Marriott victim ties the knot

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

What was planned as a cheerful wedding left a lump in the throats of most of the guests when Marriott bombing victim Febby Firmansyah wed Deli Ratnasari on Saturday morning.

The Medical Commission Room, next to the burns ward on the second floor of Pertamina Hospital, South Jakarta, was packed with family, close friends and several other recovering bomb victims.

Febby, 26, clad in a traditional gold Malay suit, and Sari, 26, who was dressed in a matching Malay dress, sat in front of the bride's parents.

"Dear father and mother, I bestow upon you 10 of my fingers, 11 with my head and 12 including my soul, to beg your consent to marry the man I truly care about and love," asked the bride, sobbing, just before the akad nikah (wedding vows) ceremony.

Relief and joy filled the room at the end of the ceremony.

The wedding was scheduled to take place on Aug. 16, but a fateful business lunch on Aug. 5 at the Sailendra Restaurant in the JW Marriott Hotel in South Jakarta forced a change in plans.

The bomb that exploded in the hotel's driveway near the restaurant sent Febby, a marketing staffer at oil and gas equipment supplier PT Dharma Muda Persada, to Kramat 128 Hospital, Central Jakarta, for treatment of severe burns before he was transferred to Pertamina Hospital one week later.

Twelve people were killed in the explosion.

Wedding guests were not allowed to shake hands, kiss or even touch Febby, due to the likelihood of infection for him.

Forty-five percent of his body was burned, with 30 percent second degree burns. Today only 5 percent of his body has burns.

At noon, he was escorted back to the burns ward to minimize the possibility of infection. He expects to be allowed to leave the hospital within a month.

"And then he'll have a wife to take care of his injuries," Sari said after the ceremony.

According to the nurses in the burns ward, only Febby's arms need particular care now. Doctors say his determination has sped up the healing process.

The wedding fulfilled a promise from Dr. Djoko, a burns specialist at the hospital, who said he would arrange a modest ceremony for Febby.

Another surprise gift came from the Marriott management, which sent the newlyweds a wedding cake and a voucher for a complimentary weekend in the hotel's Governor Suite.

A wedding reception is planned for late this year.