Friday, January 28, 2011

The Man of my Dreams

Now, I am going to start skipping around in my story, because I don't want to talk only about Cystic Fibrosis. As I said in my last post, I view CF as only a part of who I am, but there is so much more to me. That all goes into living with CF, and the other stuff is what gets me through the hard and scary times.

As I have pointed out in my about me section, I am engaged to my best friend, Eldon English. And what more perfect time to start talking about the man I'm going to marry than exactly 4 months before the wedding? At this point in my life, he is my favorite topic to discuss, but how do I put into words what Eldon means to me?
I met Eldon in 5th grade. We were in the same class, and he was my best friend's boyfriend. We went to different middle schools and high schools. Our high schools were actually rivals! We had not talked since 5th grade when I found him on Myspace. We began talking and just getting to know each other, and after awhile, we became really close friends. I came to consider him as one of my best friends. It was over a year later when we decided to to start dating.We had a long distance relationship for 3 years, and our relationship grew to be one of love, trust, and communication. After almost 4 years, we are getting ready to get married!
That sounds like a pretty typical love story, but there is so much more to Eldon's commitment to me. What does it mean to marry someone with a terminal illness? Eldon has chosen to marry me knowing what our future may have in store. As I have mentioned before, the median life span of people who have CF is around 40. While I try not to think about it, that is only 17 years away... not long at all. There is also the fear of a lung transplant hanging over our heads. It is not really a question of if I will ever need one but when which was brought to a reality last August (more on that later). Then comes the worry that we will not be able to have any children because of the toll that takes on the mother's body and whether we are comfortable having children knowing there is a chance they won't have their mother for as long as we would like. Most people would take all of this information in and turn to run away as fast as they could. But Eldon didn't.
Eldon has chosen to stay, and he is my inspiration to keep fighting. I want to be with him as long as I can, and the only way to do that is to do everything in my power to stay healthy. I cannot wait to get married, because I want to spend the rest of my life with Eldon knowing that he feels the same way. We take everything one day at a time, and he keeps me strong. Eldon Thomas English is the best man that I know, and I am so excited to have the chance to be his wife!

8 comments:

  1. So sweet. What a good-looking couple!

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  2. Kayla, you are going to make a beautiful bride! You've always been an inspiration to me for as long as I've known you! Your strength and determination and positive attitude is such an endearing quality and I'm so happy you've found someone to share the rest of your life with you :) I wish you and Eldon nothing but the best!

    Enjoy these last few months of wedding planning!

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  3. Kayla, you and Eldon are completely perfect for each other. He stays with you because you are an amazing person. He would be lost without you!! :) Can't wait for the wedding!!

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  4. That is amazing. You are lucky.

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  5. WOW Kayla this was really touching and inspiring to others who are going through something very similar maybe it be a illness of any kind. I wish you the best of luck and I will be praying for you.
    Grace Steele

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  6. Thank you all for your very sweet comments! We are so excited, and I will be making a post about our wedding complete with pictures! :)

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  7. i know this is off topic..I met a girl in Aruba years ago who also had cystic fibrosis,,her name was rose and i am trying to track her down now...would you have any suggestions on how to do that...i have limited information just that her name is rose shes anywhere from 22-24 lives in MI and went to Aruba that same time i did

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    1. I really don't know of any way to track her down. I'm sorry.

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