PHOTOS PROVIDED Jenn Dashnaw-Carter and her father, Daniel Dashnaw, share an emotional embrace in his room at University of Vermont Health Network, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital. Jenn and her fiancé, Gilles Carter, were wed there with just three days’ notice thanks to the enthusiastic efforts of hospital staff.

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — For Jenn Dashnaw-Carter, having her father at her wedding was just as important as having her groom there.

“My dad is my hero,” she said. “I’ve always been Daddy’s little girl.”

But Daniel Dashnaw has pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a heart condition.

“He was having a lot of difficulty breathing, and the doctor came in and told him that his life expectancy was very short,” said his wife, Jeanne.

“I called Jenn, and I told her, ‘If you want your dad at your wedding, you’d better think about doing it soon.’”

Jenn and her fiancé, Gilles Carter, had originally planned to wed next September.

But after talking it over, they filed for their wedding license and made plans to marry last Saturday. Jenn had last weekend off from her job as a correction officer at Clinton County Jail.

“It meant the world to me,” that Gilles agreed to bump the wedding up to Saturday, she said.

The venue for the nuptials? Jenn’s father’s room in the Progressive Care Unit on the third floor at University of Vermont Health Network, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, New York.

But the celebration did not take a backseat to the institutional setting, thanks to the efforts of the staff on that floor, managed with just three days’ notice.

Rebecca Shutts, operations manager for the Progressive Care Unit, is an ordained minister and volunteered to perform the ceremony, Jeanne said.

Courtney Coryea from the hospital’s marketing and communications department volunteered as a photographer. 

And CVPH Vice President and Chief Quality Information Officer Dr. Wouter Rietsema is editing the photos into an album for Jenn and Gilles.

“They were all nurses or staff, and they all volunteered their time,” Jeanne said. “The assistants at night would decorate the room — it just all came together.”

On the big day, staff moved out any medical equipment that Daniel didn’t need, including the bed and large chairs, Jeanne said.

They covered a wall with sheets and decorated the room with navy-blue tinsel.

Jane Zinchelli, a food service worker, loaned an arch for the wedding, CVPH Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist Chris Blake said..

Everything medical-related was hidden except Daniel’s wheelchair and a small respirator for his oxygen.

While helping Jenn don her bridal gown in the bathroom, Jeanne told her she would be surprised when she found out who the musician was.

After many guesses, they opened the door to see Sara Ledwith.

The young woman, for whom Jenn had been babysitter, had promised she would play at Jenn’s wedding.

“They both started crying; they lunged at each other,” Jeanne said.

“She played a keyboard,” Jenn said. “I can’t remember honestly what she was playing. There were a lot of emotions going on.”

The staff planned everything, Jeanne said, including helping her Daniel — clad in a tuxedo — walk his daughter a few feet down an aisle to give her away.

Daniel was very emotional, Jeanne said.

“He said it was a big relief,” Jeanne said tearfully. “It was a relief for him to see her get married because he didn’t think he was going to.”

Jenn felt both happy and nervous at the wedding, thrilled her father could walk her down the proverbial aisle.

“Because he was in the hospital, he needed assistance getting up and being able to take those few steps,” she said.

“But I knew how important it was to him. I was very excited that he was able to get up and do those few steps.”

Jenn said she can’t thank the nurses and staff enough for all the hard work they put in.

“It seems like some people, they go to work and it’s their job, how they pay bills,” she said. “But what they do for my family and all their other patients shows that they care.”

Since Saturday, the elder Daniel’s condition has begun to improve, Jeanne said Tuesday.

“They’re talking about maybe sending him home.

“And Jenn came in this morning before she had to go back to work, and she told him, ‘Well, if I would’ve known this is what it took to get you to feel better, I would have gotten married sooner.’”

Cara Chapman writes for the Plattsburgh, New York Press Republican.