Sergeant Joey Johnson is paralyzed from the chest down, but that didn't stop him from having the dance of a lifetime with his wife Michelle at their wedding on June 28, 2014. The bride — a professional wedding planner in their hometown of Indianapolis — was shocked to find her 27-year-old groom waiting for her on the dance floor. He was strapped to a special harness that their friends had created for the special occasion, which allowed him to stand upright and embrace his bride as they swayed to "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri.
"Everyone was crying in the room. It was so amazing to be eye to eye with him again, and such a dream come true," Michelle tells ABC News.
This special moment marked the first time that Joey was able to stand since his life-changing motorcycle accident in August 2012. After returning from a 10-month tour in Afghanistan, he experienced post-traumatic stress disorder and rode motorcycles as a way to cope with the pain. At the point that he became a paraplegic, he and Michelle had been dating for just four months (they met at a country music concert). The couple got engaged in April 2013, and they decided to get married one day before their birthday for the following year.
Watch the incredibly sweet video here:
Joey & Michelle Dancing from Jennifer Traynor on Vimeo.
— Stefania Sainato
- ssainato's blog
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