Dean and Kay say ‘I Do’ in very special wedding

Told he had weeks to live, patient Dean Pennell fulfilled his wish to marry his fiancée Kay at Colchester Hospital.

Dean, 63, who has terminal cancer and Kay Beaman, 62, met through their children 24 years ago, when they lived on an estate in Basildon, before moving to Clacton-on-Sea.

Kay said: “I am absolutely elated, we have waited a long time and it’s so special to be able to celebrate our marriage here, with our families.

“Dean proposed when we first got together but with 10 children between us money would not allow.

“We were planning to get married this year but with the situation as it was, we decided to bring the wedding forward.”

Dean and Kay embrace

The happy couple were watched by family and friends, including their 10 children and some of their 18 grandchildren, at the event on 18 June, which was organised in under a week by Langham Ward manager Lucy Everett, matron Emma Davis and patient flow coordinator Donna Knox.

Kay said: “It was very hard for Dean. He had been so excited in the lead up to the wedding and I would get a phone call from him at the hospital every morning telling me how many days there were to go until the wedding.

“When the day came, he was adamant, as difficult as it was, that he was going to stand up for as much as the ceremony as possible, and we had a lovely day. He was exhausted afterwards.

“Dean is now back at home and we are living life to suit us.”

Dean, a former electroplater, who worked with Kay for a period of time, said: “It was absolutely brilliant. The staff worked really hard to organise the wedding and Lucy (Everett) is something else.”

Ward manager Lucy Everett, said: “It has been a pleasure to be able to help Dean and Kay – it’s rare that we get to celebrate a wedding at Colchester Hospital – it’s a first for me – and it’s been an honour and privilege to be involved.”

As well as helping to organise the day and arrange the flowers, ESNEFT staff also presented Dean and Kay with a clock, displaying the exact time the happy couple said ‘I Do’ on the day.