Kehana Bonagura, patient, center, at her wedding organized by the Mount Sinai West antepartum team at the hospital chapel.
Kehana Bonagura had planned to combine her baby shower with a surprise wedding in late September 2023, about a month before her planned delivery date. However, a week before the event, Kehana was diagnosed with vasa previa, a rare pregnancy complication that can cause a fetus to lose a significant amount of blood. As a result, Kehana would need to stay at Mount Sinai West until giving birth so she could be closely monitored. She and her fiancé were devastated and hoped it would be possible, at the very least, to have a bedside wedding.
The Mount Sinai West 11A antepartum team wanted to do something more, specifically, plan a wedding for the couple in the hospital chapel. Niesha Canselo, Nurse Manager of 11A, knew this might be a challenge due to logistics and the patient’s condition, but she was determined to make it happen if at all possible. Once she received the go-ahead from senior leadership, she enlisted her team to give Kehana a magazine-worthy ceremony and reception. Niesha is humble when talking about her role in coordinating the details. “My team rose to the occasion,” she says. “We all came together knowing how much this celebration would mean to Kehana and her fiancé.”
Friends, family, and staff walked into a transformed chapel. A wedding aisle was covered with rose petals, leading to a flowered canopy for the ceremony. The staff wrote a special wedding song and set a beautiful dinner table for two in her room, complete with sparkling apple cider and wedding cake. Guests received personalized chocolate favors, and a keepsake photo for the couple was signed by the 11A staff.
Kehana called her wedding day, September 23, “the most magical day of my life.” She says that many of her family members described it as the most intimate and special wedding they had ever been to. “I cannot thank Niesha and everyone else who contributed to our special day enough,” she says.
But Kehana’s thanks go beyond the special wedding. She delivered a healthy baby girl on September 28. “The care I received for the past two weeks has helped me remain positive during a challenging time. I can’t wait to tell my daughter the story of how the nurses and doctors at Mount Sinai not only made sure she arrived safely into the world, but also gave her mommy and daddy the wedding of their dreams. Thank you, Mount Sinai! You are all now forever a part of our growing family.”