Teen marries his high school sweetheart after learning he has months left to live

Chase Smith and Sadie Mills have always had marriage in their after-school plans. Sadie would go to IUPUI for college to continue her elite diving career, while Chase—once a nationally-ranked swimmer—would cheer her on and hopefully, even be back in the water himself. They'd tie the knot after college and live a long and happy life together. The high school seniors had it all figured out. However, all that changed in March when the tumors that had attacked Chase's body since he was 12-years-old returned with a vengeance. They found a tumor on his shoulder and three others on his lung, back, and hip. But late April, he began experiencing severe pain in his left eye and both sides of his temple.

According to Indy Star, further scans revealed more tumors all over his skull. Even with treatment, the chances of Chase surviving this phase of his 6-year battle with Ewing's sarcoma are slim. Doctors informed the family that he has three to five months to live. The Smiths and the Mills put together the wedding in just four days. Despite the recent news laying heavy on their minds, Chase and Sadie exchanged vows and sealed their love on April 29. They promised to spend every moment they have left together and to latch onto their faith and God more than ever.

"We, every day, pray for a miracle together because we trust in God," said Sadie. "We pray that Chase would stay on this earth longer so we can bring more people our story of love." The couple's love story began a little more than six months ago when they met during their senior swim season. "I saw her before the meet. I thought she was pretty cute," said Chase. The two exchanged numbers and went on their first date that weekend. "We haven't been without each other more than maybe like a day or two since our first date," he revealed. 

Speaking of what drew her to Chase, Sadie—who finished out her senior diving season Academic All-State—explained that she loved Chase's maturity and how he genuinely liked doing things with her. "He was so sweet. He's very polite. He's a good Christian boy. We just fell in love with each other's personalities. Now, he is all that matters to me," she said. As for Chase, he says he knew he loved Sadie from the moment he met her. "This is like a Hallmark love story," said the teen's mom, Kelli Smith. "A Nicholas Sparks love story. You just don't see love like this."

Chase, who was a nationally-ranked swimmer by the age of 12, was first found to have a tumor on his femur in 2014. He started chemotherapy soon after and Melissa K. Bear, his oncologist at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, has watched him grow up to be a thoughtful young man in the years since. "He is a very kind, gentle -- now -- young adult," she said. "Over the years, I've watched him as this has recurred multiple times. I've watched him grow with the cancer, really come into his own as to what he wants and what's important to him." Although Chase has gone through multiple battles with Ewing's sarcoma over the years, he was doing well until March this year, he said.

When Chase was given the devastating prognosis in April, his father, Brad Smith, looked at him and told him he knew. "He said, 'I can tell in your demeanor that you're going to marry Sadie one day,'" said Chase. "'I want you to know if that's going through your mind right now, your mom, and I support you 110 percent." When Chase decided to speak to Sadie about possibly pushing up their wedding plans, she told him that she'd also been thinking the same. The Smiths invited the Mills over for dinner and he broke the news to them.

"I told them how much Sadie had changed my life and how much I loved her, how special she had been to me, the simple fact that there is nobody I've been able to open up about my personal life and cancer journey like I'm able to with her," he revealed. "She is able to calm me down in a lot of scenarios when nobody else can." Sadie's parents didn't think twice about giving their approval as they'd seen how happy their daughter was with him. "The most important thing in my world at this point is spending time loving and laughing," said Chase. "Just living life to the fullest and loving every moment." A GoFundMe page chronicles Chase's battle with Ewing's sarcoma and raises money for his treatment.