The ties that bind of great friendships wait for nothing. Not for an out-of-state wedding. Not for cancer.
For best friends, presence is surely a present. And in the case of David Gibson, his wife Paulette and his best friend Walter “Wally” Basham, it was a wedding present—which HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital’s staff helped deliver.
Paulette relayed the story of how she and David changed the date of their wedding so Wally could be a part of it. As she recalled, the blessing event was scheduled for Feb. 17 of this past winter.
Wally was a patient of Poinciana Hospital, for treatment of what was later found to be Stage 4 liver cancer, off an on from July 2024, into the month of the wedding.
The wedding was special to the small group of friends—David was best man to Wally and Gladys at their wedding, and Wally was to be best man to David and Paulette.
“The chances of Wally traveling to Illinois for our wedding slowly faded away,” Paulette said. “So David said, ‘If Wally can’t come here, we are bringing it to him.’” So, a Florida wedding quickly came together, including the family’s pastor Jeff Coester traveling with them. Hitting the road on Feb. 14 and to arrive in Kissimmee, Florida on the 15th was the plan— that again quickly changed.
“Dreadful news came on the morning of the 11th. Gladys called to inform us that Wally had stopped breathing,” Paulette said. “He was in ER at Poinciana Hospital being stabilized. David told Gladys to tell Wally, ‘You can’t get out of this that easy. We are on our way.’ High gear was engaged to wrap up urgent matters in my clinical psychology practice.” David, Paulette and Pastor Jeff headed out of Illinois on the 12th, driving through snow in Kentucky and Tennessee and flooding rains south into Georgia. They reached Kissimmee at 10 a.m. on the 13th.
“Urgently, we had a few espressos, quickly showered and then headed to the ICU,” Paulette said. “I had contacted Frank and Connie, my brother and sister-in-law to meet us there, as they have a home in The Villages.”
A quiet, reverent elevator ride delivered David, Pastor Jeff, Frank, Connie and Paulette to the floor of the ICU. When the doors opened, they were met by not just one HCA Poinciana staffer, but an entire receiving line of them.
“It was hospital staff, the CEO, and other administrators, standing outside Wally’s room to greet us. Shock, awe, and tears covered our faces,” Paulette said. HCA Florida Poinciana Cullen Brown said he and his team pulled off the ceremony— its first-ever wedding—in about 24 hours.
“What I remember is the way our team connects with our patients and pulled together to make this happen,” he said. “It was a very emotional moment, it just goes to show the connection with Wally.
“We’ve had birthday celebrations for folks who are in the hospital for their birthday, but our our mission at HCA really came to life in that moment.”
ICU staff had transformed Wally’s room into a wedding chapel, adorned with drapes, flowers, cake and lunch— catching the couple by surprise, HCA Communications Manager Stephanie Acosta said.
“Never in our lives had such love been shown by people we’ve never known,” Paulette said. “Then another unexpected moment—a bouquet of red roses was placed in my arms. Entering Wally’s room, I could see his smile and tears flowing upon his cheeks.”
With an audience that now included David, Paulette, Wally, family, friends, and the nursing staff, Pastor Jeff gave the story of love and how it manifests, noting the amount of love present in the room. Paulette said when the pastor pronounced them married, Wally clapped and smiled.
“Although he had not eaten in nearly three weeks, Wally enjoyed two pieces of wedding cake,” she said.
Surrounded by close friends, it would be his last meal. Wally passed away four days later on Monday, Feb. 17—but not before HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital healed more than one anguished heart, away from any operating table.
