HANNAH Aylward was mortified. She and her new boyfriend, Shane Burcaw, were enjoying a meal at a restaurant when an elderly woman walked over to their table, laid her hands on Shane’s slender shoulders, and began praying loudly as Hannah looked on in horror.
The couple had been dating for a few weeks and although Hannah was getting used to them being stared at, the impromptu prayer session was a first for her.
“Dear Lord, please give this boy a happier, better life,” the woman said before Shane interrupted her invocation.
“Oh, no, no,” he said, “I have a very happy life. Don’t you see my beautiful girlfriend?”
Hannah is tall, blonde, and athletic, and Shane is not. His head is the size of an average adult, but his body and limbs look like they belong to a young child. He can’t walk unaided and gets around in a motorised wheelchair.
At the age of two he was diagnosed with a rare form of spinal muscular atrophy, which causes his muscles to weaken and waste away over time. “I can barely move my legs, arms and hands,” he explains. “I have difficulty swallowing, speaking and breathing especially when I’m sick.”
The couple started a YouTube channel called Squirmy and Grubs – their nicknames for each other – which highlights what a relationship is like when one person has a disability and the other does not.
Public prayers for Shane (28) have been the least of their concerns – they’re abused daily on social media, and the trolls came out in force when the couple tied the knot last month and announced their plans to start a family.
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 1 October 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 1 October 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN THERAPIST
With more and more of us struggling with our mental health, here's a common-sense guide to coping with life's ups and downs
SPUD: THE MAGIC CONTINUES
John van de Ruit tells us why he decided to write a sequel - and shares how his first book helped him find enduring love
SEX CONTRACT GONE WRONG
A Cape Town couple have been charged with using a young woman as a sex slave-but some say she lost the job she signed up for and now has a grudge against them
LIAM LAID TO REST
More than a month after One Direction singer LIAM PAYNE (31) tragically fell to his death from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, his loved ones finally got to say their goodbyes.
SHILOH HANGS OUT
THE two young women look like any pair of good friends chatting and laughing as they leave their dance class in Los Angeles.
LEO IN LOVE
He's just turned 50 and it seems Leonardo DiCaprio may finally be ready to settle down
PACKING A PUNCH
Irish actor Paul Mescal beefed up for his role in the blockbuster epic Gladiator II - and fans are loving it
I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A LOVE CHILD
As the illegitimate daughter of the king, she fought to be recognised as part of Belgium's royal family, but Princess Delphine says she still feels unwelcome
'I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES'
A bite from a spitting cobra 13 years ago nearly killed her but Mikayla survived - and she's made peace with her scars
THE CLAWS ARE OUT!
Things have grown frosty between the Beckhams and the Sussexes as Becks comes out in clear support of William