British couple Elizabeth Kerr and Simon O'Brien planned to marry in June. Then Covid-19 struck.
Both caught the disease and were rushed to Milton Keynes University Hospital in the same ambulance when their oxygen levels fell dangerously low.
Ms Kerr and Mr O'Brien became so ill that medical staff scrambled to organise a wedding before it was too late. When Mr O'Brien's condition got worse, it was decided he should be transferred to the intensive care unit.
Even that did not stop them: staff delayed his intubation just long enough for them to tie the knot.
"They told me that we wouldn't be able to get married after all, because they were going to have to intubate Simon and put him under," Ms Kerr said.
"But they held off for another hour. And he just, just rallied in that time, just long enough for us to get married."
With mortality rates now as high as 80 per cent in the ICU, a happy ending was far from certain.
But Mr O'Brien's condition improved and the newlyweds reunited on a Covid-19 ward where both are slowly recovering, although still receiving oxygen.
"We had to wait a few days for our first kiss," Ms Kerr told Reuters.
When Ms Kerr, 31, and Mr O'Brien, 36, arrived at the hospital in southern England, both needed a machine to breathe. They were placed on separate wards for Covid-19 patients.
Ms Kerr, a nurse at nearby Buckingham hospital, had told medics the couple planned to wed in June, but with their condition deteriorating, nurse Hannah Cannon asked her if they wanted to marry in the hospital.
Ms Kerr said she was told it could be her only chance.
Squeezing her husband's arm and welling up with tears as she recalled the events, she said: "Those are words I never ever want to hear again."
The ceremony took place on January 12, three days after the couple arrived in hospital.
Elizabeth Kerr, 31, and Simon O'Brien, 36, hold hands in a COVID-19 ward, days after they married in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) when both had become critically ill with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and were uncertain of their chances of surviving, in Milton Keynes University Hospital, Milton Keynes, Britain, January 20, 2021. Picture taken January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Ms Cannon was a witness and filmed the marriage for the couple's family and friends. The catering department provided the cake.
"With lots of teamwork ... we were able to give them a wedding, not necessarily the wedding that they would have initially intended, but certainly something positive, remarkable and memorable for them to really hold on to," Ms Cannon said.
Moments after saying "I do", Mr O'Brien was sedated and spent the night on mechanical ventilation.
Sitting next to each other and clutching hands after his partial recovery, the couple believe their survival was down to the staff's quick thinking.
Ms Kerr said the terrifying experience of fighting for every breath made clear what was important: the people you love.
"That is everything that matters, everything," she said. "Absolutely," Mr O'Brien agreed, speaking through his oxygen mask.
Ms Kerr said: "If we hadn't had each other and we hadn't been given that opportunity to get married, I don't think both of us would be here now."
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
Moment of the day Given the problems Sri Lanka have had in recent times, it was apt the winning catch was taken by Dinesh Chandimal. He is one of seven different captains Sri Lanka have had in just the past two years. He leads in understated fashion, but by example. His century in the first innings of this series set the shock win in motion.
Stat of the day This was the ninth Test Pakistan have lost in their past 11 matches, a run that started when they lost the final match of their three-Test series against West Indies in Sharjah last year. They have not drawn a match in almost two years and 19 matches, since they were held by England at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in 2015.
The verdict Mickey Arthur basically acknowledged he had erred by basing Pakistan’s gameplan around three seam bowlers and asking for pitches with plenty of grass in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Why would Pakistan want to change the method that has treated them so well on these grounds in the past 10 years? It is unlikely Misbah-ul-Haq would have made the same mistake.
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
