Against All Odds: Bruce & Susan
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Agains All Odds
Against all odds two of the nicest people have survived, met, fallen in love, and are getting married.
Every one of us has a friend or family member who has beaten the odds: perhaps they survived and accident, proved the doctors wrong, or exceeded everyone’s expectations. This is one of those stories, the story of Bruce and Susan.
Susan’s story is that in 1962 she was born a 2 pound preemie, with a 50/50 chance of survival. It would be two months before she was able to go home. She was also born with cerebral palsy and profound hearing loss. She wore braces on her legs growing up (like Forrest Gump) and had twelve surgeries on her ears (yes twelve!). She has been through decades of physical and speech therapy. Against all odds, and after decades of surgeries, therapy, and hard work, she’s still beating the odds today.
Then, in 2013, she started working part time at Harkins movie theaters in Phoenix, a family owned chain in Arizona that is known for being very inclusive in their hiring practices. This is where she met Bruce Mann Jr.
Bruce’s story is that he was born a healthy, typical baby in 1969. Sadly, he contracted bacterial meningitis as an infant. If you know what that is, you know that at any age it can kill you and, if it doesn’t kill you, it is known for causing brain damage. So, since he was a baby, Bruce has, what is now known as a TBI (traumatic brain injury). Against all odds he lived with this. He went to special schools and classes because his cognitive abilities were many grades behind his age. Like many children with disabilities, he maintained a positive outlook while trying twice as hard to learn and do everything that typical kids do, all the while ignoring the harsh realities of name calling that use to occur regularly in our society (things are generally getting better). As if that wasn’t enough, in 2003, he also developed epilepsy and now is on daily medication to fight off the dozens of seizures he’d be having each day.
In 2008 he started working part time at Harkins movie theaters. This is where he met Susan Lent.
Susan:
“At Harkins I worked the door, where I could sit the whole time. Bruce worked as a team member, helping to clean the theaters and the lobby. We started talking in-between the movies and the crowds. But I really feel I fell in love with him when we started to follow each other on Facebook. We seemed to have so much in common. I could tell Bruce had a wide range of interest. And by what he shared, I could clearly see that he was funny and sensitive. Then on December 24, 2014 Bruce asked me out and we have been together ever since.”
Bruce:
“I love working at Harkins. Everyone there is nice. I love seeing movies. And Harkins is great because you can see a movie at any of the locations. When I met Susan I thought she was really nice. She was nice to me and she was pretty. So, I talked to my brother, Joe, and told him that I liked her and what should I do? He helped me and said just be honest with her and say that I would like to go out with you. So I asked and she said yes! We moved in together after one year. I have never been so happy in all my life.”
Joseph (Joe):
“Bruce is my brother and I’ve witnessed the never ending hardships of his life, there’s a lot more to his story than you see here, as anyone who has a family member with a disability can tell you. I remember meeting Susan because I see a lot of movies with Bruce (yay Harkins for their bring a friend policy!). I clearly remember the day she pulled me aside and commented on how nice Bruce is. I could tell there was sort of a question implied, as in something like, ‘Is he really that nice/how can that be?’ So I was both thrilled and nervous for him when he told me a few months later that he wanted to ask her out.
Susan is a bright, beatiful light in the world. She's so sweet and anyone would be lucky to know her. My family really loves and appreciates her. I don’t have to tell anyone reading this how hard it is to meet the right person in this world. Most of us have struggled finding someone to love at some point. Our world is increasingly more complicated with instant information, our personal lives online for all to see, changing views of beauty, and changing roles of humans in general. If we think to ourselves how hard is is to find a love connection with anyone in this crazy world, then add in how much harder it must be to have a physical and/or cognitive disability, it… honestly… it makes my heart hurt watching what my brother has endured every day of his life. Ironically, he's the most positive person I know; he's my hero.
This is why I wanted to help them raise money for their honeymoon. Bruce and Susan have already beaten the odds. They are both here on this earth, alive and happy. And their love is simultaneously ‘great on paper’ and ‘made in heaven’. Susan has her full mental capacities but is limited physically; Bruce is physically very able (he rides his bicycle and takes the bus everyday to run errands, etc) but is limited mentally. They both live in her 1-bedroom apartment. She recently had to stop working because she couldn’t stand or sit upright for more than an hour. He works a few days a week. And, they live within their means.
Against all odds, they have found each other and they are getting married on October 29th. I’m going to perform the ceremony in a local park because it’s all we can afford. They don’t have money for a honeymoon.
This is where Go Fund Me comes in. They’d like to go to Disneyland. Traveling is hard for her physically, so we’d like to get them a plane ticket, two nights in a Disney Hotel, and two days at Disneyland so that she can take her time and enjoy the happiest place on earth. If any part of this story sounds familiar to you because of a friend or family member, please consider giving, even a little. Against all the odds, they are two amazing, beautiful, and genuine people who met and fell in love.
Update:
Things are going well with the campaign, we're about half way to goal, thank you all! If we raise more than goal it will be used to spend an extra day at Disneyland (Susan can't be out for long durations anyhow, this will help her experience more of the park). After that, it would go toward some basic household stuff as 'wedding presents' because, again, they live within their means and could use some new dishes, etc. Thank you! ~Joseph
Against all odds two of the nicest people have survived, met, fallen in love, and are getting married.
