True love

Katie Kirkpatrick, 21, held off cancer to celebrate the happiest day of her life. Katie had chased cancer, once only to have it return-to clog her lungs and grab hold of her heart. Breathing was difficult now, she had to use oxygen. The pain in her back was so intense it broke through the morphine that was supposed to act as a shield. Her organs were shutting down but it would not stop her from marrying Nick Godwin, 23, who was in love with Katie since 11th grade.

Caption: Katie Kirkpatrick, left, and Nick Godwin, wait for the nurse to come and start Katie's treatment at McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint on the morning of January 12, 2005. Nick Godwin works night shift as a Lapeer County Sheriff's deputy and took Katie to the medical center right after a night's work, three days before their wedding. Katie is tired from not being able to sleep at night because of her pain and Nick had worked a night shift.