Man with rare disease, wife celebrate 1-year anniversary at Arcadia hospital

ARCADIA, Calif. (KABC) -- Omar and Osiris Elhosseiny spent some of their greatest moments of despair as well as happiness at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia.

The two returned to the hospital Monday to celebrate a milestone - their one-year wedding anniversary.

Though their marriage is still in its early stage, the young couple has already overcome more obstacles than most partnerships see in a lifetime.

"I had flu-like symptoms. I thought it was just the flu. I stayed home from work a couple days, and just one day I started feeling like my hands were numb and weak," Omar Elhosseiny said.

Less than a month before their wedding last year, Omar Elhosseiny was rushed to the hospital unable to move.

"He came in complaining of weakness, generalized weakness that was rapidly progressing from his lower extremities and involving his muscles of breathing," said Dr. Rajiv Philip.

His team of doctors at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia quickly diagnosed him with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare bacterial disease that causes paralysis.

For 19 days, Omar Elhosseiny was in a medically induced coma. His future was uncertain but Osiris Elhosseiny never wavered.

"I knew he was going to come out of this. Like doctors weren't able to give us definite answers or tell us next week he's going to be doing this or he'll be doing this," she said. "But I just remained hopeful."

She married him while he was still in the hospital.

"We don't need the big wedding. We don't need the big banquet hall, the 200 guests," she said. "The essence of a marriage is just me and you."

Omar Elhosseiny has since made major strides, including getting the use of his arms and celebrating his one-year anniversary with the medical staff that helped save him.

He hopes to one day have his first dance with the woman who never left his side.