Newlyweds Jamie and Jonathan Tafoya thank the community for ongoing support

It’s been an unusual honeymoon for newlyweds Jamie Amos and Jonathan Tafoya of Beaverton.

Eight days after their unconventional wedding at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, they invited members of the media to the hospital in order to update a community that, in their view, had supported them through the bride’s initial steps to battling colon cancer. It is also a community they feel celebrated with them as Jamie and Jonathan took the plunge on Aug. 1, the day before the bride’s surgery to remove a brain tumor.

The press conference was a happy occasion, with the new Mrs. Tafoya reporting she’d regained “equal movement” on the right side of her body.

As Jamie told the Beaverton Valley Times on Friday, specialists predicted it would be up to a week after surgery before she could regain any right-side movement.

“It’s been an amazing recovery,” she said.

The recovery brought relief to the 31-year-old bride, whose stage four colon cancer had metastasized in her brain and lungs, hindering movement on the right side of her body for more than two years.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had full mobility,” she said. “Now we’re just beside ourselves, ready for a fight. We’re ready to start getting (the cancer) out of my system. The next step at this point is radiation on the brain, and as soon as we’re done with that, we’re looking at outpatient chemotherapy. That’s going to be the main line of defense on the lungs.”

Jamie reports she was able to return home a mere three days after her surgery, and that she’s been home with her new husband Jonathan, also 31, for over a week. She stayed in the hospital’s intensive care unit for only one day.

Still, her understandable pre-surgery anxiety inspired her to think long-term. Although Jonathan had more elaborate hopes for their wedding, Jamie said it was more important for her to come out of surgery knowing her husband was waiting for her.

“We knew that we were the ones for each other,” she said. “We both knew that we just needed to be married whenever we went into the operating room.”

Jonathan is no stranger to health scares himself. In fact, it was his abnormal test almost two years ago that drove Jamie to move from Farmington, N.M., to Beaverton, to care for him as he dealt with a concerning liver condition.

Jamie expected their wedding ceremony to happen in her hospital room. When she casually mentioned her upcoming nuptials to the attending nurses at her angiogram that day, they took the initiative to plan a grander event, calling the hospital’s public relations department. Within a few short hours, Jamie and Jonathan were offered a better venue for their vows — a flower-lined patio on the hospital’s campus. Instead of the hospital gown Jamie expected to wear, she found out someone at the hospital had contacted David’s Bridal. The store not only agreed to donate a wedding gown — it invited Jamie’s sister and her best friend to pick out the appropriate style.

“David’s Bridal allowed them to pick out that dress, and the garter and the wedding book,” said Jamie, who reported her “love of sparkles” was reflected in the sequins that detailed her wedding gown. “My aunt and uncle sent a bouquet. All these little pieces came together.”

Despite all the kindness of strangers, Jamie said that when the wedding actually happened, “All I can remember is Jonathan. I remember him pushing me down the hospital hallway to the end. I had friends, our family and loved ones were around, and of course I felt their presence, but it was like everything else ceased to exist but him. It was the most intimate moment of my life.”

Although Jamie describes the late-afternoon ceremony as “perfect,” her wedding night was characterized by the kind of nausea that most cancer patients can relate to. Fortunately, Jamie’s surgery the next day was a success. And she says within 30 minutes of waking up, she recalls seeing Jonathan and saying, “Look, there’s my husband!”

Married life for the Tafoyas has consisted of “kicking back at home,” said Jamie. “We’re laughing as much as we can, just really in awe of how wonderful people have been.” Jonathan’s daughter, 5-year-old Genevieve, was able to visit this past weekend to share in Jamie’s homecoming.

Jamie starts radiation treatment this week. While she enjoys the support of her family, she knows it won’t be too long before she can once again play the part of caretaker for Jonathan.

“He’s struggling also, so through all of this, he’s got doctors’ appointments, too,” said Jamie. “We’re both going to work through this together — support each other, help take care of each other.”

Above all, at last week’s press conference, the Tafoyas wanted to thank the community. Jamie described their gratitude toward their families and the community as “overflowing.”

“Everybody has come together,” she said. “We’re so thankful that so many people care about us and our situation. What more could you ask for?”