DES MOINES, Iowa - Tianna Hargrafen matched with Tristin Laue on the dating app Tinder last fall.

For their first date, Tristin ordered in from Sakura, a Japanese restaurant in Cedar Falls. A budding chef, 20-year-old Tristin wanted Tianna, then 19, to try scallops for the first time.

He later introduced her to the HBO drama "Game of Thrones." They binged the first seven seasons in less than four months.

Tianna said those memories have replayed in her head since the last time she saw Tristin smile — on their wedding day.

Tristin died from complications of a rare liver cancer called fibrolamellar five hours after they exchanged vows on April 27 in Waverly.

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Tristin Laue died at age 20 from complications of a rare liver cancer called fibrolamellar, just hours after marrying Tianna Hargrafen on April 27 in Waverly, Iowa.

The wedding was put together in 48 hours with the support of both families and a community of close-knit friends. Like the rest, Tristin's dad and stepmom, Mitch Laue and Debbie Nichols, had watched their son struggle with complications of cancer, and its treatments, for more than two years.

Tianna, Debbie said, is "the angel he needed" to brighten his last days.

'The lucky ones'

Tristin was introverted, mature beyond his years and "'Jeopardy!' smart," Debbie said.

"I swear it's like he was 40," she said with a laugh. "We'd be watching 'Jeopardy!' and he'd be just as shocked that I didn't know the questions as I was that he knew them."

Tristin joined the U.S. Army National Guard in 2016. But when he came home for Christmas that year, his parents could tell he was sick. Maybe walking pneumonia, they thought.

The reality was much more dire, they learned: Tristin had completed basic training with Stage 4 cancer.

Tristin Laue died at age 20 from complications of a rare liver cancer called fibrolamellar, just hours after marrying Tianna Hargrafen on April 27. He joined the U.S. Army National Guard in 2016 and was medically discharged in 2018.

Within a month, he was diagnosed with fibrolamellar — a rare cancer that most often affects adolescents. Months of chemotherapy ensued. He lost 75 pounds.

All the while, he kept to himself, connecting only with a chosen few people who would engage his humor and intellect. Those were "the lucky ones," Debbie said.

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He was medically discharged from the National Guard in April 2018. He hoped to become an engineer and had enrolled at the University of Northern Iowa. For months at a time, his health would hold steady.

He met Tianna that fall, just before his health declined again in late January.

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She quickly became a fixture, Debbie recalled, spending long days and nights at Tristin's side — in the hospital and at home — as he battled increasingly intolerable pain.

"There were a lot of times when he was at home, but still in pain," Tianna remembered. "So that's when we would lay in bed and watch 'Game of Thrones.'"

After a three-week hospital stay in February, he went back to the UNI campus to see if he could salvage his semester. He had a massive heart attack the same day, Debbie said, piling on more complexities to his unique medical situation.

When doctors told Tristin Laue to set a goal — something to strive for in his last months — he said he hoped to spend one more summer on the family's pontoon boats.

One more summer on the pontoons

“I miss him,” Tianna said through tears. “I think of all the memories, like him playing with my German Shepherd, and how hard he tried to make sure he was good enough for me — he went above and beyond.”

The two started dating around New Year's. They had never made it official, but at his last immunotherapy appointment, in January, Tristin introduced Tianna to a nurse as “his girlfriend.”

But the combination of treatments caused severe kidney problems, Debbie said, and more pain. A tumor was found under his armpit. Frustration mounted as his family struggled to establish communication between doctors at the VA hospital in Iowa City and fibrolamellar experts outside the state, Debbie said.

Eventually, Tristin became too sick to be transferred.

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Doctors said Tristin's heart problems made it impossible to treat other issues. They transitioned him to palliative care and asked him to set a goal — something to strive for in his last months.

One more summer on the family's pontoon boats. "That's all he wanted," Debbie said.

While Mitch and Debbie quietly worried that it wasn't possible, they committed to helping him experience as many major life events as possible.

April 27

With their families' blessing, Tristin proposed on Easter Sunday. Tianna didn’t hesitate.

“He was a really amazing guy,” she said. “He really tried his best to make sure that people would be happy. He didn’t always show it off, but he had a gentle heart."

Tianna and Tristin shared a May 11 birthday, so he wanted to wait until then to tie the knot. But days after the proposal, Debbie knew the wedding would need to happen soon or it wouldn't happen at all.

(Back row, left to right) Tristin Laue, his brother and dad Braden and Mitch Laue, smile with (front row, left to right) Alex Luke, his girlfriend Madison Stoffregen, and her mom and Tristin's and Braden's stepmom Debbie Nichols, at Braden's graduation from U.S. Marines boot camp in San Diego.

Responding to her Facebook call-out for a tent, the Waverly community sprang into action, providing a tent, flooring and a ramp for Tristin’s wheelchair. A local woman offered Tianna her never-been-worn wedding gown. It was just her size.

"Right up until the ceremony, I didn't know how it would play out," Debbie said. "I didn't know if he'd even be able to talk. I was starting to feel guilty about whether or not to put him through this. But I knew how bad he wanted it."

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Tristin abstained from his painkiller to stay awake for the ceremony. A few dozen friends and family members gathered to bear witness.

As Tianna walked toward him, holding pink and white roses, Tristin flashed a big grin.

"I gasped," Debbie said. "I knew then that we'd done the right thing. This was the right decision."

Tristin Laue smiles at his April 27 wedding to Tianna Hargrafen. Laue died at age 20 from complications of a rare liver cancer called fibrolamellar, just hours after the Waverly, Iowa ceremony.

Debbie was cleaning up the cakes that night when the hospice nurse got her attention. Debbie rushed to the recliner where Tristin was sleeping.

His bride and close family surrounded him when he passed, at 8:30 p.m.

It wasn’t the big wedding Tristin wanted, but the overwhelming interest in Tristin's story in the time since has given her peace, Tianna said. Tristin’s classmates started a GoFundMe to raise money for a memorial bench in his honor. The remaining money will be used to help offset funeral costs.

“It makes me happy because I think he's watching and realizing that this is all much bigger — and seeing that so many people care about him,” Tianna said.

Last Saturday was Tianna's 20th birthday. Tristin would have turned 21.

Follow Shelby Fleig on Twitter: @shelbyfleig

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Veteran married 'the angel he needed' hours before dying of rare liver cancer