A COUPLE whose baby boy is waiting for a life-saving heart transplant married in the hospital where he is being cared for so that he could be with them for their special day.

Suzie Small and Jimmy Francis, from Basingstoke, tied the knot at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust’s chapel alongside their two-year-old son Romeo who suffers from a rare heart condition.

The couple had planned to marry in Basingstoke but didn’t want to have the celebration without their son, who has restrictive cardiomyopathy and is waiting for a heart transplant in Southampton’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Suzie said: “We were originally booked to get married in Basingstoke but it wouldn’t have been possible for Romeo to leave the hospital and attend. We weren’t bothered where we got married, just as long as he was there.”

The nurses who care for Romeo were on hand to help during the wedding, and even made a cake for the couple.

“The nurses did an amazing job and took away the stress of arranging a wedding. We can’t thank them enough,” said Suzie.

The wedding was performed by trust chaplain, Reverend Sue Pitkin, who said: “It has been a joy to get to know Romeo and his family over the last few months. I was delighted to be asked to baptise him in January, and then when I heard the wonderful news that his mummy and daddy were getting married and would like me to be involved in their wedding, I felt very honoured and also very nervous!

“This was the very first time I’ve officiated at a wedding within the hospital and it felt like a huge responsibility as well as a delight.”

The reverend had to seek approval from the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Office to allow the wedding to take place, and said she was “overjoyed” when he responded with a yes, issuing a special licence for the couple to marry.

“How lovely that The Church of England was so keen to help Romeo’s parents to get married,” said Reverend Pitkin, adding: “On the day everyone in PICU, staff and the Friends of PICU charity, pulled out all the stops to make the chapel look beautiful and to enable Romeo to enjoy his parents’ wedding.

“His big sister was there too, and the very kind play services team even provided a lovely gift for her to make the day even more special. What an amazing and joyful occasion, a day that I will never forget.”

Romeo was born with a rare heart condition affecting one in 3,000 babies. At four months old he had open heart surgery but by 10 months old he had suffered four cardiac arrests and was then diagnosed with an even rarer heart condition affecting less than one in a million babies.

The only cure is a heart transplant, and little Romeo is being cared for in hospital while he awaits this life-saving surgery.

The community of Basingstoke has rallied to support Romeo and his family, raising an incredible £15,000 towards care and equipment needed for Romeo for the rest of his life.

To find out more about Romeo and his family’s plight to raise awareness of organ donation, visit https://romeosbrokenheart.com/.