A 20-year-old man from Iowa was able to fulfil his wish of marrying his girlfriend just hours before losing his battle against a rare form of liver cancer.
Tristan Laue proposed to the love of his life, Tianna, over the Easter weekend but his family quickly realized the wedding would have to happen soon.
“He’s the love of my life,” Tianna Laue explained to Iowa’s KWWL News. “Even like talking to my mom and everything, she said some people don’t get what you two had in the amount of time, like they’ll be together for years and still not have the same connection that you guys did.”
Laue was battling fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, a rare form of liver cancer that usually occurs in adolescents and young adults.
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After word spread through the town of Waverly about the pending nuptials, the community came together to organize a wedding for the couple in the backyard of Laue’s family home.
Video of the April 27 ceremony shows family and friends gathered in a tent while bridesmaids and groomsmen surround the soon-to-be-newlyweds, watching the couple exchange rings and vows.
Approximately five hours following the ceremony, Laue lost his battle with cancer.
“Tristin Janey Laue, 20, of Waverly, Iowa, passed away on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at his home in Waverly from complications of fibrolamellar liver cancer,” the family said in Laue’s obituary. “Tristin was united in marriage to Tianna Hargrafen on April 27, 2019.”
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“Tristin was very goal orientated and had a bright future ahead of him. He was studying at UNI for Engineering Design and also enjoyed spending time with his new found love, Tianna,” the obit reads.
A funeral service was held on Saturday, where family and friends gathered to pay their final respects to the young man.
“Make sure you tell people you love them because you never know when you won’t be able to,” Tianna told the news station. “Just make sure you cherish every day, even if they’re having a rough day or getting really upset.”
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