Given Second Chance At Life, Old High School Crushes Get Second Chance At Love
MODESTO (CBS13) – Even though Joe Hall lost the use of his legs and arms in a car accident 28 years ago, his perseverance has allowed him a second chance at his art and at love.
"I remember telling him 'God has somebody special for you.' But I didn't know it was me," Debi Hodge said.
"Well I was hoping it was her," Joe said.
Joe and Debi have known each other since they were kids, but it's taken almost three decades for them to finally be together.
"Through all those years I liked her and I kept it a secret," Joe said.
"I was really shy as well, and we just never said anything," Debi said.
They met back in high school in Kentucky.
After they both graduated, Debi got married and moved to California. Joe stayed in Kentucky where he survived a terrible car accident that left him a quadriplegic.
"I woke up in the hospital with a broken neck and I could not understand what happened," Joe said.
But Joe, who was always an athletic and artistic guy, decided he would continue drawing and taking pictures despite the loss of feeling in his hands.
He's mastered using his mouth to snap unbelievable pictures on his camera, and draws pictures using dots and lines for incredible detail.
"I wear a splint that goes on my wrist, and there's a pen that slides in the splint, right under my index finger, and I just basically use my arm to draw like this so I'm actually using my arm to draw," Joe said.
That resilience is something that Debi says drew her to Joe once she found his profile on Facebook, decades after they had seen each other back in high school.
"I had those little girl, young girl fluttery butterflies," Debi said. "Like 'Oh my God, it's Joe Hall. Like he actually had a crush on me.'"
They reconnected and, before long, they both knew they were in love and meant to be together.
"We talked for three hours and there was never a break in conversation. It was as if we had just talked all those years," Debi said.
A missed connection that came full circle, and a love story that's even sweeter the second time around.
"I always tell him, and I still tell him today, 'God saved you for a reason, he did. And I think that he saved you for me,'" Debi said. "He knows the right timing for people to be together."
Debi and Joe's plan is to move in together and have a commitment ceremony once their home is remodeled to fit Joe's needs. Joe is currently staying in a rehabilitation center until he and Debi can raise enough funds to buy a van that can fit Joe's wheelchair and to pay for the home remodeling costs.
If you'd like to help, go to http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-joe-get-new-wheels-/152630.