February 26, 2022 started off like any other Saturday for Aaron Wong.

He had been living in Singapore Cheshire Home for more than three years. Born with a genetic form of muscular dystrophy called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, Aaron needed caregiving support as he could not perform some basic actions such as standing up from a seated position.

After relocating back home to Singapore from Canada by himself in 2018, Aaron discovered he had no other option but stay at Singapore Cheshire Home, a residential home for the disabled. There, he had to adjust to communal living, and when COVID hit in 2020, he had to endure prolonged confinement.

That Saturday, Aaron’s physiotherapist had come to work with him on strengthening his arms and legs.

“I was eager to reach my goal of becoming more able-bodied. Whether through exercise or a miracle, I am trusting that God would heal me,” said Aaron, 43, who works as a sales specialist with multinational technology company Apple.

Aaron doing his physiotherapy exercises diligently.

Aaron and his physiotherapist went for a walk as part of his therapy. Along the way, Aaron slowed down as they made their way up a slight slope. When he tried to catch up with the therapist, his legs gave way.

He landed hard and at an awkward angle. A sharp pain shot up his left leg.

The therapist hurried over to help, but the pain became excruciating. Aaron found that he could not move his leg at all.

It was a Saturday, so the transport drivers at the home were off duty. If he were to go to the hospital for an X-ray, he would need to call for an ambulance which would cost him.

As Aaron mulled over this decision, he shared his dilemma with his friend Liu Yanjun over text. The two had connected several months ago on an online dating app.

Alarmed at his fall, Yanjun urged him to seek medical attention urgently.

“I will call an ambulance for you if needed. Just go,” she told Aaron.

He took her advice. The X-ray showed that he had fractured the bone right below his knee. The doctor informed him that his leg needed a cast immediately and he had to be admitted into hospital.

A million questions ran through his mind: How long would I need to be in the cast? When can I stand up again? Would muscular dystrophy affect my recovery time? How much is the cost of hospitalisation?

That night, he surrendered all his fears and anxieties to God.

He also thanked God that the doctor said his bone was not misaligned and hence he would not need surgery.

As he thought back about the events of the day, a warm feeling enveloped his heart. He recalled how Yanjun reacted to his fall, and her genuine concern touched him.

A divine online connection  

The pair had met at the watering hole of his generation: An online dating app called Facebook Dating.

Aaron had just turned 40 and longed for companionship and marriage. He had told the admissions committee of Singapore Cheshire Home then that the only way he would leave the home was if he got married and moved out.

Yanjun, then 39, was also single and had been waiting for years to settle down.

Stuck in a residential home for the disabled amid the pandemic lockdown, Aaron could only think of going online to find a partner.

“I was 40, not exactly the age most people would be entering the dating scene. On top of all the usual unknowns that come with online dating, I had the added pressure of sharing about my disability,” Aaron told Salt&Light.

“However, I took a stab in the dark and stepped out with the assurance that God would be my guide,” he added.

One profile caught his eye because they shared a number of mutual friends who were from Cornerstone Community Church.

“Hi, are you from Cornerstone?” Aaron messaged Yanjun. It turned out that they were attending the same church.

Yanjun was pleasantly surprised to receive a message from what looked like a genuine person, unlike others who did not seem to be there for a long-term relationship.

Besides checking out his profile picture, she zoomed in on his profile description.

Succinct and honest, it read: “I have more life stories to share than my career; am battling a physical condition”.

Sufficiently intrigued, she started chatting with Aaron online.

It helped that he was a believer as well, as it was one out of three criteria that she was looking for in a partner.

Naturally, she asked him more about his physical disability.

“Honestly, it was a bit disappointing to find out that he has a genetic muscular condition. But I felt it would be quite un-Christlike to stop talking to him just because of his disability. So I kept an open mind and thought I could just get to know a new friend,” said Yanjun. She also learnt that he was then living at the Singapore Cheshire Home. 

Aaron at the entrance of the Singapore Cheshire Home.

Aaron found Yanjun to be friendly and pretty. During the lockdown, he had the luxury of time to type out more thoughtful responses. He was glad that they shared similar key values and priorities: God, family and friends, and food.

