WATCH: Wheelchair-bound war veteran surprises wife with dance at wedding without wheelchair
Sergeant Joey Johnson, 27, who is a veteran after having served for 10 months in Afghanistan, put together the sweetest surprise for his wife on their wedding day: A first dance without the aid of his wheelchair.
After he came back to the US, Johnson started riding motorcycles as a way to escape the post-traumatic stress disorder.
Four months after he met his future wife Michelle Johnson at a country music concert, he got into an accident on August 12, 2012.
The accident left him with a spinal injury. He could not feel anything from his chest down, making him a paraplegic.
That didn't stop the couple from falling in love though.
He then proposed in April 2013.
The couple decided that they should get married on June 28, 2014, the day before their birthday.
"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," Michelled told ABC News.
"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."
Michelle, who runs her own wedding business, admitted that she had no idea what was going to happen on their wedding day.
"If you know Joey, he cannot keep a secret. But he made my dreams come true and I never knew how special our day would really be," she said.
After the newly weds cut their wedding cake, Michelle was told she needed to rest in the bridal suite by her mother and mother-in-law.
She suspected something was up but didn't know what it was.
That was when her husband's friends started setting up the harness system that would allow Joey to have his first dance with his wife. When she came back into the room, she was stunned.
"Everyone was crying in the room. It was so amazing to be eye to eye with him again and such a dream come true," she said.
Source: ABC News
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