Love conquers all: How three romantic couples had to overcome huge obstacles to be together
Wedding op: Simon married Natalie in hospital
By | 22 Jul 2013 00:00
Simon was so ill, we moved wedding to the hospital!
As Natalie Flowers vowed to love her husband in sickness and in health, the emphasis was very much on the former.Police officer Simon had spent 14 months planning the perfect day with his beautiful bride. But with just weeks to go he was rushed to hospital with crippling stomach pains and diagnosed with a perforated bowel.
A series of emergency operations left him fighting for his life in a coma. During that time Simon missed his stag party and his birthday and it was clear he wouldn’t get to the church in time.
So when he woke up, Natalie decided to bring the wedding to him – and the couple tied the knot in the chapel at University Hospital in Coventry last June.
Natalie, 24, says: “It was really strange walking through the hospital in a wedding dress.
“People were staring at me and taking pictures. Simon came down in his wheelchair but he was determined to stand for the vows and the first dance.”
Before Simon’s operation, Natalie suggested they bring forward the wedding but he was determined to recover in time to make it to the church, as planned.
But when he couldn’t, the couple pulled out all the stops to make their Plan B as special as possible.
They were joined by 80 friends and family, who rallied round to arrange for a cake, bouquets of bright flowers and a buffet to be delivered to the hospital.
There was even a special surprise waiting for the newlyweds when they returned to Simon’s room.
Natalie recalls: “The nurses had put a sign on the door that said, ‘Just married, do not disturb’.
“That night we shared Simon’s hospital bed. We just lay there in our pyjamas, watching DVDs!”
As special as that day was, the couple chose to renew their vows last month on Simon’s 30th birthday. This time, the service was held in Hinckley, Leicestershire, not far from the home they bought together the day that Simon proposed.
It was followed by a reception at Hinckley United Football Club, who donated the venue free after reading about Simon’s story.
This time there were 200 well-wishers, including a very special guest of honour – son Charlie who was born in December and who joined them on honeymoon to Cornwall.
Simon, who has had to spend several stints in hospital with complications and pneumonia, says: “The wedding and the blessing were both as special as each other for different reasons.
“We finally got to have the day we’d originally hoped for.
“We got to spend it with everyone we wanted and we even got to share the day with our son.”
I was petrified of flying but I was determined to get on that plane
When Dale Matthews told his family he had a gorgeous girlfriend in America, they could have been forgiven for thinking his head was in the clouds.After all, Jessica Tanfield lived 3,500 miles away, across the Atlantic.
It was the kind of long-distance relationship that would put any young love under strain – especially as Dale had a crippling fear of flying. Before he could meet Jessica in person, after getting to know her through the internet, he would have to conquer it.
Dale, a 22-year-old software designer, says: “I didn’t know I was afraid of flying until I first got on a plane to Spain six years ago. I had a massive panic attack, I couldn’t breathe.
“I kept thinking we weren’t going to make it.
“When I got back I kissed the ground and vowed I’d never go on a plane again. But I knew this was the only way I would meet Jessica. The feeling you get when you know someone is perfect for you overcomes any fear.”
The couple met on the internet just over a year ago while Jessica was studying languages in Japan.
After joining the same chat room and gaming group, they began speaking regularly using videophone Skype. Dale asked her out in August last year. The couple began to plan their days so they could chat online and by January were desperate to meet in person. But at the time Jessica, 23, was too busy studying for the final year of her degree to fly to England, putting the pressure on Dale to visit her in New Jersey.
Dale embarked on a Fear of Flying course but was still so apprehensive he arrived at Heathrow seven hours early to prepare himself.
Dale says: “I was so nervous I couldn’t sleep for a week. The doctor gave me eight or nine diazepam to calm me.
“I took most of them on the flight there, leaving very few for the way home, but they still didn’t help. It was the longest eight hours of my life. I couldn’t keep my mind off the fact we were 30,000ft in the air.”
Dale wasn’t the only one feeling the pressure – particularly as he was delayed on arrival.
Jessica says: “Dale told me about his fear of flying – he was very vocal about it as he was petrified. Waiting at Newark airport, I thought he’d bottled out. I was so scared. When I saw him walking through arrivals it was fantastic.”
Dale has already been to America to see Jessica three times this year, though he admits flying does not get any easier. Now an aspiring teacher, Jessica is visiting Dale at his home in Witney, Oxfordshire.
Jessica says: “It’s going amazingly well and I think he’s incredibly brave to overcome a really frightening phobia to be with me.”
We refused to let one flight of stairs defeat us
A simple staircase became the mountain that lovestruck Stuart Uglow had to conquer to see his sweetheart.Stuart fell for soulmate Edwina Burrows as soon as she moved into the same care home in Teignmouth, Devon, 14 years ago.
The couple became fast friends, taking trips to Paignton Zoo and the Devon Valley.
Edwina says: “Stuart and I loved to sit around, talking about farming and horses and how he used to get up at five o’clock in the morning to start work.”
Their friendship blossomed into love.
“When I returned from work last year I found a red rose and a card waiting for me. My eyes filled up. I was so touched by the gesture,” says Edwina.
But earlier this year Stuart, 80, began struggling with the stairs to her apartment from his own ground-floor accommodation.Soon, the staircase became insurmountable.
“As Stuart’s mobility got worse he could no longer come and see me to watch TV together,” explains Edwina.
Thankfully, help was at hand in the form of a new Acorn Stairlift, which the home fitted earlier this year.
It means Stuart can now visit Edwina whenever he likes.
The couple have enjoyed spending more time together. So much so that Stuart is now planning to move to a new apartment upstairs to be even closer.
Edwina, 60, says: “When the stairlift went in we were very happy.
“We did talk about marriage, but we decided to remain friends. Yet the idea of being near each other is appealing, so the home is arranging for Stuart and I to move into adjoining rooms.”
She adds: “Stuart and I love each other dearly and look forward to the rest of our lives together.”
Dave Rogers runs the Ashford Care Home with his wife, Cathy. The residential home provides care for adults who have a wide range of learning disabilities, such as Down’s syndrome and Asperger syndrome.
Dave even used the stairlift himself when he was nursing a broken toe, much to the amusement of the residents.
He says: “I have known Stuart since 1989. He has always been friends with everybody here but as soon as Edwina arrived we could see this was something different. He hadn’t had a real relationship like this before.
“It’s wonderful that this stairlift has given them the freedom to be together again.”
No comments:
Post a Comment