In sickness and in health: Bride with MS walks down aisle

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DES MOINES — To reach the front of the church and the side of the man she would marry, Meggie Young, formerly Meggie Morgensen, first had to train for an obstacle most brides don't fret about: walking down the aisle.

In sickness and in health: One bride's journey to the aisle

"I'm just so proud of her, she did it," Grant Young said of his bride, Meg Morgensen, after they were married on Saturday. Diagnosed with MS at 24, Meg was symptom free until March when a relapse hit her hard and threatened her walk down the aisle.

Brian Powers/The Register

The bride has multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord and can leave a person disabled. At 24, she was diagnosed with MS, the condition that drastically changed the way she lives. For her, MS can mean numbness, vision loss and shaking, among other symptoms. A March relapse left her having to re-learn to walk and relying on a crutch.

The relapse made being able to walk down the aisle a priority goal.

On Saturday, with friends and family watching, taking pictures and blowing her kisses, Meggie Morgensen walked down the aisle at Christ the King Catholic Church in Des Moines, flanked by her parents.

"He believed that I could walk down the aisle before I did," Morgensen said about her now-husband, Grant Young, as she got ready for the wedding. Someone handed her a stick of deodorant, and another person brought her the marriage license. "I can't wait to marry that person."

Before the wedding, she said she had not practiced the walk, the length of 20 pews, to save her energy. But she said she thought she was so excited that it would just happen.

It did.

"I was really nervous when she was up at the altar," said Jean Morgensen, the bride's mother. Due to the uncertainty MS had cast on her daughter's life — at one point even restricting her from talking — Jean Morgensen said she was proud of her daughter for pulling it off. "I really didn't think this would ever happen."

During the ceremony, through some of which she chose to stand, the bride held on to her groom for support.

The bride's voice cracked with emotion when she reached the "in sickness and in health" part of her wedding vows. The ceremony also contained a special prayer for people who live with MS.

"We were so proud of the fact that she was so courageous to go through the physical therapy … to make this work," said Tom Morgensen, the bride's father.

He said that as they walked down the aisle, both parents told their daughter how proud of her they were, and to just keep walking.

"She inspires us all to be able to get up in the morning," said Rick Young, the bride's father-in-law.

Contributing: Daniel Finney, The Des Moines Register. Follow Lissandra Villa on Twitter: @LissandraVilla

About multiple sclerosis

What is it? Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord.

Symptoms: Tingling, numbness, painful sensations, slurred speech and blurred or double vision. Some people experience muscle weakness, poor balance, poor coordination, muscle tightness or spasticity, tremors or paralysis. Problems with bladder, bowel or sexual function are common. MS can cause forgetfulness or difficulty concentrating. It can also cause mood changes and may make people more susceptible to depression.

Treatment: Several medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration have been effective in reducing disease activity in relapsing forms of MS. Several are given by injection, some are taken orally, and others are delivered by infusion.

For more information: MSsociety.org

Source: National Multiple Sclerosis Society