INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Luke Blanock: Pennsylvania Teen Weds High School Sweetheart Two Months After Terminal Cancer Diagnosis

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 10:08 PST, Feb 25, 2016

Luke Blanock never thought he would be married at 18, but when he was told he had terminal cancer, he knew he wanted to marry his high school sweetheart before it was too late.

Blanock, from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, was the star of his high school baseball and basketball team when he was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, in December 2013. Over the past few years, Luke has put up a brave fight and has endured 24 rounds of chemotherapy, over 100 radiation treatments, and two surgeries, a GoFundMe page, set up by Luke’s parents, explained.

After undergoing the intense rounds of treatment, Luke’s cancer went into remission last winter. Luke and his family thought the battle was finally over; however, in December 2015, his doctors discovered that his cancer had returned, and was spreading. Luke was now considered a terminal patient.

Despite his prognosis, Luke intended to live his life to the fullest, and one month after his terminal diagnosis, he popped the question to his girlfriend Natalie Britvich. Of course, she said yes, and with the help of their community, the pair tied the knot on February 19 in front of an audience of nearly 200, according to a previous report by the Inquisitr.

Without the generosity of the community, wedding planner Ashley Cyprowski told ABC News they probably would’t have been able to pull the wedding off like they did. With all of Luke’s medical expenses, his family didn’t have a lot of extra income to spend on the ceremony. However, the couple received donations for everything from the flowers to the reception hall to make it happen.

“We pulled this whole thing together in a month, which is pretty incredible for a wedding this size,” Cyprowski said.

“One of my favorite moments of the evening was Natalie and Luke’s first dance,”Cyprowski told People Magazine. “Just seeing the way the two of them looked at one another and how each was just absolutely glowing made the day very real. You could see the love between them, and that is what this day was all about.”

Although there wasn’t a dry eye at the ceremony, the people weren’t crying tears of sadness. Rather, they were rejoicing the love between the young couple.

“The one thing I noticed after the evening was over was that not once was there mention of an illness,” said Cyprowski. “This day was solely about the love between two incredible individuals – a love that has conquered so many obstacles to get to this point.”

“They deserve the world and the community really pulled together to give that to them,” she continued. “We had so many reach out to donate their time and services. We could not have planned this special day from start to finish in a month without the kindness and generosity from our local vendors. I cannot thank them enough for making this day truly memorable for Natalie and Luke!”

Luke knows he may not have much longer to live, but he still clings to hope that he and Natalie can grow old together.

“He said, ‘I’m not marrying Natalie to make her a widow. I’m marrying Natalie to spend 50 years with her.’ And that’s great. That’s how it should be,” Luke’s grandmother, Rosemary Nikas, said. “You can tell he’s over the moon, very much in love.”

[Photo via Twitter/Luke Blanock]

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