A bride left wedding guests stunned and many in tears after revealing that the stem cell donor who saved her life was standing among them.
As Kaedi Cecala stood beside her husband, Mikey Cecala, the couple exchanged vows surrounded by family and friends gathered to celebrate their wedding.
Moments after the officiant pronounced them married, Kaedi Cecala shared a surprise years in the making, introducing the man whose selfless act gave her a second chance at life.
"So this is living proof that angels do exist," Mikey Cecala began the introduction.
In 2020, Kaedi Cecala was 33 years old when she was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, a rare blood cancer that affects the bone marrow. The condition can progress into acute myeloid leukemia in about one in three patients, making it potentially life-threatening, according to the American Cancer Society.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" that aired Monday, Dr. Jayesh Mehta, a hematologist at Northwestern Medicine's Lurie Cancer Center in Chicago, explained the seriousness of the disease.
"Either the low counts from the MDS or the development of leukemia will prove life-threatening," Mehta said.
For Kaedi Cecala, the diagnosis was overwhelming. "Shocking doesn't even begin to cover it," she told "GMA."
As doctors searched registries around the world for a compatible donor, Kaedi Cecala began an aggressive chemotherapy regimen designed to wipe out her immune system and prepare her body for transplant. Mikey Cecala was there every step of the way, rarely leaving her side.
Reflecting on that time, Mikey Cecala became emotional, telling "GMA," "I remember leaving and going to get a bite to eat at a pizza place right around the corner, and it just hit me that, like we were in it, you know."
Behind the scenes, doctors found a perfect match. But strict donation rules required anonymity between donor and recipient for at least one to two years, meaning Kaedi Cecala could only wonder about the stranger who had just saved her life.
"I remember looking and it's just like, who is this person and my angel, honestly," she said.
That angel was Karol Zwierzyński, then a 26-year-old living in Poland. Registered as a stem cell donor, Zwierzyński was contacted after being identified as a match and didn’t hesitate to move forward.
"Donation was easy," Zwierzyński told "GMA."
The transplant was a success, and Kaedi Cecala experienced no major complications. Today, she is cancer-free, thriving and even opening her own salon.
When she and Mikey Cecala began planning their wedding, Kaedi Cecala knew she wanted to honor the person who made that future possible.
Zwierzyński traveled from Poland to attend the celebration.
During the reception, Mikey Cecala took the microphone, announcing, "Our guest of honor and his wife are here with us tonight."
The room erupted with audible gasps and applause as Zwierzyński stood to speak.
"I'm not a hero here," Zwierzyński told the crowd. "So please raise your glasses for Kaedi."
One powerful detail underscores how closely their lives are now connected. Before the transplant, Kaedi Cecala's blood type was A-negative, but after receiving Zwierzyński's stem cells, it changed to A-positive -- his blood type.
In his remarks, Zwierzyński encouraged others to consider registering as stem cell donors, saying, "Somewhere out there, your Kaedi might be waiting for you."
Joining the stem cell registry is often as simple as a cheek swab. If matched, most donors can give stem cells through a process similar to donating blood -- a small act that can mean everything to someone else.
