Our Story - Camden’s Perspective

I sent Emily a rose on Hinge, and luckily, she matched with me. For our first date, we went to Cha Cha Coconut on St. Armands Circle. Somewhere along the way, we discovered that we drove the exact same vehicle, which felt like a pretty funny coincidence. That night, Emily did most of the talking, and I mostly listened. After dinner, we walked around Lido Beach and just kept talking. Neither of us really wanted the night to end, so we stayed out until it was almost midnight. Five minutes before midnight, I finally said, “We should probably check in with your parents.” Emily told me that her dad, Doug, was about to come down to St. Armands Circle and check on us, so we figured it was probably time to head back.

And somehow, that first date turned into everything that came after. Just two short months after we met, I went through one of the hardest experiences of my life when I suffered a stroke. We had barely begun building our relationship, and yet Emily never left my side. When it would have been completely understandable for her to step away, she stayed. She took care of me, served me so lovingly, encouraged me, and walked through every part of it with me.

I’ll never forget the way Emily cared for me when I needed her most. She never made me feel like a burden, and she never stopped showing up. She loved me through some of the hardest days of my life before we had even had the chance to experience so many of the good ones together. Looking back, I feel incredibly blessed that God placed her in my life. She showed me what it means to love someone through everything, and I’m so thankful I get to spend the rest of my life loving her back.

Our Story — Emily’s Perspective

It all started when a cute boy messaged me on Hinge, and I decided to give it a try.

For our first date, we were meeting at the Sam’s Club parking lot so we could drive over to St. Armands together. On my way there, I asked Cam what car I should be looking for, and he told me he had the same car as me. I didn’t think much of it until we both pulled into the parking lot in the exact same make, model, and year of car—just in different colors. We both thought it was pretty funny that of all the cars we could have, we showed up in the exact same one.

We drove over to Cha Cha Coconut and had dinner, where I basically talked the entire time and Cam was a really good listener. After dinner, we walked down to Lido Beach and ended up sitting there talking for hours. I thought we were just going for a quick walk, so naturally, I had left my phone in the car.

As it got later, Cam looked at me and asked, “Wait, have you told your parents where you are?”

I immediately realized that I had not.

It was a few minutes before midnight, and I knew my dad was going to start worrying if I didn’t check in. So we basically sprinted down the beach to get back to the car before midnight. I grabbed my phone, texted my dad that I was okay, and crisis averted.

After that first date, we kept finding more random things we had in common. We both ran in college, and we eventually found out that Cam’s middle name was the same as my dad’s and my brother’s names.

We also found out that we had both been at the same Christian conference at the same time before we ever met. We each had videos from the conference, and when we looked back at them, you could actually see the section where the other person was sitting. I had no idea my future husband was in that same stadium.

When I look back at how quickly Cam and I got to know each other, I really feel like it was a God thing.

About two months into dating, we very suddenly found ourselves in a situation neither of us could have imagined. Long story short, Cam had a brain bleed, and for the first few weeks, I was taking care of him without really knowing what was going on. It was honestly the scariest time of my life. I remember being so afraid that I was going to lose him.

After two trips to the hospital, we ended up in an ambulance together on the way to Tampa General, still not really knowing what was happening. We were both scared, and everything happened so quickly. Cam ended up in the ICU, and eventually, he wasn’t able to walk or function on his own.

Watching the person I loved most go from being completely independent to being at his weakest was something I’ll never forget. But I also got to watch him fight his way back from it.

By the grace of God, I watched Cam learn how to walk again and eventually do all of the things he had once been able to do without even thinking about them. I got to watch him work so hard through something that neither of us ever expected to face, and I couldn’t be more proud of the man he is and everything he has overcome.

As scary as that time was, it makes me look back at how we met and how quickly we got to know each other a little differently. If we hadn’t gotten so close so quickly, I wouldn’t have been there to take care of him when he needed someone. I truly believe God brought us together at exactly the right time, even though we had no idea what was coming.

And now, getting to marry the person I was so afraid of losing is something I don’t take for granted.