WEDNESDAY, 9 JULY, 2025

Photograph attached:

Photo 1: Roddy and Polly McDonald

Photo 2: Roddy and Polly McDonald during the wedding ceremony at Ninewells Chapel

Photo 3: Roddy McDonald, his best man Nic Black and staff from the Major Trauma Centre

Wedding bells at Ninewells

A Tayside couple proved that love conquers all by tying the knot at Ninewells Hospital after the groom was involved in a life-changing motorcycle accident.

Roddy and Polly McDonald were married in front of friends and family at the hospital’s chapel on 7 June in a very special and emotional ceremony.

Roddy was a patient at the Major Trauma Centre at the time of the wedding after being involved in a motorcycle crash that left him with a number of serious injuries, including double breaks to his arm and leg and a fractured spine.

The couple were originally due to get married in Dundee on the same date in front of close family and friends who had travelled from across the UK and as far away as Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, due to the seriousness of Roddy’s injuries, they were forced to change their original plans.

Determined to help the couple get their special day, staff from the Major Trauma Centre and the Spiritual Care team swung into action to help Roddy and Polly arrange a wedding in the hospital chapel.

Roddy, who has now left Ninewells and is recovering at home in Perthshire, said, “The whole experience really was incredible. The hospital staff were outstanding, every single one of them went above and beyond to help us.

“We postponed the wedding after the accident as there was no way that we were going to be able to do it the way we planned but then someone mentioned that there was a chapel in the hospital and that we could get married there. We had so many of our friends and family here and we just took the opportunity to go for it. It was very special, Polly looked beautiful in her dress and I even managed to wear my kilt.

“I am very grateful to everyone who helped us. The care, the banter, the compassion shown by everyone was exceptional. I know that I have a long road ahead in recovery but I am a positive person and I will keep going forward. I know that I am very lucky to be alive and I am so happy that I got to marry my beautiful wife on the date we originally planned.”

Polly added, “It was a really beautiful ceremony, it was obviously different to what we had planned but I was so grateful that we were able to do it. Everyone was so emotional. Roddy is my absolute soulmate and ours is a real love story.

“It really was wonderful, I feel like we’ve beaten the odds. At one point, I really thought I was going to lose him so to be able to marry him on the day we had planned was really special.

“All of the staff we came across were just incredible, from the consultants to nurses to the physios to the domestic staff, everyone has been lovely and were so supportive. The nurses in the Major Trauma Centre even decorated Roddy’s bed with Just Married balloons when we got back to the ward. We are so grateful for everything they did for us.”

Fiona Hutcheson, East of Scotland Major Trauma Network manager, said, “Everyone in the team would like to extend our congratulations and well wishes to Roddy and Polly.

“We were privileged to support Roddy and his family during his time in hospital and were delighted to help him and his new wife have their special day.

“We wish Roddy the best in his recovery and wish the happy couple lots of happiness together as they begin married life.”

NHS Tayside Healthcare chaplain Elaine MacNicol said, “We were thrilled to help Roddy and Polly get married in the chapel at Ninewells Hospital. It was a very special day and everyone had a tear in their eye because you could see how happy they were together. Congratulations to them both.”

Contact:

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 424138