Corey Cunningham has glioblastoma, an incurable brain tumor, and is on home hospice.
But the doctors and nurses at Houston Methodist brought him back to the chapel, so Corey could fulfil his bucket list: get married to Tyyisha Evans.
“That was the one thing he wanted to do before he died,” Tyyisha said.
Doctors at Houston Methodist Hospital said there was no cure for his stage 4 Glioblastoma, but with treatment, his chance to live was about 15 months.
“It was heartbreaking,” 42-year-old Tyyisha Evans, tells PEOPLE of the diagnosis. “We cried together. I said, ‘You have to fight. I need you to fight.’ And he did.”
In January, MRIs showed that the treatment was not working. A palliative care physician asked Cunningham who he wanted as his medical power of attorney, he told the physician that he had purchased a diamond ring and wanted to marry Evans.
“I was so surprised,” says Evans. “I just didn’t expect him to have that on his mind. I thought this was going to be the last thing he would think about.”
Evans and Corey dated for seven years as they met in February 2013 on a dating website. She turned down his proposal many times, because she said, “his job was more important.” Corey worked in oil and gas, travelled the world and made good money.
”I fell in love with his strength,” says Evans. ”He’s definitely a man’s man. Everything about him is just completely different. When you walked in the room you could feel it.”
Evans loves the spontaneous nature of Cunningham but there were few things that had held them back from marrying each other. Sometimes Cunningham was gone months at a time and miles and miles away for work.
Another obstacle arrived when Evans was diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily, she survived and was declared cancer-free but Cunningham received his cancer diagnosis.
When Evans accepted his proposal, Cunningham’s nurses gathered into wedding planners. “It was like Make-a-Wish, only with a wedding,” says one of his nurses, Rita Lane.
Nursing staff got involved in making Evans and Cunningham’s day more special as they brought the cake, the flowers and the photographer donated. They turned Cunningham’s wheelchair into a tuxedo and decorated the hospital chapel.
“It gave us an opportunity to express the love we have for Mr. Corey,” says nurse manager Eva Boone, who remembers him as a pleasant, appreciative man with a big laugh. “He was a wonderful patient.”
“It was much more than I expected,” Evans says. “I couldn’t believe how many total strangers were in tears on our wedding day.”
“The look on his face when he said ‘I do’ — it floored me,” says nurse Laine. “He started crying again. And then he said, ‘It’s about time.’ Then we were laughing and crying at the same time.”
“It melded them as a family,” Laine says of the wedding. “Whatever comes next, they’re always going to be a family.”
On February 10, Evans was informed that Cunningham was ready for Hospice care. “It was overwhelming. Extremely overwhelming,” Evans says. “I cried before I even got in the door of the chapel.”
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