This Terminally-Ill Couple Will Never Give Up On Each Other - Even Though They Are Slowly Dying With Every Second

Sep 12, 2018 by apost team

For some reason, the sweetest love stories always seem to end in a tragedy. At first, Katie and Dalton seemed like a normal couple in love. The biggest differences between them and other couples was the illness that joined them together. It was ultimately this life-threatening disease that would tear the couple apart.

Dalton and Katie were both sick with cystic fibrosis. This genetic disorder affects the lungs, kidneys, intestines, liver and pancreas. As the disease progresses, it makes it harder and harder to breathe. When the lungs are affected, the only solution is an oxygen tank or a lung transplant.

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Doctors normally wait to perform a lung transplant until there are no other options. In the case of Dalton and Katie, the disease was already making breathing and normal life difficult. They were both taking intravenous and oral antibiotics for lung infections. The young couple each required an oxygen tank to breathe.

Instead of feeling depressed because of their illnesses, the couple transformed it into something beautiful. In 2009, Katie and Dalton met on Facebook. From the moment the 18-year-old couple met, they knew that their relationship was something special. They ended up getting married just two years later.

The marriage was the incredible start to a loving, amazing journey. After the wedding, the couple bought a house in Flemingsburg. They played games, cooked delicious meals and traveled together. It felt like they were living in a fairy tale. Each day was filled with fun and a lot of love.

Unfortunately, the couple knew that their happiness would not last forever. Despite their happiness together, they were both becoming increasingly ill. Cystic fibrosis was making it impossible to stay healthy. The disease interfered with how their bodies absorbed nutrients. As each day passed, their respiratory systems started to fail.

Many people spend extra time at work because they think that they have years to enjoy with their spouse. They never focus on the present moment because they assume that there is always more time. Katie and Dalton did not have this problem. They knew that they were going to die soon, so they devoted as much time as possible to each other.

Before long, Katie and Dalton were both placed on the donor list for a lung transplant. Unfortunately, the list of recipients was too long for them to hope for a donor. Before they could find a donor, Dalton's health rapidly began to decline.

Katie talked to Dalton's mother about his declining health. She knew that the love of her life was going to die if he did not get a transplant. In that moment, Katie knew what she had to do. She took her name off of the donor list so that Dalton's name would move up by one spot. That way, he would be one step closer to getting new lungs.

To everyone's amazement, Dalton managed to cling to life. Finally, a donor was found. Dalton got his new lungs and began to recover. A year and a half later, a donor was found for Katie.

At first, the couple was overjoyed. Within a few weeks, their happiness was crushed by a new infection. Dalton's lungs developed an infection and were inflamed. Because of her new pair of lungs, Katie's doctors told her to avoid being around Dalton. If she was around him, she could catch the same infection. Her immune system was too fragile to be near her beloved husband.

Katie did not care. She had willingly given up her name on the donor list for her husband. She was more than willing to risk her life to stay with him now.

Unfortunately, her body started to reject the lungs. With a transplant, patients have to take medicine to weaken their immune system and prevent an organ rejection. Her body had recognized that the lungs were not hers. Katie was becoming desperately ill.

Doctors told the couple that they needed to stay apart to prevent an infection. The couple ignored their doctors to be together one last time. Dalton and Katie made plans to meet together. A few hours before Dalton was supposed to leave, he passed away. His family members were present, and Katie was video chatting with him at the time.

Afterward, Katie posted on Facebook about her husband's fight with cystic fibrosis. She had no regrets. Each moment that they spent together had been a blessing. Later, she told CNN in an interview that she would rather live for only five years with love than two decades without love.

Several days after her husband's funeral, Katie passed away. Before she died, she told her loved ones that her love story would be a great book someday. It turns out that Katie was right. Her love story eventually turned into a best-selling novel and a popular movie.

The couple had faced their disease with compassion and bravery. Most of all, they faced it together. They knew that catching an infection from one another could mean their death, but they did not care. Instead, they risked their lives so that they would have a few more days together. Hopefully, scientists will one day be able to treat cystic fibrosis with genetic engineering or gene therapy.

If this true story brought tears to your eyes, tell all of your friends about it. Help spread the word about this unforgettable love to keep the memory of Dalton and Katie alive.