Amanda's Perspective: While working a typical day in the Medical ICU as the pharmacist, I noticed a caring, down to earth, and handsome medical resident rounding on the team. We bonded over just about anything and conversation was seamless between the two of us. When he came in on his day off to take care of a dying patient, I knew he was different from most, and truly one of a kind. The rest was history! Gary's Perspective: Anyone who knows Amanda knows her infectious personality and sharp wit. We loved sharing our perspectives with the occasional banter in decision making (read: Amanda roasting me for my antibiotic selection). When I returned to the ICU as a senior resident, I had a lot of difficult days and Amanda became the person I turned to. Soon after, I wanted to share everything with her. Now I get to!

Amanda thought the proposal was coming since we had planned this trip for a long time. We spent the weekend hiking, relaxing with Minnie, and enjoying the time away. What she didn't see coming was the photographer hired to capture our moment and day! My original plan was to propose during a hike on Old Rag trail, but time and lighting needs mandated we start or end this hike in the dark to get the best pictures. After unsuspectingly floating this idea to Amanda (and realizing it was a 9 mile hike), our photographer Kara suggested I secretively move to a sunrise proposal over one of the famous drive-up overlooks in the Southern area of Shenandoah National Park. I forgot to mention this was planned for Monday. I told the Shigle's I was proposing "this weekend", but didn't specify the day. Sorry again for the suspense! So we get to Thorofare Mountain overlook after rushing that morning and me being awfully adamant about this particular spot. My instructions from Kara were clear: be at the overlook at 7:00, propose at 7:10, sunrise is at 7:20. I was told that the rock in our pictures gave the best angle for photos, so after some convincing, I got Amanda to the designated spot. It was 7:12 and I was already feeling the pressure from the dozen or so strangers also taking photos of the sunrise. Praying for the perfect opportunity to appear, the sun came out from behind the horizon and illuminated the horizontal cloud lining the sky a beautiful bright orange and pink. Amanda took a photo with her phone and I got down on my knee behind her. This may surprise many of you, but I hadn't gotten a word out yet before she said "yes" and hugged me. After asking her if I could finish and getting the official "yes!", we turned and she was shocked to see Kara at the top waving! We then spent the morning taking photos at a few different overlooks and even got to shoot some with Minnie at Kara's family farm (dogs weren't allowed on the hikes). We are forever grateful for such a perfect day and that we didn't hike those 9 miles in the dark.

9/5/2022: Our dating anniversary, when our relationship officially began! 2/8/2023: First trip together to see Gary's medical school in Lewisburg, WV. 12/4/2024: Gary matched into hematology/oncology fellowship at WVU Medicine. 12/7/2024: Minnie (our sweet little corgi baby) became a part of our family! 10/20/2025: Gary proposed at the beautiful Shenandoah National Park. 5/18/2026: We became homeowners for the first time together.