As they kept up conversations day after day online, Yanjun realised that Aaron also met her two other criteria for a life partner. She wanted a partner whose family were also Christians, and for him, like her, to not have had any prior relationships.

Above all, she treasured their conversations that revolved around God. It was clear to her that Aaron had an intimate relationship with God; he often shared with her his blog articles that detailed his latest encounters with God.

Falling in love without meeting face-to-face

Month after month of online chatting passed. There was no let-up in the global pandemic situation so both of them still could not meet each other in person.

“I was gradually developing feelings for him. I was attracted to his heart. But it felt unreal that we had not even met in person so I did not know where this was heading to,” said Yanjun.

Prior to getting to know Aaron, she was already prepared to be single and had purchased her own two-room Build-To-Order flat, which was still under construction.

Knowing that Aaron had a physical disability was not a deal-breaker for Yanjun, as she found out that it would likely not significantly affect his life expectancy. She had had her own brush with breast cancer in 2019, and could empathise with those who lived with a medical condition.

“It took me a lot to eventually share with him my own journey with breast cancer,” she told Salt&Light. “Not everyone can accept it. But Aaron responded differently. He said he was happy that through the illness, I have my own testimony with God.”

His response moved her deeply, and that was when she began to feel the first warm flutterings of love.

Too good to be true: A big fat hope

Aaron, though he enjoyed chatting with Yanjun, was perpetually holding his breath and expecting her replies to stop one day.

Logically, he knew that for someone to consider him – a disabled person living in a care facility – as a romantic partner was  a long shot.

“It was a big, fat hope but I can’t explain it, I still had hope inside,” said Aaron. He was surprised to notice that they were still chatting seven months later.

During that period, although Cheshire Home was still under lockdown, exceptions were made for Aaron to go to the hospital for checkups for his broken leg.

On one such morning in May 2022, Aaron woke up with a radical idea.

He thought about making a detour after his checkup for a surprise visit to Yanjun’s school. She was a music teacher at an international school at the time.

Feeling adventurous, Aaron did not mull over whether it was a good idea that their first meeting was a surprise one, or that her first sight of him would be with his one leg propped up and still in a cast.

He asked the general manager of the home if he could take public transport home on his own instead of the usual van transport. He was given the green light.

Their first “date” 

After his visit to the doctor, Aaron navigated the subway to alight at Beauty World MRT station. From there, he wheeled himself down the road and waited for Yanjun outside her school.

Aaron had dropped her a text message saying that he was outside her school. Class had yet to be dismissed then, so she did not see his text.

When all the students had left, Yanjun was at the bus loading area when she thought she saw a man zooming past in his wheelchair, with one of his legs sticking out in a cast.

“Doesn’t that look like Aaron?” the thought crossed her mind. But she quickly brushed it aside, thinking that he was stuck in Cheshire Home with a broken leg.

When she got back to the staff room, she saw his message and realised it was indeed him.

“What a sight I must have been – in my wheelchair, with one leg propped up in a cast,” said Aaron.

Though he felt accomplished at he had pulled off the surprise, he was also anxious because he had not planned what to say after he met her.

Yanjun was completely caught off-guard. She also felt awkward and “paiseh”.

“He looked older than his profile picture. He also looked quite ‘uncle’ because he hadn’t had his hair cut in ages given the lockdown,” she said.

Unaware that he was coming to meet her, she had already made plans to repair a flute at Aljunied, so he accompanied her.

Aaron was nervous and quiet, unlike his chatty self online. Yanjun thought he did not seem too interested in engaging her.

After running the errand, they took a walk around the neighbourhood. Aaron then bought some Hokkien mee to takeaway for his dinner and they parted ways.

Yanjun was mentally prepared that it might be their first and last meeting.

“I thought he bade farewell quite abruptly. Perhaps it was because it was difficult for him to turn his wheelchair around to say bye,” she said.

Though Aaron did not feel butterflies in his stomach during their first meeting, Yanjun was increasingly on his mind.

They continued texting that night and arranged for a second date at the Botanic Gardens shortly after. They had a nice smoked beef dinner at the food court there, after which Aaron had to rush back to meet his 8pm curfew at the Home. Their conversations, however, grew in both length and depth.

By the time their third date rolled around, Aaron had something up his sleeve. He researched flower shops that were on the way to the venue of their dinner date, and popped into one to buy a rose for Yanjun.

