Watch CBS News

Man Refuses To Allow Deadly Disease To Keep Him From The Altar

TEMPLE CITY (CBS) — Manny Sosa will be married Monday.

Normally, that wouldn't be newsworthy. He's not famous. And he's not marrying royalty or a Kardashian.

But his love story is one of triumph over tragedy. And the love between Manny Sosa and Adriana Tofoya rivals that of any in a storybook.

When they exchange "I dos' Monday, both Sosa and Tofoya will share more than just their love. They will both reflect on the fact that Sosa wasn't supposed to be healthy enough to make it to the altar in the first place.

Edward Lawrence, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, spoke to the happy couple Sunday.

Says Sosa, "OK, this is going to happen. I never thought this would happen. You think of the perfect day… sometimes you just can't believe that it's happening."

A blood transfusion when he was a child saved his life -- but also gave him Hepatitis C. Now, 44, Sosa is battling the often-deadly disease. Without a liver transplant, doctors say he will surely die.

"I've experienced some really bad days where.. bad weeks...we thought a couple times I would not make it you know.."

To make matters worse, Sosa also has a potentially fatal blood clot doctors are unable to fix with surgery. On their wedding eve, the couple is trying not to focus on the part of the vows that mention till death do us part.

Says Tofoya, "I would never ever leave him. I am here to stay and I want to be right there next to him."

His disease made Sosa so incapacitated that doctors told him not to work. As if money wasn't already an issue -- hospital bills have wiped out his savings --the cost of the couple's dream wedding was out of reach.

Fate intervened. Tofoya got an E mail from a non-profit group called "Wish Upon A Wedding," asking for a donation.

"Wish Upon A Wedding" makes dream weddings come true for people facing life-threatening illnesses.  Instead of being a donor, she wondered if she could be a recipient. Tofoya sent them a request in December and the next month, the couple found out they were accepted.

And here comes the bride! "We would talk about getting married, but we never followed through with it because of the stress," says the future Mrs. Sosa.

They met in 2006. She knew he was the one right away. Told friends, co-workers, her mom. He asked her out three years later, she said yes, but he got sick and spent more than eight months in the hospital. So this couple has already been tested by the sickness and in health part.

Sosa says, matter-of-fact, "I got sick… and she stuck by me. I could not ask for anything more than that."

The couple will tie the knot in a small, intimate affair at the fancy Maxwell House in Pasadena.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.