Mississauga couple celebrating and documenting their love through battle with MS

Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love, but one Mississauga couple is reminding everyone to continue to show that love every day.

Leilanie and Michael Marianetti’s love story started when they were high school sweethearts in 1987. Michael proposed 11 years later.

“He told me, ‘You’ll see, we’re going to end up getting married one day, you’ll see.’ And I said, ‘What do you know about marriage, you’re only 14?'” Leilanie shared.

And he was right, 11 years later, Michael proposed to Leilanie. But just days after she said yes, their lives changed.

“He was losing his balance and he just wasn’t himself. He said he’s having a lot of pain throughout his back,” explained Leilanie.

They were faced with a difficult battle; one that tested their faith and love for each other.

‘I remember the doctor saying, ‘You know what, we’re going to have to schedule you to go see a neurologist’,” she said. “He looked at the file and removed his glasses and he said, ‘Michael, I’m sorry the results came back, and you have Multiple Sclerosis’.”

Multiple Sclerosis or MS as it’s commonly referred to is an autoimmune disease that could lead to severe disability.

“I’ve loved this boy my entire life, and now the uncertainty of where our lives are going to take us was scary at that time”

And while it made Michael’s world smaller and harder, Leilanie knew he needed her more than ever.

“I remember one day we were in the car driving and running some wedding errands and Michael turned to me and said, ‘Listen, if you want to backout, I completely understand.’ I cried, I said, ‘How could you say such a thing. If the roles were reversed, would you have left me?’ and he said, ‘Of course not’.”

The couple is now fighting the battle with MS together today with three children in tow. Leilanie is a full-time caregiver to Michael who is in a wheelchair, but life still continues for the Marianettis.

“We made a decision to live life with hope and faith everyday than the alternative which is hopeless and defeated,” said Leilanie.

You can follow Michael and Leilanie’s story on their Instagram account, LavishedInGrace, where they document their love alongside Michael’s battle with MS to their over 22,000 followers.

The couple is also working with film actor and MS advocate Matt Embry on a documentary about Michael’s journey.