We hear a lot about the power of love, but it’s not every day you see it clearly captured on video. Take a look at the following clip of Ryan Manning and his 61-year-old mother, Mary Ann, at his recent September 5 wedding in Dana Point, California.
At the time the video was taken, Mary Ann had been battling stage IV breast cancer for three years. Before the wedding, she was extremely weak and frail. And yet, according to her obituary, she had one final goal in mind–making it to Ryan’s big day for the traditional mother-son dance.
She did just that, mustering the strength to get out of her wheelchair to dance to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for more than two minutes.
"It was incredibly emotional, especially to see her pop out of the wheelchair," her daughter Karie Chamberlain told KTVU. "For the days leading up to the wedding, we were helping her do everything, even walk. To see her just jump up, it was amazing."
After the song ended, Mary Ann was surrounded on the dance floor by her husband and family, who showered her with kisses. The whole thing was wondrous to behold.
"I think that everybody kind of realized what they were seeing, and what they were seeing was an incredibly strong woman doing a magnificent thing,” Ryan said. “A miracle.”
Three days after the wedding, Mary Ann passed away. But not before giving everyone at the wedding–and all the viewers of this touching video–something to remember.
That there really is nothing like the power of love and, especially, the bond between mother and child. A remarkable, inexplicable force that makes even the impossible possible.
Have you ever witnessed first-hand the miraculous power of love? Share your story below.