Every one of us has a friend or family member who has beaten the odds: perhaps they survived and accident, proved the doctors wrong, or exceeded everyone’s expectations. This is one of those stories, the story of Bruce and Susan.
Susan’s story is that in 1962 she was born a 2 pound preemie, with a 50/50 chance of survival. It would be two months before she was able to go home. She was also born with cerebral palsy and profound hearing loss. She wore braces on her legs growing up (like Forrest Gump) and had twelve surgeries on her ears (yes twelve!). She has been through decades of physical and speech therapy. Against all odds, and after decades of surgeries, therapy, and hard work, she’s still beating the odds today.
Then, in 2013, she started working part time at Harkins movie theaters in Phoenix, a family owned chain in Arizona that is known for being very inclusive in their hiring practices. This is where she met Bruce Mann Jr.
Bruce’s story is that he was born a healthy, typical baby in 1969. Sadly, he contracted bacterial meningitis as an infant. If you know what that is, you know that at any age it can kill you and, if it doesn’t kill you, it is known for causing brain damage. So, since he was a baby, Bruce has, what is now known as a TBI (traumatic brain injury). Against all odds he lived with this. He went to special schools and classes because his cognitive abilities were many grades behind his age. Like many children with disabilities, he maintained a positive outlook while trying twice as hard to learn and do everything that typical kids do, all the while ignoring the harsh realities of name calling that use to occur regularly in our society (things are generally getting better). As if that wasn’t enough, in 2003, he also developed epilepsy and now is on daily medication to fight off the dozens of seizures he’d be having each day.
In 2008 he started working part time at Harkins movie theaters. This is where he met Susan Lent.
Susan:
“At Harkins I worked the door, where I could sit the whole time. Bruce worked as a team member, helping to clean the theaters and the lobby. We started talking in-between the movies and the crowds. But I really feel I fell in love with him when we started to follow each other on Facebook. We seemed to have so much in common. I could tell Bruce had a wide range of interest. And by what he shared, I could clearly see that he was funny and sensitive. Then on December 24, 2014 Bruce asked me out and we have been together ever since.”
Bruce:
“I love working at Harkins. Everyone there is nice. I love seeing movies. And Harkins is great because you can see a movie at any of the locations. When I met Susan I thought she was really nice. She was nice to me and she was pretty. So, I talked to my brother, Joe, and told him that I liked her and what should I do? He helped me and said just be honest with her and say that I would like to go out with you. So I asked and she said yes! We moved in together after one year. I have never been so happy in all my life.”
Joseph (Joe):
“Bruce is my brother and I’ve witnessed the never ending hardships of his life, there’s a lot more to his story than you see here, as anyone who has a family member with a disability can tell you. I remember meeting Susan because I see a lot of movies with Bruce (yay Harkins for their bring a friend policy!). I clearly remember the day she pulled me aside and commented on how nice Bruce is. I could tell there was sort of a question implied, as in something like, ‘Is he really that nice/how can that be?’ So I was both thrilled and nervous for him when he told me a few months later that he wanted to ask her out.
Susan is a bright, beatiful light in the world. She's so sweet and anyone would be lucky to know her. My family really loves and appreciates her. I don’t have to tell anyone reading this how hard it is to meet the right person in this world. Most of us have struggled finding someone to love at some point. Our world is increasingly more complicated with instant information, our personal lives online for all to see, changing views of beauty, and changing roles of humans in general. If we think to ourselves how hard is is to find a love connection with anyone in this crazy world, then add in how much harder it must be to have a physical and/or cognitive disability, it… honestly… it makes my heart hurt watching what my brother has endured every day of his life. Ironically, he's the most positive person I know; he's my hero.
This is why I wanted to help them raise money for their honeymoon. Bruce and Susan have already beaten the odds. They are both here on this earth, alive and happy. And their love is simultaneously ‘great on paper’ and ‘made in heaven’. Susan has her full mental capacities but is limited physically; Bruce is physically very able (he rides his bicycle and takes the bus everyday to run errands, etc) but is limited mentally. They both live in her 1-bedroom apartment. She recently had to stop working because she couldn’t stand or sit upright for more than an hour. He works a few days a week. And, they live within their means.
Against all odds, they have found each other and they are getting married on October 29th. I’m going to perform the ceremony in a local park because it’s all we can afford. They don’t have money for a honeymoon.
This is where Go Fund Me comes in. They’d like to go to Disneyland. Traveling is hard for her physically, so we’d like to get them a plane ticket, two nights in a Disney Hotel, and two days at Disneyland so that she can take her time and enjoy the happiest place on earth. If any part of this story sounds familiar to you because of a friend or family member, please consider giving, even a little. Against all the odds, they are two amazing, beautiful, and genuine people who met and fell in love.
Update:
Things are going well with the campaign, we're about half way to goal, thank you all! If we raise more than goal it will be used to spend an extra day at Disneyland (Susan can't be out for long durations anyhow, this will help her experience more of the park). After that, it would go toward some basic household stuff as 'wedding presents' because, again, they live within their means and could use some new dishes, etc. Thank you! ~Joseph
Organizer
Joseph Benesh
Organizer
Phoenix, AZ
