The emotional moment a bride danced with her terminally ill dad at her wedding has been captured on camera. 24-year-old Vanessa Wickham worried Lew Johnston, 65, would be unable to make her special day as he is in the end stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Lew was diagnosed with the degenerative illness, which obstructs airflow to the lungs, 20 years ago and now needs 24/7 oxygen to keep him alive.
Vanessa and groom Mike Wickham, 25, feared he would struggle to breathe at their venue in Lake Arrowhead, California, USA, as it is 4,000ft above sea level. Doctors warned his lungs could collapse, so Lew arranged to travel there for a practice run to check he could cope with the altitude.
Vanessa was so happy when it was a success and Lew was given the all clear to attend her wedding at Arrowhead Pine Rose Cabins, where he walked her down the aisle. Moving footage shows Lew and Vanessa dancing slowly together to Elton John’s Can You Feel The Love Tonight.
Vanessa, a nurse, said the moment made her wedding to her college sweetheart Mike, an accountant, even more amazing
