and Hollie and Andy watched the sun go down at the end of their special day, surrounded by their closest loved ones.’’
After the wedding, Hollie Welsh told her friends she wished she had met her husband years ago. ‘‘I have an amazing supportive husband that I can’t imagine losing. He’s been my rock since the day we started dating.’’