Every story has a happy ending

Willie Hayward was involved in a terrible car accident when he was 21 years old. After eight months in a coma, he woke up and his family found out that he was paralysed and had suffered severe brain damage.

In February of 2018, Willie’s family appealed to the Roodepoort community to assist with getting him booked into a 24-hour care centre as his stepmother could no longer look after him in her old age. With the generous donations and huge amount of help from the community, a care facility was found and Willie moved in; but something was still missing from his life.

Read the initial article here:

https://roodepoortrecord.co.za/2018/02/10/vir-ons-is-hy-net-williefor-our-family-he-is-just-willie/

Willie is unable to do most things for himself, he can’t even speak. “His paralysis causes problems with his diaphragm, so he can either speak or breathe,” said his sister, Alice Goosen. The communication barriers and difficulties in conducting daily tasks frustrated Willie to the point where his family would struggle to calm him down, but that all changed this year.

On 6 August 2019, a gorgeous young lady named Sharmayne Wolmarans was wheeled into the care facility in Discovery. “He started smiling and laughing immediately and hasn’t stopped since,” said Alice.

It was love at first sight. Within five minutes, the two smitten adults were holding hands, laughing, and cuddling up to each other. Not even 24 hours later, they had decided that they were getting married.

The communication problems that Willie was experiencing with his family are now a thing of the past thanks to his beautiful girlfriend. Sharmayne and Willie have an amazing way of communicating with each other. Sharmayne, while deaf, can still read, write, and use sign language to communicate, and even though Willie cannot communicate at all, she always knows what he needs and what he is trying to say. If Willie needs something, or if there is something wrong, Sharmayne knows and can tell the nurses and his family through writing or sign language.

Due to difficulties at the previous facility, Alice found it necessary to move Willie to a new one, but he refused to go without Sharmane. The two of them now stay together in a beautiful centre in Florida. The centre workers adore them and their love for each other. Even the other residents can see their love, and comment on how they never stop laughing.

On the day of their first meeting, Sharmayne and Willie had decided that they would be spending the rest of their lives together, officially; and thus, wedding preparations began.

After the motor vehicle accident 21 years ago, the now 42-year-old man was given a prognosis of five years. Medical professionals are astounded at how long he has survived, and so are his family, though they are extremely grateful for every day he remains in their lives. “We know he is living on borrowed time, that’s why when they said they wanted to get married, we didn’t object,” said Alice.

While the marriage won’t be official in the eyes of the state, Willie and Sharmayne know what a wedding entails. That is why the care centre workers and the couple’s family members have arranged for a marriage certificate, tuxedo, wedding dress, rings, and even a dominee to make their wedding on 16 December as real as possible.