At a Glance
- Staff at HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital organized a romantic bedside dinner for nurse Angela and husband Christopher
- The surprise came after Angela, hospitalized for emergency surgery, feared missing their anniversary
- Candles, flowers, steak and shrimp transformed the room into a mini restaurant
- Why it matters: A simple gesture turned a stressful hospital stay into a cherished memory for a couple facing unexpected hardship
A routine hospital admission turned into an unforgettable wedding anniversary celebration after co-workers at HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital refused to let one of their own miss the special day.
Angela, a nurse at the hospital, arrived with severe abdominal pain and underwent emergency surgery, according to an HCA Florida Healthcare press release. The timing was crushing: her hospital stay overlapped with her wedding anniversary.
“I was heartbroken, thinking I’d miss celebrating our special day,” Angela said.
AnnieBelle and Irmina from the medical-surgical unit spearheaded the rescue mission.
“They said, ‘We can take care of that,’ ” Angela recalled.
Within hours, staff rolled in a small table, covered it with a cloth, and added candles, flowers, formal plates and glassware. The couple dined on steak and shrimp while Angela remained in her hospital bed.
“It was delicious,” she said, describing how staff told her to “cover my head and not peek… then they had it all set up. It was so nice.”
Christopher, who had watched his wife battle pain all week, said the dinner brought the first smile he’d seen from her in days.
Angela, now recovering at home and “feeling great,” said the event reflects the hospital’s culture.
“They’d do this for any of our patients. It’s really at the heart of our mission: making everyone feel valued and cared for,” she said.
According to News Of Losangeles, the gesture illustrates how hospital teams often go beyond medical care to support emotional well-being, especially when staff members become patients themselves.
