Mom with Stage 4 Cancer Renews Vows with College Sweetheart. Their 5-Year-Old Son Walks Her Down the Aisle (Exclusive)

Editor's note: Johnny Dodd, a elder writer astatine PEOPLE, first began covering Chicago-based nonprofit Wish Upon a Wedding past year.

Earlier this month, he attended 1 of nan ceremonies they propulsion for terminal and earnestly sick couples, speaking pinch nan family and organizers. This is their story.

A misty drizzle was falling 1 caller day arsenic I stood successful a spot of walnut trees 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. I’d travel location to watch nan vow renewal ceremonial of 2 29-year-old assemblage sweethearts — Jordan and John Groom — who person spent nan past 2 years grappling pinch nan benignant of nightmare that nary of america would ever want to face.

Jordan was diagnosed pinch shape 4 anal crab that has dispersed to her lungs and nan lymph nodes astir her pelvis.

And connected May 7, while nan remainder of nan world went astir its business, nan mates — on pinch friends and family members — gathered nether a acheronian grey entity to renew their vows and observe their emotion for 1 different pinch those who person stood by them during this often-bleak section of their lives.

“I mightiness not beryllium present overmuch longer,” Jordan said a fewer minutes earlier nan commencement of nan ceremonial astatine a venue known arsenic The Walnut Grove successful Moorpark, Calif.

“We wanted a infinitesimal of brightness for our family and friends to remember," she added. "So galore group person sacrificed and fixed america truthful overmuch during this reliable clip we’ve been going through. This is simply a measurement for america to observe each other, on pinch our full support system.”

Not astonishing to anyone who knows nan bubbly couple, nan ceremonial — which included their 5-year-old son, Noah, stepping Jordan down nan aisle — was cheery and light, contempt nan upwind and nan circumstances.

Those successful attendance gushed complete nan Grooms' heavy emotion and dedication to 1 another.

“I cognize it sounds cliché, but I’ve ne'er seen a mates that embodies emotion arsenic overmuch arsenic they do,” said longtime friend Jackie Quzman. “It makes maine affectional conscionable reasoning astir it. Even connected nan really unsmooth days wherever there’s thing affirmative to deliberation about, they ever support each other. It’s really beautiful.”

Married for 7 years aft first gathering during their freshman twelvemonth astatine Azusa Pacific University (“I knew I’d footwear myself,” John recalled, “if I didn’t inquire her out”), Jordan insists now that she can’t ideate going done crab without John, a self-confessed Pokémon and Dungeons & Dragons fanatic.

“He’s been specified a rock,” she said of her husband, who has go her full-time caregiver. “I cognize I tin count connected him nary matter what. He’s really funny and specified a nerd.”

After Jordan was diagnosed pinch shape 3 crab successful 2023, nan mates said nan illness progressed to shape 4 aft they had already spent months trying to get nan basal authorization for room from their wellness security company.

“That,” admitted Jordan, who is presently undergoing chemo therapy, “was truthful difficult to hear.”

But nan hardship besides brought nan mates — who often decorativeness each other’s sentences — closer.

“No matter what we spell through, truthful galore individual struggles and financial difficulties, we conscionable support getting tied tighter and tighter together,” said John.

Jordan agreed, adding: “We’ve decidedly had our debased points and, complete nan past 2 years, we’ve based on much than we ever person retired of sheer exhaustion. But we’ve ne'er gone to furniture angry.”

The ceremonial was group into mobility by nan Chicago-based nonprofit Wish Upon a Wedding, which Jordan learned astir done 1 of nan galore crab support groups she’s progressive with.

The statement helps propulsion free weddings and vow renewals to couples who are facing a terminal unwellness aliases a life-altering wellness circumstance. Since 2009, they person provided much than 300 ceremonies astir nan federation by moving pinch section wedding manufacture professionals who donate everything from catered nutrient and wedding attire to a venue, videographers and DJs.

“When you're going done a tragedy, you conscionable request personification to locomotion into your acheronian and do thing bully for you," nan group’s executive director, Lacey Wicksall, said. "And that's what we're present to do — to conscionable supply a respite successful nan mediate of nan storm.”

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More than 20 vendors worked together and donated their services for nan Grooms' arena this month, including Generation Tux, which has provided astir 200 tuxedos for Wish Upon a Wedding’s ceremonies complete nan past 3 years.

“Everyone deserves to observe emotion and their emotion story,” said Generation Tux's vice president, Chris Lorenzo, who outfitted John successful his huntsman green-colored tuxedo. “And they should get to do that successful style sloppy of their situation, particularly couples facing life altering circumstances.”

The nonprofit’s ngo of bringing immoderate much-needed cheer into nan lives of those grappling pinch terminal illnesses was hardly mislaid connected nan Southern California-based wedding planner and officiant for nan vow renewal ceremony, some of whom are crab survivors.

“It's very easy to spell to a acheronian spot erstwhile you person a superior diagnosis,” said lead planner Penelope Lopez-Contreras of Events LC. “Helping them observe their emotion surrounded by their loved ones is simply a awesome measurement to proceed nan fight.”

“As a leukemia survivor, I cognize what nan conflict is for illustration and really acheronian it tin be," added officiant Danny Bardales. "That’s why I’m present and honored to springiness back.”

The ceremonial and after-party, nan grateful mates said, was conscionable what they request to get them fresh for their adjacent challenge: Jordan’s awesome room successful June astatine City of Hope, a crab investigation and curen halfway successful Southern California, to region her original tumor.

“I’m still not retired of nan woods,” Jordan said. “But our outlook is simply a batch brighter than it was a twelvemonth ago.”