They had planned to get married before he fell ill.
A couple who married in a California hospital last year after the groom became severely ill has returned to the facility to celebrate their one-year anniversary.
Pasadena police officer Omar Elhousseiny and his wife, Osiris Negrete, a police dispatcher, were married last year in the Critical Care Unit at Methodist Hospital of Southern California after Elhousseiny fell severely ill.
Read: Heart Recipient Winds Up Becoming Surprise Groomsman at Wedding of Donor's Mother
Elhousseiny was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition that can cause nearly full-body paralysis. He could not move his body and could barely speak.
The couple was supposed to be married days before the diagnosis, but put off the wedding as Elhousseiny was put into a 19-day medically induced coma.
When he woke up, his then-fiancé and hospital staff had a surprise for him. They had put together a wedding in his room.
“The nurses were decorating the room," Elhousseiny said. "They were combing my hair and shaving my face."
After 183 days in the hospital and rehabilitation care at Methodist Hospital and other facilities, Omar was discharged in early 2017.
A year later, staff at the hospital threw the couple an anniversary party Monday morning.
“We just put it together since they had such a tough time," Brian Green, an employee at Methodist Hospital, told InsideEdition.com. "Our staff thought it would be nice to see how they are doing. Omar couldn’t speak much when he left last year."
Staff and doctors who had treated Elhousseiny attended the gathering.
“It was really nice of them to go out of their way to arrange it. They bought us a cake,” Elhousseiny’s wife, Osiris, said. “It was something special.”
Read: Judge Officiates Daughter's Wedding in Special Hospital Ceremony Just Days Before His Death
Elhousseiny said it felt great to be able to show staff his progress. He has regained a lot of movement in his upper body, although he is still confined to a wheelchair.
“I am doing better," Elhousseiny told InsideEdition.com Tuesday. "It is slow and steady progress. During the year of being ill, it felt very slow but to be there yesterday, it’s crazy how much more I can do.”
Watch: Newlyweds Surprise Grandma in Hospital After She Misses Wedding
