Dumped By Husband Of 14 Years After Stroke, Paralysed Mom Of 4 Finds Love In Her Gym Trainer

Love, they say, is the most wonderful feeling of them all. And they couldn’t be more right. It is love that gives you the strength to fight the cruel world, it is love that liberates you from the shackles of your insecurities and it is love that binds two souls in a bond unbreakable.

37-year-old Riona Kelly from Yorkshire suffered a major stroke in March 2015. But it wasn’t just the physical ailment. According to her, she was also dumped by her husband of 14 years because the stroke left her paralysed from the waist down. 

She suffered a spinal stroke and the doctors who treated her ruled that she would never be able to walk again.

The pair who have four children together hit rock bottom after Riona’s ex-husband, Richard reportedly asked her for a divorce, just five days into her hospital stay. She told The Sun,

“LOOKING BACK I WAS MISERABLE IN MY MARRIAGE, BUT WE HAD BUILT A LIFE TOGETHER AND HAD RESPONSIBILITIES. IT WAS THE TIME I NEEDED MY HUSBAND THE MOST.

AFTER SUFFERING A STROKE NOT ONLY DID I HAVE TO DEAL WITH PARALYSIS BUT I HAD TO DEAL WITH LOSING MY PARTNER OF 14 YEARS.”

It was apparently an earlier car accident that brought her all the problems with her spine.

Adapting to a wheelchair wasn’t easy. Especially without her husband by her side. 

“THE FIRST TIME I WENT OUT IN A WHEELCHAIR I THOUGHT EVERYONE WAS LOOKING AT ME, I HATED IT AND HATED MYSELF. IF SOMEONE HAD GIVEN ME THE CHOICE I WOULD HAVE ENDED MY LIFE, I DIDN’T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE.”

While it could be a deadly blow to one’s emotional balance and mental state, Riona was lucky to have found a second chance with both life and love. She soon met a personal trainer, Keith Mason and the rest is a story for books. 

Believe it or not, it was during her physiotherapy sessions that the duo fell in love with each other. Recalling the way he helped her walk again, she said, 

 “After our sessions, Keith and I stayed in contact, he would ask me how I was getting on and our relationship blossomed from there. We have now been together for 11 months, the children really like him and I finally feel like I’m living the life I deserve. Looking back, going through what I did was the best thing to ever happen to me.I’m now back in the gym, and with Keith’s help I’m getting better and stronger than ever.”

Rion is mother to Leighanra (16) Caleb (11), Izabela (9) and Logan (5). And needless to say, she has found happiness with Keith, who has daughter Kalani (5) from a previous relationship.