Patient marries Army specialist after heartwarming hospital proposal

ATLANTA - An Atlanta hospital means so much more now to a local teenager after a heartwarming engagement took place last month. 

Heather Callahan, 19, has been a patient at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) for many years. The Kennesaw native has been diagnosed with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and severe irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which causes the muscles and nerves in her pelvis to not work properly. Doctors also discovered Heather's bladder is a third of the size that it should be, which causes constant dehydration. 

Ryan Williams, 22, came into Heather's life a few years ago, shortly after she was diagnosed. The two of them met while working at Chick-fil-A together. 

"He quickly became my rock," Heather told FOX 5. "He's been there through thick and thin and when things hit rock bottom." 

On March 6, Ryan asked Heather to marry him. He decided to pop the big question at a spot that holds a special place in Heather's heart... Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

Obviously, she said yes! 

"He proposed to me in the garden at Egleston with patients, doctors, nurses and families watching," Heather said. 

The blushing bride said CHOA means everything to her because it's the place that saved her life.

"The GI team helped me get my life back," she said. 

Nearly three weeks after Ryan's perfect proposal, they tied the knot at Love's Wedding Chapel in Augusta. 

"With him being deployed and my health and stuff, it was the best option" Heather said. 

Ryan works as a Specialist with the United States Army and is preparing for deployment in a few weeks. The newlyweds are planning to have a wedding celebration in June 2018, after he returns home. 

In the meantime, Heather will keep busy at the University of North Georgia, where she started HOPE AT UNG. The non-profit solely benefits the gastrointestinal unit at CHOA. She's studying exercise science and pre-physical therapy and told us it would be a dream come true to one day work as a pediatric physical therapy at CHOA, her second home.