Aisle stand by you
Reporter: BEATRIZ AYALA
Date published: 24 November 2010
John’s amazing story of courage, hope and now joy
THIS is the moment that John Power, a former rugby league player left paralysed following a match-day accident, achieved a heart-felt dream — to stand by his bride on their wedding day.
John, of Thornley Close, Grotton, broke his neck and suffered spinal cord damage playing in his first match for Oldham RL Club’s Alliance team in 1995. Now, following their return from a three-week honeymoon tour of Australia and New Zealand, the 33-year-old has spoken of his joy at defying the odds to stand next to his stunning bride.
John was 18 when he was left paralysed, initially from the neck down.
He spent eight months in hospital undergoing intensive physiotherapy before regaining the use of his arms and his body from the waist up.
Now a computer games programmer and using a wheelchair, he has spent the past 12 months training hard with callipers and crutches to be able to stand next to his blushing bride on their wedding day.
And he made his dream come true on October 3 when he married long-term partner Julie Butterworth (28) in front of family and friends at Shrigley Hall in Macclesfield, Cheshire.
He said: “The day was absolutely brilliant and to be able to stand next to Julie is a dream come true.
“She has been my rock throughout the past 10 years and has always been my motivation to get up and walk.
“I wanted to make a special effort on our wedding day to show that I will be symbolically standing by her forever.”
The couple first met 10 years ago when Julie worked as a hairdresser with Mr Power’s sister-in-law.
After two years together, she accepted his proposal and they have been building a life together ever since.
The couple are looking at the possibility of Mr Power undergoing stem cell treatment in the next few years to enable him to walk unaided again.
However, his new wife admitted she was initially nervous about him pushing himself too much on the wedding day.
A teacher at Springhead Infant and Nursery School, she said: “I met John when he was in a wheelchair and to me it makes no difference whether he stands or not, he is still the same person that I fell in love with”.
Despite this, Mr Power pushed himself to stand proudly next to his bride for most of their photographs.
He said: “I’d thought about walking down the aisle but realised I’d be too nervous on the day.
“We placed a two-seater bench decorated with flowers at the top of the aisle where we could both sit during the ceremony.
“As I didn’t want to be rolling out in a wheelchair after we’d exchanged vows, my two best men and two ushers then carried the bench with both of us on it to sign the documents.
“It was something different.”
The couple are now looking forward to married life together.
Mr Power said: “I want to thank everyone that has ever supported me and want everyone to know of the progress that I have made.
“I am now the happiest I have ever been with my beautiful wife.”
