Chase Smith was diagnosed with cancer in 2014 and he bravely fought off the disease, Ewing’s Sarcoma, for several years.
However, in March the 18-year-old high school student was given life-changing news, the cancer had returned, in his lung, back and hip.
Reports say that in April, things got worse, he was told that the cancer had reached the lining of his brain. A GoFundMe page was set up for Chase and he was able to raise almost $100 000 (R1.8 million).
“If you’ve had the privilege of watching Chase swim, you have seen the drive and competitiveness that burns in his soul,” the page reads. “If you’ve had the privilege of knowing Chase in person, you have seen the kindness and goodness, the loyalty and righteousness that exudes from his spirit. His faith is strong, his fight is strong and he has the support and love of a small community with a BIG heart!”
With the devastating news of how far his cancer had spread, Chase was given only five months. He realised that there was only one thing he wanted to do with the time he had left to him.
Chase had planned on marrying his girlfriend Sadie Mills, 18, when they finished college, however, their timeline was significantly shortened and his friends and family helped make his dream possible and held a wedding ceremony in only four days in Indianapolis, Indiana.
WestJournal reported that his parents were 100% on board and it was Chase’s dad who actually suggested the idea.
“He said, ‘I can tell in your demeanour that you’re going to marry Sadie one day,’” Chase told USA Today, recounting his father’s words. “‘I want you to know if that’s going through your mind right now, your mom and I support you 110 percent.”
Both families met to discuss the wedding. Chase and Sadie had only been going out for six months and were still in high school, however, their love was genuine and the families saw that.
“I told them how much Sadie had changed my life and how much I loved her, how special she had been to me, the simple fact that there is nobody I’ve been able to open up about my personal life and cancer journey like I’m able to with her,” Chase explained. “She is able to calm me down in a lot of scenarios when nobody else can.”
“He was so sweet,” Sadie said of Chase. “He’s very polite. He’s a good Christian boy. We just fell in love with each other’s personalities. Now, he is all that matters to me.” The wedding was a simple, intimate affair and was held in Sadie’s parent’s driveway where the couple had had their first kiss. “This is like a Hallmark love story,” Chase’s mom, Kelli Smith, said. “A Nicholas Sparks love story. You just don’t see love like this.”
“We, every day, pray for a miracle together because we trust in God,” Sadie said. “We pray that Chase would stay on this earth longer so we can bring more people our story of love.
“The precious people in your life, the amount of time they are in your life, take every moment you have,” Chase said. “Enjoy and give everything you can in those relationships. And know there is so much possible with love when your love includes God.”
