In a lifetime, most couples don`t go through as much as Kia and John experienced in their first six months together.
They met on Feb. 1, 1990. It was one of those instant attraction things and by March 1 they were going steady.
”We spent all our time together and were so very happy,” Kia says.
That happiness didn`t last long. That May, the doctor discovered a lump and Kia had to have surgery to remove a precancerous growth.
”I was scared, but John was there for me. He stayed with me for days, caring for me and taking care of my apartment, making food and doing laundry. I thought then that I had fallen in love with the most wonderful man in the whole world.”
Kia didn`t know then just how wonderful he was.
She got better and the summer flew by. Then in August, bang! She and John were in a car accident. Kia`s side took the full impact of a Chevy Blazer going 50 miles per hour. She was knocked unconscious. John had to pull her out of the car. When she regained consciousness, she was in the hospital emergency room. They told her she couldn`t see John until they had completed all her X- rays.
”I thought he was hurt and they weren`t telling me, so I screamed and screamed hysterically until they let him in. He calmed me down, as he has always been able to do. I didn`t realize then how brave and strong he was because he knew how badly I was hurt, I didn`t. He was covered with blood, but I didn`t know then that it was mine.”
It wasn`t until several days later that Kia learned the extent of her injuries. Most of the bones on her left side had been broken, including eight ribs and her clavicle, pelvis and shoulder. She couldn`t move her left leg for months. They kept her in the hospital for six weeks.
”John was there every day. He took me out in my wheelchair so I could get some air, he brought me flowers and my favorite treats. The nurses taught him how to get me ready for bed and how to do my physical therapy with me. They showed him how to put these special boots on me that kept the circulation going in my legs. He was always there for me, whenever I hurt or cried or had nightmares.”
When Kia was ready to leave the hospital, the doctors wanted her to go into a convalescent home. But John wouldn`t hear of it. He moved in with Kia and took care of her.
”He took me to the bathroom, washed me, fed me, got me ready for the day and then put me to bed at night.
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”He carried me or pushed my wheelchair as faithfully as any man who had been married to a woman for 20 years, instead of someone who had only known me for nine months.
”The day nurse and physical therapist came during the day, but John was there every night and morning.”
With all that good care, Kia healed completely. By January, she was working part time, though still walking with a cane. She needed it for just a couple of months.
In April 1991, John proposed and Kia accepted.
Saturday was their wedding day.
”When I walk down that aisle,” Kia said before the wedding, ”I know that at the end will be a man who was willing to do anything for me.
”The greatest joy in my life came from the greatest tragedy. Who would have thought it?
”Today we`re both healthy, but that accident will always be a part of our lives, the one thing that could have torn us apart, but instead bonded us as nothing else could have done, for life.
”I love John, respect him, adore him, and will treasure him forever.”
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What are the biggest lustbusters? Send your tale to Cheryl Lavin, Tales From the Front, baiduhai, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611. Include your name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be used in whole or in part and become the property of the column.