HAPPILY EVER AFTER

As freshmen at the University of Wyoming, both of them had dorms on the second floor of White Hall. Kelsie had by chance picked the second floor in hopes of avoiding the elevator traffic. She quickly learned that the second floor was the Army ROTC floor. About a month into the fall semester, Kelsie and her friends were in the fishbowl, the common area of the floor when Joseph walked by. Kelsie hollered at him to come into the common area as they had not met. That night they all sat in the fishbowl and talked, laughed and began friendships. After that night, Kelsie and Joseph became good friends and enjoyed spending more time together.

This past Christmas, they got to spend their first actual Christmas Day together. The past two years of Christmas' they had celebrated before departing for their families' houses. On Christmas morning, they decided to wake up at 5 A.M. to celebrate with each other before Kelsie's family came over later in the morning. After they had finished exchanging their gifts, Joseph explained that he had one more gift and that it was not wrapped. He gave Kelsie a picture of Disney's Stich and Angel (Stitch's girlfriend from the Lilo and Stitch series) getting married. Stitch and Angel are Kelsie's favorite Disney characters and the nicknames that Joseph and Kelsie call each other. Kelsie loved the picture and when she set it down, Joseph got down on one knee and popped the question!

As they were enjoying the engagement and beginning the planning process, they were crushed to hear Joseph's diagnosis. In April 2022, they took Joseph to the urgent care for migraines but were told that he had a large brain tumor. He bravely faced emergency brain surgery and chemotherapy. Joseph and Kelsie moved to North Carolina so that Joseph could be near his family as he undergoes his medical treatment at Duke. Despite the terrible diagnosis, the prognosis is good and Joseph is fighting very bravely. Kelsie and Joseph have gotten much closer during the past few months as they spend more time together in the hospital. Joseph is expected to make a full recovery in time for the wedding and is hopeful to have his hair back!