Couple's marriage blessing turns out differently than planned

Lee Campbell

+ Enlarge

Father Eleazar Silva convalidates the marriage of JoAnn and Lee Campbell (3rd and 4th from left) during JoAnn's stay in Jordan Valley Hospital. Courtesy photo/Lee Campbell

WEST VALLEY CITY — June 22 turned out to be the happiest day of JoAnn and Lee Campbell’s lives for more than one reason.

On that day, the Campbells had planned to have their marriage blessed, or convalidated, in the Catholic Church so JoAnn would be in full communion with the Church and could start receiving the Eucharist again. Following the blessing, they had planned a party with 60 family members and friends at their home. But four days earlier, JoAnn was rushed to the hospital; she has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

"I have COPD and I was scared," said JoAnn Campbell. "I called 911 and the operator said, ‘What is your emergency?’

"‘Please hurry, I can’t breathe,’" JoAnn said, adding that after that, everything went black. The doctors and the nursing staff "acted quickly and put my mind at ease, although my health at that point wasn’t my concern; it was my wedding vows and my party."

The hospital where JoAnn is usually admitted was full, so the ambulance took her to Jordan Valley Hospital.

"When I woke up, there were tubes attaching IVs to my arms, a heart monitor, oxygen equipment, and I was bleeding internally," said JoAnn. "But I think I was supposed to go to Jordan Valley – it all just worked out."

Because JoAnn wouldn’t be released from the hospital in time for the planned June 22 events, Lee contacted the hospital administration.

"They were more than willing to accommodate our plans to go ahead with the wedding, but the chapel was too small for 60 guests, so they offered us a classroom that they transformed into a reception room," Lee said. "The wedding, at that point, was going to happen whether it was at the hospital or somewhere – the plans were made, the food was cooked and everybody had been invited."

The next morning when Lee arrived in the reception room, "it was just beautiful; it was something you would never expect," he said with tears in his eyes. "They personalized it for JoAnn by adding some of her religious statues and angels given to them by our daughter."

JoAnn was brought in for the blessing in a wheelchair and she had to stand against the wall so her oxygen tank could be plugged in.

"It was a beautiful wedding. Fr. Silva did such a beautiful job by adding his personality to it," said Lee, and JoAnn agreed.

JoAnn’s sister, Ellen Sanchez, and her brother, Chuck Arellaro, were the witnesses.

"My sister is a good role model for me," said JoAnn. "She does a lot of volunteer work at the Cathedral of the Madeleine and invites me to come along, but she never said a word about me getting back into the church."

JoAnn fell away from the Catholic Church about 45 years ago and can’t believe how much it has changed, she said. "But I have returned and even though my husband is not Catholic, he supports me 100 percent."

JoAnn attends Saints Peter and Paul Parish, where it is convenient for her to use her motorized scooter, she said.

"They are really good to me there," she said. "This feeling to come back to the Church came from within me and I wanted to be able to receive Communion again."

The couple met 47 years ago. "I already had four children and Lee didn’t have any," said JoAnn. "We had two together."

They also have 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.