After a six-year battle with cancer, 18-year-old Chase Smith has received a terminal cancer diagnosis. Given only three to five months to live, he decided the most important thing in his life is the incredible love he has for his girlfriend Sadie Mills. The pair got married in their driveway in April surrounded by friends and family. This is their love story.
Sadie and Chase Smith’s Love Story
Chase Smith, a former Indiana High School competitive swimmer, was first diagnosed with cancer at age 12. He was managing the disease, going to school and playing sports much like any other kid. A nationally ranked ahtlete, he spent much of his time at swim meets. This is where he first saw Sadie.
Sadie is also a swimmer who will be joining the diving team in college next year. Six months ago, Chase saw her for the first time just before a meet. Thinking she was quite attractive, he went over to talk to her. They exchanged phone numbers and began texting back and forth the next day.
Texting quickly led to their first date. After that, the rest is history. They haven’t gone more than a day or two without seeing each other since.
Impressed by his strong faith and maturity, Sadie was smitten.
“He was so sweet. He’s very polite. He’s a good Christian boy,” she explains. “We just fell in love with each other’s personalities. Now, he is all that matters to me.” (1)
The Tragic Diagnosis
Six years after his original diagnosis, Chase’s tumors returned this past March, this time taking over his back, hip, shoulder, and lung. By late April he began having immense pain in his temples and his left eye. A trip to the oncologist revealed more tumors, this time inside his skull. The prognosis was grim: Chase was given just three to five months to live.
The Decision to Get Married
The couple, who are very religious, attend church regularly, and pray together daily. They describe the moment they decided to get married as a “God moment”, and made dinner plans with both of their families to discuss their plans.
“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 said. “She is able to calm me down in a lot of scenarios when nobody else can.” (1)
Both families were in tears but were highly supportive of Chase and Sadie’s decision. They took a couple of days to plan the ceremony and got married four days later. In the end, the dying high school senior gets married to his high school sweetheart.
Dying high school senior gets married
With their closest friends and families in attendance, the pair were married in Sadie’s parents’ driveway. This is where Chase picked her up for their first date and also where the couple shared their first kiss. There was not a dry eye in the audience when Sadie came down the isle, including Chase, who couldn’t hold back the tears.
Chase and Sadie’s wedding was a celebration of life and love. The two are so in love, it’s impossible not to notice. Chase’s mom described it as a Hallmark love-story, explaining that a love like the one her son and Sadie share doesn’t happen very often.
The Future
Knowing that the odds are against him, Chase is choosing to focus on the positive. He wants to spend whatever time he has left on this earth loving, laughing, and just truly living.
“The precious people in your life, the amount of time they are in your life, take every moment you have. Enjoy and give everything you can in those relationships. And know there is so much possible with love when your love includes God.” he explains. (1)
A GoFundMe page has been created to help Chase with his ongoing battle with cancer. So far it has raised more than $98,000 of it’s $150,000 goal. To help support Chase, you can donate to the page as well as spread this story with the hashtag #chasestrong.
Keep Reading: Married Couple Discovers They Were Childhood Sweethearts Two Decades Later
- “With only months to live, Indiana high school senior gets married in touching ceremony.” Fox News. Nick Givas. Published May 19, 2020
