Having a child with a serious illness can be absolutely heartbreaking. Remarkably, however, these kids are often the most positive people you’ll ever meet, and they have inspiring views on life.
Five-year-old Sophia Chiappalone is one of those kids. Sophia was born with a serious heart defect.
Even though she’s only 5, she’s already undergone multiple open-heart surgeries, and she has another one scheduled in November 2017.
While prepping for her next open-heart surgery, Sophia told her mom, Kristy Somerset-Chiappalone, that she wanted to get married before she went back under the knife.
Specifically, Sophia wanted to marry her “boyfriend” — 6-year-old Hunter Laferriere.
Kristy decided to follow through with Sophia’s idea, so she told Hunter’s mom, Tracy, about the plan.
Tracy was just as excited as Sophia, Kristy, and Hunter. She called her best friend, Marisa Balletti-Lavoie, who runs Sassy Mouth Photography, and they put together a mock photo shoot for the kids.
Tracy shared the story on the Facebook page Love What Matters, where it got a ton of attention.
Within just two days, the post had over 100,000 reactions and over 21,000 shares.
Tracy wrote:
My 6-year-old son’s best friend and ‘girlfriend’ was asked her wish before going into her third risky, open-heart surgery—it was to marry my son.
At preschool graduation in May he insisted we buy her a dozen red roses—they had to be red, her favorite color.
So, I knew he’d agree to dress up and have a mock wedding shoot for her; and he did.
Anything to make Sophia happy, Mommy.’
Just like that, magic happened!
My best friend, Marisa, captured the innocent adoration these two kids have for each other on a perfect day with the right light, Sophia in a beautiful dress as they smiled, laughed and played.
Sophia may have half a heart, but she overflows the hearts of those around her with joy.
People absolutely loved the pictures of Sophia and Hunter.
One woman wrote, “What an adorable, sweet looking young lady. Prayers that she lives a long life and gets to marry her best friend for real one day.”
Another woman wrote, “Definitely the best thing I’ve seen on the internet in a very long time. I hope with all my heart we get to see a real re-do in about 20 years. The pure joy on their wee faces melted my heart.”
A third woman commented, “Oh my where do I start. She is 6 but she is stunning! She’s beautiful! His desire to make her happy is unbelievable, men ten times his age do not have the heart this young man (yes I used that term intentionally) has. The photos are amazing. May God bless her and give her health. May He also bless their parents who have clearly done such a wonderful job in raising them.”
This is such a sweet story and a great way for Sophia to have a dream come true before her risky heart surgery.
Have you ever seen something like this before?
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