Gary Moskowitz
SOUTHWEST GLENDALE -- Jerry Mietus, 46, understands the brevity, and
beauty, of life all too well.
Mietus, hospitalized for acute leukemia and about to begin a second
wave of chemotherapy treatments, married Cynthia Aguilar in his hospital
room on Valentine's Day.
The couple met in 2000 in Chicago and had planned to be married this
year, when Mietus began to get sick and was diagnosed with leukemia. It
didn't even occur to them to reconsider their commitment.
"She's been beautiful to me, and I know her love is there," Mietus
said, just prior to exchanging vows with Aguilar. "I take it day by day,
and I hope I'll pull through this."
Aguilar's siblings, parents, niece, Minister Carson Smith, Mietus's
nurse, Peter Boghossian and his doctor, Teresa Swida, all crowded into
Room 744 at Glendale Memorial Hospital to be a part of the ceremony. A
small archway, red and white balloons and "get well" cards decorated the
room.
They all wore masks over their mouths to prevent germs from spreading
through the room.
"His bone marrow has been obliterated by the first round of
chemotherapy, and he basically has no immune system at this time," Swida
said of Mietus' condition. "We're very worried about him, but hopeful."
Mietus is taking antivirals, antifungals and antibiotics. The second
round of chemotherapy begins today.
The couple decided to watch a movie together Wednesday night and talk
of their plans to spend a honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta -- plans dependent
on Mietus' response to his treatments.
Mietus said he had paid a visit to Aguilar last Valentine's Day to
deliver some candy. And when she opened the door, her face lit up.
"I'll never forget it," Mietus said. "That was a good Valentine's Day,
and today is a great day. Hopefully, next year will be even better."
Aguilar said she took Mietus to get acupuncture done when he first
became sick. He was suffering from muscle problems and flu-like symptoms,
but had no idea how severe the situation was at first. Mietus checked
into Glendale Memorial three weeks ago.
Mietus' mother died of leukemia and his brother has the blood disease.
Aguilar's niece, Melissa Beanes, played a special love song on a small
radio and then read a poem called "Priceless Gift" for the bride and
groom, who later shared cake and cider with their guests and took
pictures of each other.
Mietus stood, arm in arm with Aguilar, for most of the ceremony. He
sat, briefly, in a chair that had been placed behind him while the song
played.
"I got something to work for," Mietus said after the ceremony.
