by Marykathryn Crabtree

Created on: March 15, 2009

I could not believe that I had made it to see this day happening. It had been a very long, and difficult road, but there I stood with white candles glowing, and my fiance by my side.

We were introduced to each other through mutual friends, and I knew right away that I liked him. He made me laugh, and he had dark brown curly hair that went wild when the wind blew. That first year we did everything...atleast everything that I could do.

I was born in 1965 with a rare form of Muscular Dysrophy that left me with a generalized weakness and with a mouth that I was unable to close. My speech was such that most of the time only my family could understand me, and I would fall quite often to be helped up by family or friends. Because of this I never thought that I would marry and have children, but my life was forever changed the moment Ray held my hand.

I worked as a Med Tech at a local nursing home, and Ray was a driver for an office supply company. Because he worked during the day and I worked in the evening, it was difficult getting to see each other, but we managed. As the days and months crept by, I just could not imagine even one moment without him. He had become a huge part of my heart, and I loved him more and more eah day.

In early March of 1996 I left work early with a fever thinking that I was getting the flu. By the time I drove the 30 minutes to get home my temp had risen even more and I had quite a bit of stiffness in my back and neck. My father, being an Osteopathic Physician, and being concerned that I may have contracted Meningitis, took one look at me and knew that I needed to get to the Emergency Room. After numerous blood draws, xrays, a spinal tap, and an MRI I was admitted and put on bleeding precautions because my platelet count was dangerously low. A central line was put in place for extra nutrition, meds, and labs, and I truely thought that my days were numbered.

Week after week went by, and Ray came to the hospital twice a day. In the morning he would wrap up my line so that I could shower. In the evening he would help me settle down and he stayed until I was comfortable and fell asleep. When we were together we talked about my Muscular Dystrophy and how it would progress. We talked about his dreams and my dreams and how we wanted our lives to be. As I layed there I realized that for the first time in my life I had dreams and that I so very badly wanted them to come true. I did not want to grow up to be a famous poet, or the CEO of my own company...I

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