A Georgia woman who famously walked down the aisle at her dream wedding despite being paralyzed as a teen is now expecting a baby.
Jaquie Goncher, 26, of Marietta, Georgia, became an online sensation last year after she was photographed walking to meet her husband Andy Goncher at the altar after months of hard work with physiotherapists.
Now, Jaquie is starring in a new set of touching images as she displays her burgeoning baby bump ahead of welcoming her first child.
Glowing: Jaquie Goncher, 26, of Marietta, Georgia, is expecting a baby a year after stunning doctors by walking down the aisle despite being left paralyzed in a swimming accident
Teamwork: She was just 17 when doctors told her that she would likely never walk again
Happy days: Jaquie and her husband Andy Goncher, 36, are expecting their child any day now
The photos, taken by Love Stories Co., feature Jaquie in a floral dress with shoulder-length pink hair, cradling her bump alongside her bearded husband.
Other snaps show the happy couple looking into each other’s eyes as they sit in front of a picturesque waterfall.
At 17 she had been paralyzed from the neck down after an accident in a swimming pool that left her floating face down in the water, believing she’d die.
Doctors told her the likelihood of her walking again was so low the percentage was ‘too small to put a number on.’
Jaquie, from Marietta, went from being an active teen who played softball to being wheelchair-bound.
However, the then-teen refused to be stuck in a chair and after meeting her now-husband, 36-year-old Andy Goncher, she was determined to not only walk down the aisle at their wedding but to also dance.
Perfect posing: The pair staged a touching maternity shoot to celebrated their happy news
Making it big: Jaquie has switched up her blue hair for bright pink since her wedding
She had worked hard to regain her ability to stand but Jaquie’s low blood pressure made it impossible for her to be on her feet for more than 30 minutes, according to ABC News.
After working with physical therapists, spending hours in the gym on a treadmill and exercising her core for strength, she was finally ready.
‘It was more than physically hard because I was an athlete…I knew how I should be working out and to do it halfway was emotional,’ Jaquie told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution .
When Jaquie’s big day finally arrived few people know she would be walking down the aisle.
‘I was so nervous. Those entire moments leading up to it, I thought I was going to throw up,’ she said.
On her way: Jaquie became paralyzed from the neck down at age 17 after an accident in a swimming pool and doctors said she would likely never walk again
Hard work: After she got engaged to fiance Andy Goncher, 35, she began working with physical therapists in order to walk down the aisle
Celebration: Jaquie began working with physical therapists and working out in a gym in order to prepare for her big day
Beautiful moment: Jaquie focused on working on her core strength to carry herself and also practiced walking on a treadmill
Finally, she made her way down the aisle to her husband.
‘After the wedding, we sat there and were like ‘I can’t believe we danced the entire wedding’ – it felt normal.
‘A lot of the times I’m in the wheelchair, so I can’t interact with people… I felt normal for once.’
‘I just felt blessed. I’ve been walking through journey of healing for eight years… I had to put my faith in God – it reminded me of how far I have come,’ Jaquie said.