Every girl, from the moment she is a tiny child till the day it happens, dreams of having her once-in-a-lifetime wedding. Jaquie Goncher was confident that nothing could prevent her from having the ideal wedding. She was aware that to achieve her goal of walking down the aisle to her fiancé, despite everyone’s belief that it was impossible, she would need to take the necessary steps.
Jaquie was involved in an accident in 2008 that left her paralyzed. Her physicians informed her that she had “slim” prospects of ever walking again. To everyone’s astonishment, Jaquie could dance with her spouse and stay up and moving for four hours in addition to walking down the aisle!
Rewinding to Jaquie’s life-altering event, it began as a lighthearted game but quickly took a turn for the worst. When Jaquie went to see a friend in 2008, she spent the day swimming in the pool. Their enjoyable day worsened as she took a particularly deep dive into her friend’s pool. Jaquie dove into the water, came to the surface, and started to float face down. She rapidly concluded that no matter how hard she tried, she was immobile.
Her friends laughed for a minute, thinking it was a joke, but then they realized something was seriously wrong. Jaquie’s neck and head flopped around, and she lost consciousness as her companions were pulling her out of the water.
Upon arriving at the hospital, they discovered that Jaquie had broken her C2 and C3 vertebrae in addition to shattering her C5 vertebra. These vertebrae go along the back of the neck, starting at the base of the head. Regretfully, Jaquie’s condition did not get better after surgery. She went from being paralyzed in her chest down. Jaquie’s mother was told, “The chances are too slim to even put a number on it,” in answer to her question about whether she would ever walk again.
Disappointed with that reply, Jaquie did everything she could to refute her doctor. Though she could sense movement in her legs, she could not move them. Although she could flex her leg, physical rehabilitation was complex for her. Jaquie kept passing out because her blood pressure was still very low.
After physical treatment, her mobility did improve, but not to the extent she had planned. Maybe feeling discouraged, Jaquie started cutting corners. Since using her dominant hand to perform daily tasks was quicker than forcing herself to use her weak hand, she started doing so. While dragging her left leg behind her, she could only travel extremely short distances before becoming too tired. She was becoming less driven to become well.
After a few years, Jaquie’s lover Andy asked her to marry him. On their wedding day, she thought she needed to go down the aisle and dance with her future husband, so she set aside any doubts.
Jaquie found a powerful source of motivation as he began to value walking more. In an attempt to strengthen herself, she joined a gym, and on her first day there, she surprised herself by doubling the length of time she had walked or even stood since her accident.
“I did it for ten minutes, and I thought that was amazing,” Jaquie remarked. I had not attended therapy for over a year and a half, so I was both ecstatic and in disbelief.
Jaquie worked out for two hours every day. To strengthen her legs and core, she would walk, lift weights, and perform planks.
People walking by couldn’t help but show their support for Jaquie as she was at the gym. “It was cool to have that random support from strangers,” the woman said.
The couple decided not to disclose to other wedding guests that Jaquie was attempting to go down the aisle.
Wearing a stunning gown and flowery tiara, Jaquie wheeled herself to the edge of the aisle on May 22, the day of their wedding. She came to a stop and got up. When Jaquie started to go down the aisle, all eyes were on her, and we can only imagine that they were wet with tears.
Jaquie is overcome by the feelings experienced and documented on her big day as she looks through the photos. “It was emotional,” Jaquie continued. “What made it so amazing for Andy and me wasn’t that I walked down the aisle; rather, it was that I stood up for four hours straight, something that had never happened before.” And that completely amazed us both.
Jaquie still has to give up on her objectives there. She continues to exercise frequently and is attempting to walk increasingly with her cane. Jaquie now has a far higher objective in mind and feels that “by the grace of God,” she will be “running one day.”
Jaquie and her husband Andy have recently revealed that they are expecting their first child together after getting married!
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