A change of heart — literally — moved this couple to renew their wedding vows
CBC
Bonita and Dex Pelley stand in Bridie Molloy's, a lively pub in downtown St. John's, wearing a wedding dress and a suit. These are the same outfits they wore 24 years ago, the first time they said, "I do."
Now they're doing it all again, but this time, with a change of heart.
"He proposed to me before the transplant and he said, 'If I get through this, marry me again,'" Bonita Pelley told CBC News at the ceremony. "And here we are, and this is 24 years later and we are so grateful."
Surrounded by friends and family, the couple are celebrating not just a long and happy marriage, but a recent heart transplant that saved Dex's life.
A genetic disease called ARVC, or arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, runs in Dex's family.
His mother and sister both passed away due to the condition, and his brother and another sister have been diagnosed as well.
"I guess there are a lot of people out there who don't realize they have a genetic problem," Dex said. "I was fortunate that they found it 10 years before I had any symptoms and they put a defibrillator in me.
"The first time I had the arrest, I didn't even know I had it."
Dex explains that his symptoms started small; the first time he had a cardiac arrest, he didn't know what exactly has happened until he got a call from the hospital three days later.
"Basicially, it's the gene, tells the heart to stop," Dex said.
A few weeks after the vow renewal, he and Bonita sit down in their living room with CBC News to tell their full story. A fireplace crackles near them in their new home that's decked out in Christmas decorations.
It's been a year since Dex got his new heart, a journey that was many years in the making.
Now, the Pelleys find reasons to celebrate every day.
"This Christmas is like, wow, I feel like I'm a little 10-year-old again," said Bonita, as she holds Dex's hand. "Just, you know, to have our Christmas again."
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