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I’m skeptical when it comes to true love, but this couple might be the closest thing to it. When Steve and Hope Dezember, both from Johns Creek, Georgia, first met, they didn’t think much of it. It was your typical textbook date, complete with a romantic, candlelit dinner and Frank Sinatra playing in the background. It seemed as if nothing could go wrong with this picturesque scene.
No one could have expected what was to come.
Back in August 2011, just four months after their first date, doctors finally formed a clear diagnosis for Steve’s condition. The former engineering recruiter was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
Rather than be beaten by his illness, Steve took the chance to propose to the love of his life. He already had a ring prepared, however, he told Hope that he would understand if she didn’t want to pursue a relationship with an ALS patient.
“He said, ‘You don’t have to stay with me, you heard what the doctor said,'” Hope recalled during an interview with People. “I said, ‘I’m not going anywhere.'”
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Two months later, Steve and Hope walked down the aisle. Due to the nature of his condition, Steve wanted to be able to make the walk on his own two feet.
“It’s pretty wild. It’s an interesting thing when you get married and you don’t know how long you’re going to get with your husband,” Hope explained.
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Unfortunately, his condition wouldn’t wait for him. By January of the following year, Steve’s motor skills deteriorated. He fell more often and doctors had to insert a tube to help him breathe by 2013. His body weight was only 67 pounds. Hope had to watch his close brushes with death at least twice. Despite this, the two remain optimistic.
“When I look at him, he’s still just as handsome. He’s still cute. He doesn’t shave his beard anymore. He’s hairy, and I like that,” she said light-heartedly.
Their determination did not go unnoticed. The couple later worked together to create a documentary that followed them for two years following Steve’s diagnosis. The film, titled Hope for Steve, debuted in 2014 and is currently available on Netflix and Amazon.
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Hope couldn’t be happier that their love story could be immortalized as such.
Hope, now 32, left her job as a mental health therapist in order to care for her husband full time. She hasn’t heard his voice in years now, but she is still devoted as ever. Hope still questions why Steve asked if she didn’t want to marry him before. She admits that, even if she had the chance to go back, she would still say yes.
Doctors and nurses admit that there isn’t much left they can do for Steve, but Hope is determined to keep looking for ways to make her husband’s life comfortable.
Steve eventually spoke with People by using a computer program. He said:
“It’s not easy to know you’re on the path of being not able to move. It’s really a lot to deal with but I feel rather optimistic for having the prognosis I have. My days are spent watching the squirrels and when I have energy I watch TV and work the stock market. Hope is an angel, I’m so thankful she has stuck it out with me every single day.”
Just recently, Steve managed to muster up enough strength to work on another hobby he loves: painting. His condition makes it hard to work the brush himself, so he picks the paint colors and then tells people to maneuver his chair in certain ways to paint. He expects to have some paintings for sale sometime in August.
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“I’m fighting for the cure. I’m fighting to stay alive for when that cure happens,” Steve said. Hope added her own words as well. “The truth is we feel the weight of the heavy stuff, we don’t deny that it’s hard and it’s sad. We mourn when he loses some of his function, but we also find what’s left and we’re thankful for that. At the end of the day he’s still here and we still get to spend our days together.”
More information about Steve’s work and their story can be found on their website, hopeforsteve.com.
