Despite not meeting in situations many would call happy, Dalton and Katie found a way to look past their infirmities to find love in the most depressing of circumstances.
Both of them were sick from extremely life-threatening cystic fibrosis, which may claim either of them very soon. Cystic fibrosis is a disorder in the genes that most times affect the lungs, but it also affects the intestine, the kidneys, the pancreas, and the liver. Over a long period, it causes difficulty in breathing as a result of the infections in the lungs. There’s no known cure for the ailment that threatens to end the life of these two victims making the best of their time together. Usually, lung transplantation becomes a viable option when the infection gets worse and the lung function is declining. The use of antibiotics orally or intravenously helped to keep this two alive a little longer.
These two lovebirds took their heartrending situations and made it into the world’s most beautiful gift, which is love.
They met on Facebook in 2009, and they got married in about two years after. They were both 18 years-old when they met on the social media platform. They were married regardless of their very rare genetic disease which makes it difficult for the body to absurd the essential nutrients it needs from food and ultimately leads to respiratory failure.
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The young couple together bought themselves a home in Flemingsburg. They usually spend their days playing and hosting games, traveling around and sometimes cooking.
In an interview with reporters, Katie Prager said, “We did a lot of stuff, and we sure had fun. It was close to living in a fairy tale of ours”.
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They managed to enjoy their time together as much as possible, notwithstanding the fact that they were both terminally ill and awaiting lung transplant on a long national list of recipients.
In time, Dalton’s health started to deteriorate rapidly, Katie called him one night and his mother responded telling her he was declining.
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According to published reports, at that moment, Katie made the decision to remove her name from the transplant list and replace with Dalton’s since her name was ahead of his on the list. She felt it would bring him one step closer to getting the new lungs.
And he survived long enough to get the new lungs.
It took about a year and a half after Dalton got his new lungs that Katie got hers. Though, about a few weeks later Dalton got an infection and an inflammation of the new lungs. Although being with Dalton will put her at risk of getting the same infection, she risked her fragile immune system to see and be with her husband.
Within the same period, Katie’s body also began to reject the new lungs she got from the transplant, it started to look like neither of the couples will survive their ordeal, and they both ignored doctor’s instructions and decided to spend time together one last time.
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Unfortunately though, a few hours before they would meet when Dalton would’ve made his trip down to Katie, he passed away surrounded by close relations and with Katie through video chat. The usual average life expectancy for people with this cystic fibrosis is normally between 42 and 50 years if they have responded to treatment very early in life. The problems with the lungs of Dalton and Katie required them to get a transplant because it had worsened over time.
Katie said on her Facebook page that, “My husband Dalton fought a long, difficult battle with cystic fibrosis.” She added, “He fought bravely and never gave up until the end.”
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She did not appear to be in despair, simply because she has had a wonderful time with Dalton and she is grateful for it.
She told the CNN when interviewed by the news network that she would rather live for five years of love and complete happiness than having 20 years with nobody to share it with.
Katie Prager sadly passed away a couple of days after her husband’s funeral. She had said her story would make a great book or even a great movie and how right could she have been.
“And they lived forever and happily ever after in each other’s arms for eternity,” Katie said.
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As she predicted, so did their story turned out to be on this plane of existence. Their love story will definitely transcend this earth and the heavens will know of it.
They both knew their chances of living for long were quite slim, chronic lung infection like they both had resulted in close to 80% of fatality in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). They faced their conditions with all bravery and decided against all odds to have the time of their lives together, even though their genetics demanded something different.
There might be hope for the future for people with this same condition with the world making great strides in gene therapy and engineering.