With little time left to live and waiting to be sent home to spend her final days with her family, breast cancer patient Kung had what could be her last wish granted _ she married the man she loves.
The touching wedding ceremony was held at the Quality of Life Care Unit at Maha Vajiralongkorn Cancer Centre in Pathum Thani.
Surrounded by family, friends and hospital staff, Kung, 41, whose cancer has reached the terminal stage, exchanged vows with Damien Messner, 46, an Australian truck driver and the father of two of her four children.
With the wedding over and no further treatment scheduled, Kung will be going home to Bang Khen to be with her family.
``I'm very happy today,'' said Kung who managed to smile despite looking tired and frail.
The wedding was a traditional Thai-style one and coincided with World Cancer Day.
Mr Messner described Kung as ``a lovely human being. She would do the world for her family, she loves the children, words can't describe her.''
He said they met during a very difficult time in his life but Kung was a very strong woman and she was always there for him. He first saw Kung at a Chinese restaurant in Australia where she was working as an accounting assistant. At the time he was caring for his ill mother and decided not to approach her, even though he did feel an instant affection for her.
In the summer of 2005, while walking down the street in Sydney, Damien saw Kung walking the other way and decided to take his chance and ask her out. They began dating soon after. They finally decided to spend their lives together.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Mr Messner's mother died a week before Damien could introduce Kung to her.
Yet another heartbreaking tragedy would befall the couple when Kung accidently slipped and bumped her lower chest against the bathtub in January 2011. A small red bump appeared but did not cause much concern at the time.
Two months later on March 3, Kung was diagnosed with breast cancer. What they initially thought was only a cyst turned out to be stage-three invasive breast cancer that had already spread quickly to her breasts.
Realising treatment would be long and arduous, Mr Messner decided to bring Kung back to Thailand where she would receive support from her family.
"I think it is very important in that situation that you have support instead of being in a hospital room by yourself," he said.
Kung received her first chemotherapy shot on April 4 to shrink the lump. She would receive five more until having an operation on Sept 15 to remove her breasts and the lump. Yesterday, she completed her 11th and final dose of palliative radiation therapy.
Mr Messner said the ordeal has taken a terrible emotional toll on him as well as their children. While their two-year-old son has not been affected as much because of his young age, the five-year-old daughter is beginning to feel the strain caused by the treatment.
"It's been a little bit hard on her because I have to go home [to Australia] to work to keep the money coming in and mummy's been sick so she's a bit affected."
He said they had always dreamed of getting married but things had always got in the way. As soon as he learned the cancer had reached the brain, he knew he couldn't wait any longer.
"Once I found out the news that Kung's cancer had moved to her brain, I got here as fast as I could and one of my prime objectives for this trip was to finalise the wedding.
"Don't worry about tomorrow, enjoy today," he said.
Even though he has to fly back to Australia on Feb 10, he said he is holding on to a slim hope they will get through this.
"Medically it says no, but I have faith that we'll always be together. It doesn't matter what happens; we're together forever."
Mr Messner said he was very pleased with the wedding ceremony and very grateful to the hospital and staff.
The wedding was realised as part of the hospital's Last Wish programme intended to fulfil the last wishes of terminal cancer patients in palliative care.
Deputy director of Nursing Services Wanna Chaiaroon said the programme was created two years ago when one cancer patient drew a picture of a beach and the nurse realised it was the last thing he would like to do before he passed on. The programme has realised the dreams of six patients to date.
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