Goin’ to the chapel . . .

A love affair of 18 years culminated in a marriage on Friday afternoon—the first-ever in the chapel at La Verendrye hospital here.
Clifford Legarde and Judy Yerxa were married in the tiny chapel on the first floor of the hospital surrounded by dozens of family, friends, and well-wishers.
Most had to watch the ceremony from the hallway—peering through the frosted glass and doorway—as only a handful of people could fit into the small chapel, which recently was renovated along with other parts of the hospital.
The emotional ceremony was the result of nearly a month of crisis and fear, described by the bride’s sister, Donna Perrault, as “a very emotional roller-coaster.”
Yerxa first was admitted to hospital in early May when she broke her leg at home. The 42-year-old suffers from osteoporosis and so her bones break easily.
She underwent surgery on her leg in Thunder Bay, then was sent back to La Verendrye to recover. But she developed a bad cough and was having a hard time breathing, Perrault said.
The staff suspected pneumonia, and after a “Code Blue” incident where she stopped breathing, Yerxa was transferred to Timmins since there was no room at the hospitals in Winnipeg or Thunder Bay.
“Her heart couldn’t function right and her lungs almost collapsed from fluid,” said Legarde, 53, Yerxa’s common-law spouse of 18 years.
It was when the seriousness of her condition became apparent that Legarde decided it was time to get married.
“I was afraid to lose her,” he remarked after Friday’s ceremony. “God put you on Earth to find a partner. I didn’t want to lose her that way.
Legarde had wanted to marry her in Timmins, but her condition did not improve. Instead, she had to be moved to the hospital in Sudbury, where the state of her lungs was the primary concern.
In order to finance all the travel, the family held a benefit supper at Couchiching, where the community donated $1,700.
During her illness, Yerxa told Legarde to leave her and spare himself the pain of watching her suffer.
“‘I’m a sick woman,’ she said to me,” Legarde recalled.
But he staunchly refused. “She’s mine to look after,” he stressed.
After a week in Sudbury, Yerxa’s condition improved and she was transferred back to La Verendrye. Legarde was with her every step of the way.
“I’ll do anything for her,” he vowed. “I will find a way to get to her.”
Legarde went to Hilda Yerxa, Judy’s mother, for permission to marry her daughter.
“The hardest part was asking my mother-in-law,” he admitted. “I was afraid to approach her.”
It turned out his fears were unwarranted. “She hugged me,” he said, smiling.
The next step was asking Yerxa herself.
“She looked at me. She took a long time to answer me, but she said OK,” Legarde remarked.
He then got permission from the hospital to hold the ceremony in the chapel—the first wedding ever to be held there.
Yerxa wore a white lace gown, with a wreath of pink roses on her head.
Diane Clifford performed the ceremony while hospital staffer Erika Fagerdahl played the guitar and sang.
The couple exchanged traditional vows, and also recited their own.
“Wherever you go, I’ll follow you,” Legarde pledged. “Without you, I’m nothing.”
“God gave me a second chance at life,” Yerxa said. “I’m so glad I got the chance to be your wife.”
Following the ceremony, the couple played two songs: “When I Need You” by Leo Sayer and “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen.
While family and friends celebrated the union, Legarde said there would be no celebration for him until he can bring his wife home from the hospital.
“I want her home with me,” he said.
Yerxa remains in hospital here but is improving daily, Perrault said.
(Fort Frances Times)