Todd and Marci, A Love Story

Mark Zaleski

The Press Enterprise, Riverside

Theirs is a love story. Love longed for. Love found. Love lost. And, in the end, love unregretted. She was a mentally retarded woman, 27-years-old, and diagnosed with cancer. From the time she was a baby, the only homes she knew were foster care and group homes. She had about her a sweetness and friendliness that drew people to her. He, too, was mentally handicapped and had a spinal defect that confined him to a wheelchair. He was 37, and had lived in nursing homes since he was 12. Drowning in loneliness, he seldom left his room. Each longed to find a life’s partner. They did-in each other. When they married they knew their time together would be short. In all, they had 171 days as husband and wife. Yet their devotion inspires and endures. Wedding, Marci Bond, 27, laughs after helping her groom, Todd Wilson, 37, remember his vows during their wedding at the Western healthcare Center in Colton California.

Mark Zaleski, "Todd and Marci, A Love Story," in POYi Archive, Item #31676, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/31676 (accessed November 23, 2024).