Iowa veteran fighting cancer gets married in hospital chapel

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - Army veteran Mark Joos recently tied the knot with his wife, Carla, after 12 years together. They celebrated their special day in a special place: the chapel at the Iowa City VA Hospital.

It’s been a difficult year for Mark, who was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer in 2024. Since then, he’s also been diagnosed with a severe lung condition and a rare bacteria infection making him severely immunocompromised.

“It’s flipped our world upside down,” Carla said.

“It’s been difficult, especially mentally,” Mark said.

In June, a scary 12-day hospital stay left the couple worried about the future.

“He really didn’t think he was leaving this hospital,” Carla said.

Feeling inspired, the couple finally wanted to make it official and chose to get married.

“We had talked to the maybe next year, but we don’t know if Mark will be here next year,’ Carla said.

All-told, it took about a week and a half to organize the wedding, the VA staff were more than happy to help make the day as special as possible. One social worker became the impromptu wedding planner, another caretaker happened to be ordained and officiated the ceremony.

“They’ve been on top of anything and everything, no matter how slight or how big,” Mark said, praising the hospital staff for helping him through his medical troubles.

After spending several days a week at the hospital for treatment, the VA became like home and the staff became like family.

Ultimately, the wedding celebrates Mark and Carla.

“He’s a fighter,” Carla said. “He’s not gonna give up, he keeps his spirits up every day.”

“She’s there every day, whether we’re here or there. If i have a day where I don’t feel good and just want to lay around that’s fine and dandy,” Mark said.