Wish Upon A Wedding: Cancer-Stricken Woman To Marry Longtime Love
FLINT (WWJ) - A Flint couple who will tie the knot next week knows the true meaning of "living in the moment."
At 30-years-old, Jennifer Hutcheson always dreamed she might be planning her wedding -- not the end of her life.
Diagnosed with esophageal cancer five years ago, Hutcheson's last wish was to be married to the man who has always been there for her, Allen Korth.
"Nobody expects a person to be able to handle a situation like this," Hutcheson told WWJ's Marie Osborne. "Not many people could see a person go through this much. He's the strongest person I know."
Hutcheson first met Korth at work and the two quickly became good friends. Their friendship developed into love shortly after Hutcheson's 21st birthday, four years before her diagnosis.
"When we first found out that I had cancer, I told him that he didn't have to stand by me, that I knew this was going to be really hard for anybody and that it was going to be a long road and I wouldn't expect anybody to go through this with me. But he would never leave my side, he's been a rock," she said.
Hutcheson was briefly in remission during her countless treatments, but the cancer eventually returned and spread throughout her entire body. Throughout it all, Korth has never left Hutcheson's side.
"A lot of people say 'Well if I was in a relationship with someone like that, I don't know if I could handle it. I don't know what I would do,'" Korth said. "But until you're there, you don't really know what you're made of and times like these are when you find out."
Hutcheson said she wanted to marry her longtime fiancé years ago, but it would have caused her to lose her insurance benefits. Now that she has entered hospice care, 100 percent of her end of life care will be covered, allowing the couple to finally marry.
The Michigan Chapter of Wish Upon a Wedding heard about Hutcheson's story stepped up to cover the entire cost of the wedding -- from the gown and tuxedo to the venue and catering.
"They've bent over backwards to try to make this the most beautiful wedding I could imagine," Hutcheson said. "I have a wedding dress, it is flowing and white and kind of lightweight, because it's what I can carry. My dancing dress is kind of like a flapper and I'm hoping I'll feel great enough to dance."
The couple plans to wed July 6 at a private residence in Fenton. Their song is a classic sung by Johnny Cash, "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face."
"We just hope to have as pleasant of a time as we can together for the amount of time that we have together. We're thankful for every day. Even a bad day is a good day because we're together," Korth said.
An online fundraiser has also been set up to help the couple pay for other expenses, such as a honeymoon. To donate, click here.
For more information on Wish Upon a Wedding, click here.
