Bride Who Lost Both Arms and Legs Blows Everyone Away When She Walks Down the Aisle
Weddings always come with promises. Rings are exchanged, and the bride and groom often vow to love each other “in sickness and in health.”
The vow couldn’t ring truer for one couple from North Potomac, Marlyand. Amanda Flores’ and Frank Bordoy’s love story began as a typical “meet-cute.”
Guy sees girl. Girl sees guy. They talk, flirt, and eventually fall in love. But their relationship was quickly tested.
After being together only a year-and-a-half, Flores came down with what she assumed was a common cold.
“We were happy, finding our flow, and then I got a cold,” Flores told CBS News. Sadly, it turned out to be far worse than either of them expected.
Flu-like symptoms progressed, putting Flores in a coma and eventually leading to septic shock. She was in a coma for 2 months.
When she awoke, Flores was informed that both her arms and legs had been amputated in order to save her life.
“The surgeon asked, ‘Do you think she can handle it? Will she have the will to survive? Most people don’t,’” Isabel Llerena, Flores’ sister, shared with The New York Times.
Llerena told the doctor that her sister absolutely could handle it. Still, the journey would be long, and a case like Flores’ is very rare.
But when Bordoy asked her to marry him, after already proving he’d certainly be with her “in sickness and in health,” Flores became all the more determined to walk on her own again.
Following months of physical therapy in which Flores built up the strength to use prosthetic limbs, she was able to walk down the aisle at their wedding — and she even wore a floor-length gown.
It’s clear Flores is a fighter. A post to her Facebook page on June 9 encouraged other amputees to stop hiding their flaws.
“You are beautiful and perfect, limbs or no limbs, wheelchair, crutches, prosthetics …” she wrote. “… if you reach deep inside, you’ll find power waiting to be unleashed in what you feel are flaws …”
And that’s exactly what Flores did on her wedding day. Not only did she make it down the aisle on her own, but she and Bordoy shared a first dance to John Legend’s “All of Me.”
Flores is truly an inspiration for others who have struggled with body image related to amputations or disabilities.
“… You must accept and come to peace that many people will look and stare …” she wrote. “… release your beautiful genuine smile … because inside you know you’ve been given a gift they will likely never know.”
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