He Stayed With Her During Cancer

5

When Peter noticed that he had a message from a woman named Sandra, he thought, “Wow!”

He felt giddy because such a beautiful woman showed interested in him. The couple began messaging back-and-forth and decided they liked each other enough to move onto Skype and Facetime.

“I had her picture on my phone. When I looked at it, I would feel shy. I’d look away and say to myself, ‘Gosh, didn’t I end up lucky?’ My friends and family said the same thing,” Peter from California says.

Sandra, from Mexico, adds, “I felt like I was the lucky one.”

She says that Peter helped her grow spiritually and that he was there for her when she needed him most—during her cancer treatment.

It was love at first meeting.

On July 16, 2016, three months after meeting on CatholicMatch, Peter stepped off the plane in Mexico. “The moment I saw her standing in the airport, I noticed that she had a confident look about her. 'I thought this woman has a great deal of self-respect.'"

It was love at first sight for Peter. “I had already fallen in love with her smile over Skype, but when Sandra and I finally saw each other face-to-face, her beauty overwhelmed me. I didn’t expect to see what I saw even though I saw her face many times over Skype.”

Sandra says she’d already fallen in love with Peter’s spirit over Skype. Seeing him in person clinched it for her.

I shouldn't have worried about chemistry!

Before meeting in person, Peter felt a little apprehensive about whether he and Sandra would have chemistry.

“I told him, ‘We are two grown adults; we just need to be two great friends,’” she recalls.

Peter planned to visit for two days because he didn’t want them to be in an awkward situation if things didn’t pan out for them.

“I ended up staying a week!” he laughs. “The third day I was here, we had a professional photographer take a picture of us because we knew we were a match.”

You might need a poncho...

On Peter’s second visit, a month later, they took a trip to San Antonio, TX. The couple was walking on the riverwalk when suddenly the city was hit by a pouring rainstorm.

“We wanted to go to Mass at the Cathedral of San Fernando, so we weren’t going to let the rain stop us,” they recall.

“We bought ponchos at a pharmacy. We threw them on, and we made it to the Cathedral for the noon Mass,” he recalls. “Right after Mass, in front of the golden sanctuary, I dared to ask her to marry me. She prayed and then turned to me with tears in her eyes and said, ‘Yes.’”

At Christmas time, Peter proposed again, but this time he had a ring— a Celtic infinity knot with a diamond in the center. He proposed again in front of Sandra’s brother.

“It was my dream that my brother would be there for the proposal,” she shares. “My brother was like a dad to me. Tragically, less than three months later, he passed away because of a failed liver transplant. It was the last time we were all together.”

More bad news.

Around the same time that Sandra lost her brother, the couple learned that Sandra might have cancer for the second time.

“I wanted to put the relationship on hold because I didn’t know what the future would hold for me. I didn’t want to burden Peter with my health problems,” she says.

“I told her firmly, ‘We are going to go through this together,'” he remembers. “When we had heard the report about a spot that the doctors were unsure about, that information got me mentally prepared. When she went back for the full diagnosis of the mammogram, I was ready. It was the matter of getting her the best medical attention possible.”

Peter took a leave of absence from teaching to take care of Sandra. In July of 2017, she had a double mastectomy and chemotherapy.

“I was sick, and I thought I wouldn’t make it. My health problems became compounded because I have a heart condition.”

But Sandra’s health eventually began to improve.

“Sandra’s very strong and determined,” says Peter.

And the two shall become one.

On July 20th, 2019, Peter and Sandra—whose previous marriages were annulled—enjoyed an evening wedding held at the Madre de Guadalupe parish in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

“Everyone that we hoped to be with us in this important sacramental occasion was present,” she says.

Sandra says that God has blessed her with improved health, and she is infinitely grateful.

“I am also grateful for Peter. He’s the miracle in my life, and his love and kindness have no limits. Our love, our religious experience, and our traditions have blended us into a rich and spiritual experience. Our life has become complete.”

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