For Shane and Natasha Hewitt, Christmas came early this year.
On Christmas Eve, the homeless couple was married while accompanied by the church members who rallied behind them in a difficult time.
Natasha was born with a rare form of interferon-resistant hepatitis C that is treatable only with a liver transplant that she can’t afford, she said. She also has type 1 diabetes.
“It’s pretty much killing her body,” Shane said.
Pastor Mike Hogg of the First Presbyterian Church officiated the wedding. About 40 members of the church and community attended the event. He said the couple has been in town for a month and a half.
“They came to church here by an invitation of a friend,” the pastor said. “In a couple of weeks, they mentioned that they had been planning to get married, and they asked us to do it. The church pitched in, and church people took a collection to pay for his tux and her dress.”
Organizers planned the wedding in a week and a half.
“Apparently, they’ve known each other as children. They lost track of each other around the age of 18, and a few years later, they got back in touch with each other,” he said.
They hope to make Hollister their home, he said.
Natasha is 30 years old, and Shane is 40. Shane owns a blue-nose pitbull named Baby, who was part of the wedding ceremony.
“This entire church and Homeless Coalition (of San Benito County) all came together and paid for everything,” Shane said.
Natasha was set to undergo a biopsy later in that week to see how long she has to live.
For that reason, the newlyweds decided they couldn’t wait.
“It was very important we got married now,” Shane said.
He said they say if you marry your best friend, you’ll be happy forever.
“He’s been my best friend for 13 years,” Natasha said. “It’s a perfect fairytale.”
