The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in many events either being rescheduled or cancelled all together in 2020, and Teagan and Ricardo were supposed to be living happily married in their native Mexico this summer. Unfortunately the world pandemic was just a hiccup in their current situation, as Ricardo has been in a fight with pancreatitis since late 2019. The countless operations, on top of his time already spent in hospital, has meant a large toll of medical bills for the engaged couple amid tons of uncertainty. A GoFundMe page has been set up, along with the few fundraising events already put on by friends and family.

Teagan grew up in the Kindersley area, and a Mock Wedding Fiesta was held in Kindersley in early March to raise funds for Ricardo and celebrate her new Mexican heritage. The event acted as a distraction of sorts locally as it was right at the beginning of the COVID-19 drama, but resulted in a massive success in accordance with their goals of fundraising.

"We were blown away by the amount of people that attended the fundraiser" said Teagan when speaking about how special the event was.

She explained how the party guests varied from close family friends, to lots of people who just wanted to help upon hearing Ricardo's story. She was so happy to hear that the event blossomed from a gathering with friends and family, into the memorable night that many will not forget.

Doctors were surprised to see pancreatitis in someone as young as Ricardo. Ricardo has had many operations during this time, and continues to see time in and out of the hospital after being discharged initially. Despite the trying times, Ricardo has a positive mindset when it comes to his recovery, but is still on a long road to recovery. During his recovery, doctors bills continue to come. For example, an MRI had to be done recently after Ricardo was brought into the hospital for not feeling well. This MRI is the start of a process that costs nearly $3000 CAD, after IV and hospital time. Luckily the funds from the Mock Wedding Fiesta (after exchange) came in handy to give the doctors a down payment, as well as a little bit leftover in case of emergencies comparable to the recent hospital visit.

After a little over 10 weeks in hospital, Ricardo was discharged just in time for his fiance's 30th birthday. The move home was a huge step in Ricardo's process, though a long road ahead still remains.

Teagan and Ricardo had a really fun time making a video to thank the wedding guests, and admits that it was really tough not being able to be there. Ricardo mentioned how it was emotional for the two, seeing how many people cared about them and his story.

"There's so many people that cared about us." remarked Ricardo, "Money aside, the good vibes of everyone was just so amazing."

The couples wedding was scheduled for April 4th, 2020, and they held out for as long as they could before making the decision to cancel after news that Canada's borders would be closing. In a COVID world, everyone must be focused on keeping themselves and others healthy, and Ricardo is a prime example of the vulnerable population.

"(Ricardo) He is re-cooperating, and feeling better; but can't do anything now" said Teagan.

The wedding was set to go forward and though it would have still been the couples big day, Ricardo was certainly at risk of not celebrating to his full potential. Not being able to have Teagan's Canadian family, and not having Ricardo at full strength was enough reason to try again in a year, and have it be exactly what it is supposed to be.

"I don't think he would have necessarily enjoyed the wedding." cautioned Teagan, "He would have loved it because we would be getting married, but he wouldn't have been able to dance all night, enjoy the food.."

Mexico is obviously dealing with the same world pandemic as the rest of us. The couple lives in Guadalajara, a city area with over 5 million people. Different measures are taken in different countries concerning COVID, and far higher precautions are considered in a densely packed city such as Guadalajara. They are both working from home, and admit that there is at least one positive to come from quarantine.

"It's really weird, but we feel kind of blessed to have this time together. We lost so much time together when he was in the hospital, and now I'm working from home, and he's here, so we get to kind of make up for the time we lost." Ricardo's future bride told WestCentralOnline.

The hospital bills are not fully accounted for yet, and they will continue to climb. The generosity of everybody involved so far has been extraordinary, and the happy couple can't put into words what the out-pour of support has meant to them. The $30,000 goal currently sits at $23,275 and the couples GoFundMe is still actively taking donations.

As for everybody "suffering" from quarantine in Saskatchewan, the couple outlined some precautions the Mexican authorities have implemented when it comes to social distancing. At least here, we have the ability to escape to open spaces, and enjoy the luxury of easy isolation. In Mexico, they told us how Mexican Police are instructing city helicopters to fly low with a loudspeaker to remind the population to stay inside and avoid forming groups. The helicopter will come by 7-8 times a day according to the couple.

"Interesting. Also a bit scary, so I don't know" laughed Teagan.

If you want to help Ricardo on his journey, you can reach out through the GoFundMe.