Paraplegic Veteran Surprises Bride By Getting Out Of Wheelchair To Dance

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November 12, 2014 9:55 AM

Joey Johnson surprised his bride, Michelle Johnson on their wedding day when he used a harness system to allow him to dance without his wheelchair.

A paraplegic veteran, Sgt. Joey Johnson, surprised his wife, Michelle Johnson, on their wedding day by standing up for the traditional wedding dance.

Johnson, 27, with help of his friends, rigged a harness system that allowed him to dance with her without his wheelchair.

Michelle who was resting in the bridal suite on the suggestion of relatives, returned to the ballroom and saw her husband "standing." She placed her hand over her mouth in shock and cried softly before embracing her groom.

The couple swayed cheek to cheek to "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri and occasionally wiped away tears while their wedding guests cheered.

"Everyone was crying in the room," Michelle Johnson told ABC News. "It was so amazing to be eye to eye with him again and such a dream come true."

The couple first met at a country music concert in 2012, four months before Joey injured his spine in a motorcycle accident on August 12, 2012. They bonded over sharing the same last name and a birthday, June 29.

Joey recently returned from a 10-month service at the Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khowst, Afghanistan.

He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder when he returned, so he started riding a motorcycle for an adrenaline rush, Michelle Johnson said. The accident caused him to lose feeling from the chest down.

"Our family and I have been through so much, but we all know that Joey is still the same person, funny and loving guy he was before," his wife said. "He had to learn a different way of life with him and his chair: from showering, getting dressed and trying to function every day. But we are soul mates."

Joey Johnson proposed in April 2013 and the couple married June 28, the day before their shared birthday. They bought a home together in July.

Michelle Johnson, who runs a wedding planning business, said she never expected her wedding surprise.

"If you know Joey, he cannot keep a secret," Michelle Johnson said. "But he made my dreams come true and I never knew how special our day would really be."

- NY Daily News

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