WHEN cardiac patient Andrew Stancliffe met staff nurse Christine Priestley she really tugged at his heart strings.
After she had nursed him back to health their paths crossed again and this time both their pulses were set racing.
Now, more than three years later, the happy couple are set to tie the knot.
They will marry in Gretna Green next Wednesday after getting engaged 18 months ago.
Andrew, 45, of Kirkheaton, said: “Christine was working nights in the coronary care ward at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, where I had been admitted for chest pains.
“I had a major heart attack in 2008 when my heart stopped twice. We met when I was in for follow-up care and diagnosed with emphysema.
“I wasn’t very well at the time so I was quite grumpy but she was friendly and helpful.
“I remember she came up to me and said is there anything you need?
“She accidently blocked my oxygen pipe.
“So now we joke that the first time we met she took my breath away.
“I am going to use that one in my wedding speech.”
Speaking of the big day he added: “We travelled to Kenya three times in six months to volunteer at orphanages and would have loved to have got married out there, but we went to Scotland with our new motor home in August and liked it.”
Christine, of Fenay Bridge, added: “We are having a 1920s themed wedding with a Scottish twist. I am wearing a silver flapper dress and Andrew is wearing a kilt.
“My daughter Charlotte is going to give me away, as my father is no longer with us.”
And to show the funnier side to their relationship, the couple’s two Dalmation dogs Deefor and Dumbledor, will wear tartan jackets.
Self-confessed joker Andrew, said his heart condition is controlled at the moment.
He added: “I have slowed down a lot. It’s all about moderation. If someone asks if I want to do things then I think about it more than before. It’s a look before you leap approach.
“I take 16 tablets a day for emphysema angina and asthma.
“My cardiologist knows about me and Christine so he knows I am in good hands.”
Christine, who admits she lets Andrew do the talking, added: “My colleagues at work had a laugh with me about it.
“We just got on really well when we met on the ward but it wasn’t until we met a few months later after being introduced by mutual friends that we got to know each other. It was all above board.”
And to prove that home is where the heart is the couple will have a second wedding reception in Huddersfield on their return, to celebrate with family and friends.
They will also have a collection on the day for British Heart Foundation, a charity they are both are passionate about.
