There’s always time — part 2: Sarah Smith becomes Sarah Wall

BUTTS COUNTY, Ga. — If you picked up a March 25 copy of The Houston Home Journal, you already know much of Sarah Smith’s — now Sarah Wall’s — story. A recently enrolled patient of Hospice Care Options, Wall told her caregivers that she, after years of being the caregiver for her brother and sister-in-law, wanted to get married to her fiancé, a man she’d been in a relationship with for 26 years.

With the help of middle Georgia’s community, Sarah Smith and Thomas Wall’s wedding was set for Sunday, April 2. According to Chaplain Lisa Johnson, the wedding was a beautiful sight to behold.

“It was amazing,” Johnson said. “There was lots of laughter, lots of serious moments, some tears, but overall it was a fantastic day.”

Volunteers arrived early to prepare the venue, setting up decorations, laying out chairs, and making sure the day would go smoothly. Smith moved about the venue with ease in an volunteer-provided electric wheelchair, and was followed often by friends, family and her caregivers.

When the ceremony began, and it came time for Smith to make her way down the aisle, she was determined to do so on her own two feet. She strapped on a pair of bright purple Chuck Taylors, and worked her way down the walkway. She met her fiancé, Thomas Wall, at the other end. There, surrounded by friends and family, Johnson performed the ceremony that made the two married; Sarah Smith officially became Sarah Wall.

Following the ceremony, the party moved to the reception, where the bride, groom, and all there loved ones enjoyed a wedding cake made by Amber Palfy and a dinner from Hunter’s Café out of Jackson, Georgia. Later in the reception, The Walls had their first dance as a married couple, to Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender.”

The wedding, though it came with an expected amount of last-minute snags, went nearly perfect. Volunteers from all over middle Georgia came together to make it happen.

Sharon and Chris Kelly offered up their motorized wheelchair, a boon that came in quite handy at the wedding’s outdoor venue. Volunteers from Hospice Care Options put together the decorations for the wedding, often working well into the night with their projects — funds from their foundation were also used to purchase the necessary supplies. Lucy Cabello Photography and Caitlin Biddle offered their time and expertise to document the wedding with their photography., and Amber Palfy offered her culinary mastery to provide the wedding’s cake and cupcakes.

Ibalz prepared the wedding banner, AJ Confectionary Store donated materials for the wedding cake and Lowe’s donated bricks, later decorated and used to hold down other decorations during the outdoor ceremony. The Dream Foundation donated boutonnieres, and coordinated with Hunter’s Café to provide the food for the reception.

Hospice Care Options of Warner Robins works with each of their patients to provide requests like this, whether it be finding a family member, making contact with a former friend — or in this case, planning and performing a wedding. Johnson told The Journal why:

“At the end of the day, love is the thing that you can’t paint a picture of, but it’s tangible when you hold it,” Johnson said. “[The Walls’] love is tangible. For him to have stood by her for 26 years of caregiver for her brother and her sister-in-law, he raised her three girls, and then for her to have this massive stroke and their lives to completely change — it was the opportunity for us to give them both a gift.

“We were able to make a fairytale story come true. Mr. Tom said it best; he said, “my hallmark story of 26 years has ended with a happy ending, and the sequel is now beginning for another 26 years.’”

HHJ News