Thetford/Bury St Edmunds: Dad Thomas Cuddihy shares in daughter’s big day at hospital chapel
Angie and Tom Bax, with Angie'�s father Thomas Cuddihy. Credit: Andy Abbott/Abbott Photography. - Credit: Archant
A dream came true for a new bride when she was given away by her father during a special ceremony in West Suffolk Hospital’s chapel.
Thomas Cuddihy, 68, is currently being treated for terminal lung cancer on Ward F10, and was unable to leave the hospital on his daughter Angie Bax’s big day. So, a special ceremony was arranged in the hospital chapel instead.
Mr Cuddihy and his wife Angela, from Thetford, attended the ceremony with bridegroom Tom Bax’s parents Brenda and Simon Bax, who travelled from their home in Southampton.
Mr Cuddihy’s condition was only diagnosed as terminal on September 5, so his daughter and future son-in-law decided to hold a special ceremony at the chapel for him.
Angie said: “Due to my father’s ill-health, he would not have been able to make the day otherwise.
“I’m the baby of a large Catholic family, and my dad has not had a chance to give any other daughters away as yet, so that was another reason. It makes it so special just knowing that he was there. To have my first love, which is my dad, at the venue was lovely.”
Angie praised the hospital’s lead chaplain, the Rev Ian Howells, who conducted the ceremony.
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She continued: “He was amazing – he did us a fantastic service and made it so personal.
“The staff on the ward were also amazing. A junior doctor monitored dad’s condition throughout the ceremony.”
Angie, 31, a customer service advisor, and Tom, 30, an electrician, have known each other for almost four years and got engaged on August 1.
They live in Southampton, and Angie now plans to spend the next few weeks in East Anglia with her father.
Rev Howells said: “We wish them God’s blessing on their marriage. We were delighted to be able to help in this emergency.”