Checkup

In Sickness and in Health

After 25 years together, the Ramoses say they have come to live their vows.

Hospital room wasn't Rome, but renewing vows motivates recovery from debilitating illness

When George and Lucy Ann Ramos were married in the fall of 1981, they pledged like couples do, to stay together in sickness and in health.

It turned out to be one of the most important vows they could make to each other. Ramos was a federal agent until 1993 when Guillain-Barré syndrome first struck. The rare inflammatory disorder occurs when the body's immune system attacks the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, causing severe weakness, even paralysis, of the legs arms, upper body and face. Doctors don't know what causes the syndrome, but evidence suggests it can be brought on by something as simple as a viral infection or minor surgery.

Ramos recovered, but not without residual effects, including the loss of motor skills and fine dexterity. That meant he could no longer qualify to carry a weapon and had to take early retirement. He became a professor of criminology at Florida Metropolitan University in Jacksonville, and his life flourished for more than a decade.

One morning in the summer of 2006, he felt the telltale signs. "The first time I'd had it, it started with numbness and tingling in my feet, and my eye drooped," he says. "That morning in late August I got up and felt the same way. It had been 13 years, but I knew right away what it was."

Unfortunately, he was among the one in 10 people who suffer a relapse of Guillain-Barré syndrome, and the second time around was much worse. Ramos, 51, was unable to speak, move or breathe without assistance. He was on a ventilator and spent more than 50 days at St. Luke's Hospital.

He and his wife had planned a trip to Rome to reaffirm their wedding vows on their 25th anniversary. When the relapse intervened, the Ramoses decided it was the ceremony that was important, not the location.

On Oct. 17, in a hospital room crowded with family, friends and hospital staff, the two emotionally renewed their vows during a special mass conducted by the Rev. Bernard Ahern, a Jacksonville priest .

"I wouldn't have had it any other way," says Ramos. "It was absolutely special to be there in the presence of the people who care about us the most. Celebrating 25 years, we have come to live our vows. After that much time, the vows — for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health — have come alive."

Respiratory therapist Gee Zimpfer says Ramos worked hard to prepare for the big day. First, Ramos had to learn to breathe on his own. He had to get accustomed to a trach collar, a device that fits over the tracheotomy — an opening in the throat that provides oxygen and humidity. Then he had to get used to using a special valve that was inserted in the collar that enabled him to speak so he could say his vows. Finally, he had to pass a swallowing test so he could eat a piece of his anniversary cake.

"He was really motivated to be ready for the ceremony, and he was," says Zimpfer.

Nurse manager Laura Brown says her staff was honored to witness such a moving event.

"It was a beautiful ceremony," she says. "You could just tell how much they love each other. It was a very uplifting experience for me and a huge morale booster for the staff to see something so positive."

Three days after the ceremony, Ramos had improved so much that he was discharged to an inpatient rehabilitation center to complete his occupational and physical therapy regimen.

"When we renewed our vows, we realized that when we said them 25 years ago, it was romantic. But when we said them again, it meant so much more," says Lucy Ann. "George is taking his recovery step by step and gives it 150 percent. I have no doubt he'll get back to the point of being independent soon."

Ramos is determined to walk and use his hands again.

"He told his doctor that he wants to be able to take control of the television remote again," she laughs.