I broke both my legs just days before my wedding – I had to use a wheelchair and everyone laughed when I said my vows
BEVERLY Hillin Singh, 45, is a patient service representative and lives in Utah, USA, with husband Cavell, 44, who works in logistics.
Beverly opens up about her wedding and how her special day was turned on its head after an accident days before left her wheelchair bound at the altar.
“Through the haze of pain relief I’d been given, I tried to take in what the doctor was saying.
It was 11 days before my wedding, and he was telling me that both my legs were broken and there was no way I would be walking down the aisle.
I met my fiancé Cavell in 2015 in a Facebook group and was drawn to his quick wit and good looks.
However, he lived in Utah – 1,600 miles from where I lived in Texas with my daughter Taylor, now 23 – so we were just friends initially, messaging regularly.
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I’d dated a few men over the years, but had mostly been a single mum focusing on raising Taylor.
However, in April 2021, she moved out and, wanting a new challenge, I took a job that happened to be in Utah.
Settling into my new life and dealing with the pandemic meant I wasn’t online as much, and I didn’t mention to Cavell I’d moved nearby until December 2022.
He asked me out and we spent the day watching a movie and walking around the local area, looking at the Christmas decorations.
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It was wonderful and there was an immediate connection between us.
All the years of messaging meant we knew each other inside out, so our romantic relationship moved at pace.
In April 2023, Cavell proposed and I said yes.
We decided to have a ceremony and party for 100 guests in a church hall that July, with a live stream for people to watch online, including my parents who were too elderly to make the trip to Utah.
Then, on July 4, 11 days before the wedding, I was at my friend Heather’s house when I fell down a small flight of stairs between her house and garage after missing a step.
I hit the concrete and felt both my legs crack.
I immediately knew something awful had happened – the pain in my legs was horrendous.
I was rushed to hospital, where X-rays revealed the full extent of my injuries.
I was told I’d need a metal rod to repair my right leg, and my left ankle needed a plate and screws.
I was devastated and thought we’d need to postpone our wedding, but Cavell reassured me that he wanted to get married, even with my broken legs!
The following day, I spent six hours in surgery then three days in hospital.
We were due to move in together that week, and friends and family rallied round to help.
I was discharged six days before the wedding, with my legs wrapped in bandages, as doctors felt casts would leave the joints too stiff, and my left ankle in a boot.
My plan to spend my wedding morning being pampered went out of the window.
Instead, after Cavell had given me a sponge bath, my friends helped me wash my hair.
I was determined that Cavell wouldn’t see me in my dress before the ceremony, so once we drove to the hall, I sent him away.
I used all my body strength to lift myself up out of my wheelchair so Taylor could help me into my wedding gown.
I didn’t even try to get my shoes over the bandages, but we managed to paint three of my toenails!
As Cavell and I vowed to be together ‘In sickness and in health,’ chuckles rang out from our guests.
Then Cavell bent down to kiss me, and my heart filled with love.
He’d already proved he loved me, no matter what.
We had our first dance, with Cavell wheeling me around the dance floor to Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran, and we all laughed when we heard the line: ‘When your legs don’t work like they used to before’!
Brides don’t usually have a team of people carrying them to bed on their wedding night, but once we were finally alone, Cavell and I were able to talk about how lovely our wedding day had been.
Our honeymoon hiking around Utah has been postponed until I’m fully recovered, but I am now out of my wheelchair.
And I know now that whenever I fall, Cavell will always be there to pick me up.”
BTW
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