Wedding wish comes true
With a life-risking operation on the cards, an Auckland woman has married her sweetheart in a dream wedding she never thought possible.
Jessica Davenport-Lee, 23, has had multiple serious surgeries throughout her life, after being born with six heart conditions.
In total, she has had five heart and two pacemaker operations and multiple catheter and other small procedures to do with her heart.
She was just 5 months old when she first went under the knife.
Her second operation was a month before her third birthday when she had a Fontan triple bypass — where her entire heart had to be reconstructed.
The third was about a year after she started primary school, aged 6.
Life became as normal as could be — for someone in her position — until just over a decade later.
“From age 18, that is when everything turned upside down,” she told the Herald.
“I became permanent pacemakerdependent due to getting complete heart block and also went into heart failure the same year, with my heart functioning at only 5 per cent.
“The day I went into heart failure, my family was told I may not survive the night.”
Last year, on her 22nd birthday, her long-time partner, Troy Lee Fesola’i, asked her to marry him.
Their good news, however, was marred when she was diagnosed with liver disease as a result of growing up with a Fontan circulation.
“I never dreamt of getting married because I wasn’t sure if I would make it this far.”
The couple decided to hold off their wedding plans until after what is set to be the riskiest operation to date: a double organ transplant for her heart and liver.
Davenport-Lee is on the waiting list as the organs have to be from the same person and also match her blood type.
Without the transplants, her heart will grow weaker and her liver will develop cirrhosis that can turn into tumours.
The fact she had a Fontan triple bypass as a child makes the procedure riskier and it will be the first of its kind in New Zealand.
With the help of family and friends, the couple decided to put out a call via a fundraising page and social media to help them get married.
“Troy mentioned he would love to get married sooner rather than later, but due to my transplant we put the wedding off because I was sick and unable to work. So we couldn’t afford to save for one.
“My aunty gave me the idea of starting a Givealittle page to help fund the wedding because of our situation and told me I shouldn’t have my life on pause.
“In case the worst happens during the transplants, I wanted to experience my wedding day.”
So this month, friends and family of the couple gathered for an intimate ceremony, where the pair promised to love each other as long as they lived.
Video footage from their wedding shows them laughing and dancing together, as well as heartfelt speeches from loved ones.
The video has been viewed thousands of times online, with many people sharing messages of love and support for the newlyweds.
Davenport-Lee paid tribute to all those who had helped make their special day possible; particularly the wedding vendors who offered free services as well as family and friends and even strangers who donated towards their big day.
Her husband got a special thank you, for being the person who stood by her when she was at her lowest.
“He’s loved me when I struggled to love myself and accepted me for who I am and the life I live. I appreciate everything he does for me, but at the same time he treats me like normal — and that is how I like to be treated.”