Cancer-stricken mom sees daughter wed, via Skype

Ashley Broering believes the only thing that was keeping her terminally ill mother alive was the anticipation of seeing her daughter walk down the aisle.



Thanks to a pair of laptops and Skype, Patty Davisson was able to make it to that special day even though she couldn’t be there in person. She was given a front row seat from her hospital bed, watching through a computer screen as Ashley tied the knot with husband, Beau Broering, on May 6. Eighteen days after the wedding, Davisson died from cancer at 54 years old.



Thanks to technology, her 26-year-old daughter takes solace that her mother was able to share her special day.



“It’s amazing that we have this kind of technology at our disposal, and we’re very, very thankful,’’ Ashley told TODAY.com. “The best she would’ve gotten is a video, but it just made it so much better that her presence was there. She wasn’t there in body, but she was there.’’



Ashley and Beau, 26, began dating in 2006. The two, who both attended Harrison (Ohio) High School, had planned to elope, but instead decided on a formal ceremony. Patty was diagnosed with rectal cancer in August 2009, and it reached stage four by the time of the wedding.



“They say that people in that kind of situation, they see a goal, and they hang on until that goal is reached,’’ Ashley said. “Then they slowly start to slip away, and that’s exactly what happened.’’



About 10 days before the wedding, Patty became very sick. Ashley realized she needed a plan B if her mom couldn't attend the wedding. Patty could watch via Skype, or they would make a video for her to watch in her hospital room later. Ashley had already determined that the Manor House in Mason, Ohio, the site of her wedding and reception, had wireless Internet, and so did her mother’s hospital room. She tested the Skype setup a day before at the rehearsal just in case.