NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) - A Rhode Island hospital held an emergency wedding that had to be performed before the bride’s father died from muscular dystrophy.

Sabrina Silveira-DaCosta says her father, 58-year-old Frank Silveira, was Portuguese-born and raised, a serious chef and a five-star dad. About 10 years ago, he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, which recently progressed. He was admitted to Fatima Hospital in North Providence last Tuesday.

With Silveira’s health rapidly declining, his family realized he wasn’t going to make it his daughter’s wedding on Sep. 7, so plans changed.

“Everyone was able to bring the wedding to him in the hospital, and he got to walk me down the aisle,” Silveira-DaCosta said.

From his intensive care unit bed, Silveira escorted his daughter down the hospital hallway Monday into the hands of her fiancé, Sam DaCosta.

“I was just feeling so grateful that he was there with me. We had a moment before we walked down the aisle where he told me that I looked beautiful and that he was so happy for me,” Silveira-DaCosta said.

The bride and groom were surrounded by their loved ones, flowers, music and cake as they tied the knot.

Silveira-DaCosta’s father died about an hour after he walked her down the aisle.

“It’s very complex. It’s a lot of emotion. Our community hospitals don’t get enough credit because any big hospital couldn’t have done this for us,” she said.

Though Silveira won’t be able to attend their wedding in person, the couple say he will be there in spirit through the food he requested.

“We’re still gonna honor that. We’re still gonna make all those things,” DaCosta said.

As a healthcare worker herself in a cardiovascular clinic, Silveira-DaCosta can appreciate the care and attention the hospital’s doctors and nurses put into their family. Her siblings also work in the healthcare field.

“I think we realized what our calling was. We realized how difficult it was to be sick,” Silveira-DaCosta said. “Knowing we’re helping people like our dad is so special.”

The couple thanked the hospital staff and the staff at Continuum Care Hospice of Rhode Island for their support.