“Maryanne and Tommy live in this bubble of love and happiness. They walk hand in hand everywhere they go, totally unaware of anyone else.The love they share goes so deep they literally can’t bear to be apart. Tommy always calls Maryanne ‘my love’ and ‘my darling wife.’ He often sings to her his favorite song, ‘Love Me Tender’ by Elvis. When they got married 26 years ago, so many people doubted them, said it was disgusting they were allowed to get married. That it would never work. How wrong they were.”
‘They can’t read or write. They don’t understand danger or time. But they understand pure love. And they’ve felt it 29 years.’: Married couple now ‘longest living’ pair with Down Syndrome, sister says it’s ‘nothing short of a fairy tale’
‘Not a single person was there to say goodbye. He was frightened by the sound of his own giggle. But for the first time, he was shown love. He was going to learn just how loved he really was.’
“We stared at the babies on the website for almost a year, saying we will adopt ‘one day.’ Then I saw the picture of a precious baby boy. He was only a few months old, abandoned to live his life in an orphanage because he had an extra chromosome.”
‘When I was 12 weeks pregnant I was told he was going to have Down syndrome’: Mom didn’t want to hear ‘I’M SORRY’
“‘Your son either has an infection, or he has leukemia.’ My heart stopped in that moment. I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to take my son home, or if I was going to lose him.”
‘I am going to marry Ellie!’ I was truly in awe. She is his number one gal. I thought to myself, ‘Wow. They have it all figured out.’ I’ve never seen a love this pure.’
“Joey began calling Ellie his girlfriend. He tells us he is going to marry her. When they see each other outside of school, they immediately hold hands, hug and look into each other’s eyes. It is as if they know something we do not.”
