Toronto couple finds love at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Midtown Toronto residents Will and Elizabeth Goessaert turned heads when they recently strolled through the halls of Toronto’s Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

Dressed to the nines in their wedding attire and with a photographer in tow, the newlyweds felt it was only fitting to include the children’s rehab facility in their special occasion as it’s where they met and fell in love.

Their visit to Holland Bloorview included stops at some of their favourite spots: the prosthetic lab, the Daphne Cockwell Spiral Garden, and the cafeteria. They also couldn’t resist taking a few shots at a stop sign near a bus stop where their pandemic courtship officially began. That’s where, Will had pulled over one evening after work and offered his pretty co-worker a ride home. The rest, as they say, is history.

“I was starting a new job. I was very nervous. It was nice to see a smiling face and we found out we had a lot in common,” she shared.

After dating for a little over three years, Will proposed to Elizabeth while on vacation in New Orleans on Jan. 16, 2023. They tied the knot in downtown Toronto on May 4.

Toronto residents Elizabeth Dunphy and Will Gossaert met and fell in love at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. They celebrated their wedding on May 4. (Supplied photo)

Both Elizabeth and Will started working at Holland Bloorview in the spring of 2019.

Elizabeth Dunphy, as she was known at that time, was initially hired to work at the front office of the hospital’s Orthotics and Prosthetics Department, where Will works as a technician.

She’s now an executive assistant at Holland Bloorview’s Teaching and Learning Institute and organizes clinical placements for occupational therapy, physio, and speech and language pathology students.

Elizabeth and Will Gossaert met and fell in love at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. (Supplied photo)

Will’s connection to the kid’s rehab hospital began when he was just three years old. A left-leg, above-the-knee amputee since birth, Holland Bloorview is where he received his first prosthetic leg and several ones after that.

“This place means everything to me,” he told CP24.com.

“(Holland Bloorview) gave me my independence. It’s also where I work and it’s where I found the love of my life.”

Will walked down the aisle earlier this month wearing a prosthetic leg he’d crafted for himself at Holland Bloorview, which this year is marking its 125th anniversary.

Elizabeth said the hospital will always hold a special place in her heart as it’s where her love story with Will began.

“This place means a lot to me, to both of us. A lot of our memories are here,” she smiled.

Toronto residents Elizabeth Dunphy and Will Gossaert met and fell in love at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. They visited the hospitla on May 10 for a wedding photo shoot. (Joanna Lavoie/CP24)

Several of the Goesseart’s Holland Bloorview colleagues attended their wedding.