We're all crying! A father overcame paralysis caused by a brain tumor to walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. And he gets the award for best dad ever.
The father-of-two was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in August last year after losing his spatial awareness. But just 10 days before his daughter Catherine Townsend's ceremony in Peter James suffered a seizure caused by a bleed in one of the tumors and resulted in him losing the use of his right arm and leg.
“We had no idea how we were going to pull through this. Dad was totally devastated and it was heart-breaking to see him so upset and hurting," Towsend said.
But the family were aided by occupational therapist Anthony Jones and specialist physiotherapist Sophie Kirby took on the challenge of getting James ready for the wedding.
In just days James was able to walk down the aisle.
“It was clear it was deeply important to him. He became emotional whenever he spoke about it," Jones said. “We got him moving and tried to replicate an aisle there as best as we could. We really wanted it to happen, and watching him walk down the aisle for real was overwhelming. It was a career highlight for me and Sophie. It doesn't get any more rewarding than that."
Other dads have also worked hard to be there for their daughter.
“Catherine was the first of our children to be married. She's our only daughter so it was very, very important to Peter that he was able to walk her down the aisle," James' wife, Sue James, said. “If it wasn't for Anthony and Sophie, we would never have got him there. They were amazing."
@elleuk/Instagram
@elleuk/Instagram
