A heartwarming video of a father and his daughter during her wedding day recently made rounds on social media.
40-year-old Rowella Elbo said that it was indeed an unforgettable moment of their lives. During their wedding on July 20, 2019, Rowella made sure to grant her father’s wish. Her father at that time was battling an end-stage liver cancer.
“Halos wala kaming preparations nung ikasal kami kasi ang totoo na-discover kasi namin ‘yung cancer ng Papa. After noon, nag-usap kami ng husband ko, sabi ko ‘Seryoso ka na ba talaga sa akin?’ ‘Talagang gusto mo na ba talaga [na ako] ang kasama mo habangbuhay?’ Sabi kong ganun sa kaniya. ‘Kasi ang Papa, nadiscover ko na may liver cancer pala siya.’ Pangarap niya kasi na maihatid kami sa simbahan,” Rowella told The Philippine STAR during an interview.
“Gusto ko ang papa mapagbigyan kasi sinabi na rin ng doctor na maybe three months or weeks, pwede na raw si Papa kunin ni God. Gusto kong ibigay kay papa yung pangarap niya. So ayun nagdecide kami, Talagang lahat madalian,” she added.
For her former boyfriend and now husband, Edward, he definitely understood where Rowella was coming from. “Medyo nagulat ako. Since doon na nga mapupunta, ginawan ko ng paraan.”
“Naiintindihan ko naman kasi ’yung situation so we had to make it happen. We did something about it. Awa ng Diyos, nangyari naman,” Edward stressed.
The couple initially decided not to conduct a wedding engagement. However, Edward still proposed to Rowella while she’s beside her father in the hospital.
“Hindi rin naging ganun kadali. May kaunting tampuhan, problema bago dumating ‘yung proposal niya. Kasi syempre, hindi siya handa eh, tapos ako para naman parang nagmamadali na,” Rowella noted.
The couple planned the wedding for three months. Rowella shared that her father’s health was already deteriorating days before her wedding.
“Nung umuwi ang ate ko from California, kinausap niya ako, [sabi niya] hindi na maganda ang lagay ng Papa. So anong mangyari, ituloy mo ang kasal kasi prepared na lahat. So talagang umiiyak ako,” she recalled.
“Sabi ko, ‘Hindi. Kaya ni Papa ‘yan!’ Kinausap ko gabi-gabi. Natango na lang siya. Nailing na lang siya, hindi na siya naimik. Araw-araw kong kinakausap si Papa, ‘Papa, kaya mo ‘to.’ ‘Kaya natin ‘to.’ ‘Kakayanin mo ‘to kasi ito ‘yung gusto nating dalawa,’” she added.
On her wedding day, Rowella’s father ‘walked’ her down the aisle. “Sobrang happy ko na nabigay ko sa kaniya, ‘yung pinaka dream niya.”
Five days after their wedding, Daddy Romulo passed away. Despite that, Rowella believes that her father is now happy.
“Feeling ko naman sobrang happy niya. Lalo na, na may apo siyang lalaki kasi apat nga kaming babae,” she said.
Rowella also expressed gratitude to her husband for being with her through thick and thin.
“Thank you dahil hindi lang pangarap ko, pangarap ng tatay ko, pangarap ng pamilya ko, binigay mo. Hanggang ngayon, ‘yung pinangako mo sa simbahan na aalagaan mo kami, na mamahalin mo kami, binigay mo,” she said with teary eyes.
