I was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and doctors told my parents I wouldn’t live past five. Growing up, I never knew how long I had or what my life would look like. I was “the girl in the wheelchair,” a label I hated as a child.With time, my perspective changed. I grew to embrace who I was, my wheelchair, and even the looks it sometimes attracted.
Dating was hard. Some men told me they couldn’t see a future with me because my condition was life-threatening. I didn’t know if I could have children or how long I would live. While I learned to face the unknown, most didn’t know how to. Eventually, I gave up on dating altogether.
After graduating college, I moved to California with my best friend. One Sunday at church, a guy came up and started talking to me. I waited for the question I always got, “Why are you in a wheelchair?” — but it never came. He never mentioned my chair at all. His name was Jared, but I forgot it right away and nicknamed him “Pineapple” because of his hair.
He texted often, but I kept my distance, afraid of being hurt again. For months, I dodged his invitations. Finally, three months later, I agreed to a date, but I still wasn’t sure about him. We stayed friends for almost a year. Then, when I mentioned moving back to Utah because I couldn’t afford California, I saw his face fall. He offered for me to stay with his family so I wouldn’t have to leave. That night, I asked if he’d ever thought about dating me. His answer was, “Of course I have.”
Not long after, I started to see him differently. One evening in La Jolla, after sushi and an ocean view, I surprised myself by taking his hand. It felt right. That night, I realized I’d fallen for the man I thought I’d never date.
In January, Jared proposed. On our wedding day, as I rolled down the aisle, he looked at me with so much love I knew we could face anything together.
Now, almost a year later, he has cared for me in ways that go far beyond romance, putting me to bed, helping me shower, dressing me, blow-drying my hair. We’ve talked about the future, kids, health, how long we’ll have together and his answer is always the same: “I want you more.”
Jared cares for me just as much in my brightest moments as he does in my hardest ones.
He sees my challenges as chances to love me more. I don’t know what I did to deserve him, but I’ll spend my life making sure he knows I love him just as deeply.
