Community comes together for couple
The clouds above threatened to rain but waited for the bridal party to arrive.
The wedding was decorated rustic chic in white with pinkish coral accents with a three-tier cake set up near a small dance floor.
Lisa and
It looked like a normal wedding in
It was a wedding that almost didn't happen.
Life was busy.
Her youngest son, Bentley, had just started undergoing medical treatment in
That's when she received a call from
Fossati said she was inspired by hearing about the family's efforts to help those severely affected by the flooding despite their own struggles.
"I immediately knew this was my way to give back to this couple," Fossati said.
Before long, she had business owners in the community willing to pitch in to give the couple an unforgettable wedding day.
"I just had to tell them their story, and there were no other questions; they wanted to help," she said.
She and her business partner,
The Event Life donated planning services and decorations, the cake came from Cookies by B out of
Wilburn and Windoskey said when they were approached about the wedding, there was no question in their minds that they would help.
"They're just good people," Wilburn said.
As an additional surprise, an anonymous donor gave the couple a 4-night, 5-day honeymoon to
The couple's love story started about 15 years ago with a chance meeting at a mall in
Both were in their mid-20s and divorced with children.
Billy said although he and Lisa are opposites at times, he ended up falling for her.
"She's stuck by me through everything," he said.
He credits his wife and their children for changing him.
The couple, now both 40, enjoys their blended family with six children.
"They taught me how to love," he said.
On
But Billy admits he always wanted a wedding and was thrilled to find out so many people cared.
"These guys are giving me the best day of my life," he said.
For the couple, the past three years were not so easy.
"We didn't know what was wrong, but we knew something wasn't right,"
Some days her son,
This ultra-rare metabolic disease is a lifelong condition that causes organ damage.
People with LAL-D have an uncontrolled buildup of fatty material in their liver, blood vessel walls and other tissues because their bodies don't make enough of an enzyme called lysosomal acid lipase.
In December, an enzyme therapy called Kanuma was approved by the
That treatment came out just in time to help the 5-year-old.
Bentley was referred to
Every other Monday, the family travels to
As a manager at
"We're making it right now," she said.
Bentley calls the treatment "Kanuma Matata" as a way of saying "
"Right now he's doing great," she said. "This kid's got energy."
Billy is an independent contractor who does odd jobs while caring for Bentley at home.
Previously, he worked in the oil field industry, and at one time owned an auto detail shop.
In August, prolonged rainfall in southern parts of
"Just watching it on TV and seeing that people lost everything," he said. "I didn't always have the means to do it, but I do now. I figured it's the least I could do."
He didn't have any ties to the state, but felt compelled to do something.
Already having a box trailer, he wrote a Facebook post about wanting to take some donations to flood victims.
The positive response from the Crossroads community was overwhelming, he said.
He plans to return to the
"I never expected anything out of this," he said. "I just wanted to bless them."
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