‘It’s happy and sad at the same time’: Lunenberg couple fast tracks wedding after groom’s terminal diagnosis
Philip Dwyer and Katerina Mesa are to be married in a few weeks.
Like any other engaged couple, Philip Dwyer and Katerina Mesa set about planning their wedding, and were going to look at venues in Miami, where Mesa is from.But just before the couple, based in Lunenberg, were supposed to fly there, Dwyer, 21, found out that the bone cancer he’s been battling for the past six years had metastasized, and is terminal. Now, the pair, who had originally set their wedding for next year in Florida, will tie the knot in just a few weeks, on Nov. 4 at Gibbet Hill in Groton.“They met at a Jimmy Fund clinic while undergoing treatment,” Steve Dwyer, Philip’s dad, told Boston.com.Mesa, 25, is a cancer survivor, and the two met about four years ago and began dating about three years ago.“They became enamored with each other,” Steve said.The couple has been engaged for about a year, according to Steve. His son has been battling osteosarcoma, or bone cancer, since the end of 2013, while still in high school. Over the years, he’s had many treatments, surgeries, and trials. There’s been recurrences during that time, but Philip has gotten through them. This most recent recurrence was different.“They found out that Phil had a large clot in his leg, which is part of the cancer,” Steve said.And this time, the cancer had spread to his lungs.“They’ve pretty much decided at this point — there are multiple things going on with him — that there really aren’t any other treatments that are available,” he added.Philip is now in hospice care and receiving treatment for pain management, his dad said.“It’s tough, he’s not sleeping very well, he’s not eating very well,” he said. “It’s difficult for him to get around because he’s not able to weight bear on one of his legs because his hip is actually broken from the cancer.”Philip was supposed to have pelvic surgery to correct that, his dad said. But that was paused when the latest diagnosis was made.“Our big focus now is to manage the pain,” Steve said. “He gets a lot of pain from the leg, the clot, and the broken bone, which doesn’t really heal itself.”Mesa has taken on most of the wedding planning, according to Steve. He said those at Gibbet Hill have been “very, very nice.” Family and friends are also helping to put the wedding together.“It seems to be slowly but surely coming together with the help of a lot of wonderful people,” Steve said.He launched a GoFundMe online fundraising campaign to help cover the wedding costs. As of around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the campaign had raised just over $12,500 of its $25,000 goal in two days.“We started off the process only because obviously we can’t financially just wing it ourselves, but we wanted them to have anything they could have,” Steve said. “People have been not only generous in terms of donations, but generous in terms of kind words, and people messaging me separately offering services — photography, cakes, all sorts of wonderful things, all over New England.”In the meantime, family and friends are visiting Philip daily and have been trying to keep his spirits up, according to his father. He described his son as “strong” and “respectful.”“He has a great sense of humor,” Steve said. “And he is a tried and true faithful person to friends and family.”It’s been difficult for Philip to watch other people helping him out.“He feels badly that they’re doing things for him,” his dad said. “It’s just kind of who he is.”Of Katerina, he said she’s “one of the sweetest, most caring young ladies I’ve ever met.” Though she had planned to move back to Miami, she stayed in Massachusetts to be with Philip.“It’s bittersweet,” Steve said. “We want them to have a beautiful day, and it’s going to be a beautiful day, we hope. It’s happy and sad at the same time.”
