Tragedy, Irony, Bad Timing, Bad Omens…

Source: SMH

Kim Sjostrom and Teddy Efkarpides had been married for less than an hour on January 19 when the bride crumpled in her husband’s arms during a rendition of a Greek song that means simply “love me”. At 36, Ms Sjostrom was dead from heart disease. The couple were married in Davie, Florida, three years to the day after their first date.

Ms Sjostrom had wanted a real-life version of the film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which played in the background as friends fixed her hair and make-up before the ceremony. The wedding was a project at Davie Elementary School, where Ms Sjostrom taught first grade.

The joyous mood of the celebration was soon transformed when Ms Sjostrom complained of being lightheaded during the couple’s first dance. Mr Efkarpides thought his wife, a diabetic, needed sugar. She collapsed. Efforts to revive her by wedding guests, paramedics and doctors at a nearby hospital all failed.

She had a previous cardiac episode in her 20s and was a poster child - literally - for juvenile diabetes, relatives and friends said. Mr Efkarpides recalled seeing the poster featuring his bride on New York subways.

“The only official document that can bear the name she wanted to have is the death certificate,” Mr Efkarpides said.