Posted on 02/12/2010 3:46:30 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
True love, hope and family surmount disability
By Theresa Harrington Contra Costa Times
Posted: 02/11/2010 01:38:09 PM PST
WALNUT CREEK — Little girls dream of finding true love, marrying and living happily ever after.
Christi Hockel was no exception.
The youngest of six, she watched her older siblings find mates. She caught bouquets at their weddings and yearned for the day when she would have her own magnificent ceremony.
"I kept saying, 'Boy, I wish I had a husband who loves me,'" said Christi, 31.
Her family and friends were not so sure her dreams would come true because Christi has Down syndrome, a condition that delays mental and physical development. Christi's mother, a devout Catholic, prayed to St. Therese of Liseux to find out if her daughter's romantic longings would be fulfilled.
"I opened my eyes and there on the floor was a single wrapped rose," Judie Hockel said.
Christi's mother saved the tiny fabric flower, believing it to be an answer to her prayer.
Christi's family helped her accomplish many goals: finishing high school, attending community college, performing in plays, working at Safeway and volunteering at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.
They also encouraged her to join the National Down Syndrome Congress, where she could socialize and become a self-advocate. It was through this organization that Christi met the love of her life: Austin Davenport of Dallas, Texas, who also has Down syndrome.
"I went to this convention in Minneapolis in 2003 and I fell in love with Austin," Christi Advertisement says.
A handsome, outgoing young man with a playful sense of humor and a talent for tearing up the dance floor, Davenport was attracted to Hockel's bubbly personality, blonde hair and mesmerizing dance moves.
The pair lived more than
(Excerpt) Read more at contracostatimes.com ...
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Video of the happy couple at Link.
Davenport and Hockel exchanged vows Oct. 10 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Concord. Judie Hockel placed the fabric rose in Christi's bridal bouquet and watched her daughter walk down the aisle.
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