“It was a simple task but it felt weighty as it was the first time I bought a flower,” said Aaron.

After their dinner at Tanjong Pagar, Aaron whipped out the rose and surprised Yanjun with it.

“I like you,” he confessed.

Yanjun was happy but not surprised. After receiving advice from her cell group leader, she had been dropping hints to him about the man needing to express his feelings clearly before they could take their relationship on to another level.

Aaron and Yanjun on one of their first few dates.

Having established that both of them were committed to each other, they turned to God in prayer together.

Praying and fasting together 

“We sought God’s guidance on whether this relationship would blossom and we prayed that our families, especially Yanjun’s, would accept me when it’s time to meet them,” said Aaron.

He knew that every parent of a daughter would expect her future husband to protect and provide for her.

“Looking at my wheelchair-bound state and the trajectory of my unconventional career path and uncertain future prospects, I did not feel confident that Yanjun’s parents would accept me. On the outside, I knew I did not tick all the right boxes,” he admitted.

Aaron and Yanjun on a picnic date in Sentosa.

So the two took to prayer and fasting as a way for them to connect with God and petition Him to move in the hearts of her family.

“We trusted that if it was God who brought us together, He would also open the door for us to continue in this relationship,” Aaron reasoned.

He first met Yanjun’s parents over a Japanese meal. Unlike Yanjun’s mother who seemed kind and accepting towards him, her father wore a more serious look.

“I thought there were some disapproving glances. I shifted nervously in my wheelchair and tried to push away discouraging thoughts,” Aaron told Salt&Light.

Despite the initial seemingly icy reception, Aaron reminded himself that God was in control of his relationship with Yanjun. He tried to just be himself ­– friendly and approachable ­– when he conversed with her parents in broken Mandarin.

Over time – meeting after meeting, week after week – Yanjun’s father gradually warmed up to Aaron and eventually grew to trust him.

Aaron also had to learn to trust Yanjun and overcome his embarrassment at having to trouble her to help him with one of the most intimate caregiving tasks – toileting – even during their initial dating days.

“I had to do it because there was no other option. I was afraid that I would not do it well but it was actually quite manageable. I realised that it is a good thing to be stretched in a relationship because that’s how we grow,” said Yanjun.

She knows Aaron’s condition may deteriorate over time, but she is not too worried about being unable to cope with caregiving for him.

“I am only afraid that I would not be able to take good care of him during the times when I fall ill myself. So we were on the same page that he would need a live-in helper in future,” she said.

Aware that having a life partner like Yanjun is hard to come by, Aaron quickly jumped into action to “chope” (reserve) her. Creatively, he asked a care worker from Cheshire Home who was heading home to Sri Lanka – a key source of fine gemstones in the world – to help him purchase a gemstone there. 

After waiting with bated breath for three weeks, his friend finally returned back to work with his precious cargo. His care worker friend had gotten a pink sapphire for Aaron at a bargain and with proper documentation of authenticity.

The pink sapphire that was procured from Sri Lanka.

“God orchestrated the perfect timing, with the sapphire arriving right before Yanjun’s birthday,” said Aaron. They celebrated her birthday with a romantic dinner and by the end of the evening, Aaron came away with a fiancé.

A home of their own: Prayers answered

The couple started looking for a home to call their own. Aaron had previously raised some money from a crowdfunding campaign that tapped on public support for him to live an independent life. 

They came to the conclusion that Yanjun, unfortunately, had to give up her deposit of around $20,000 that she had already placed for a two-room BTO flat as the unit would be too small for both of them and a helper.

Aaron’s family, who were excited and grateful to have Yanjun join their family, prayed that the couple would be able to find and afford a suitable flat despite the loss of the deposit amount.

It was no walk in the park for them to find a place that met all of Aaron’s requirements: A three-room HDB flat near East Coast beach (because he grew up in the area and had a brother living there) that was wheelchair-accessible and within budget.

“By God’s grace, we managed to find such a flat and the previous owners gave us a discount that was equivalent to the deposit I lost,” Yanjun said. “I am so thankful to have godly in-laws who prayed for our situation.”  

Aaron in his new wheelchair-accessible flat.

Aaron and Yanjun hosting friends in their new home.

On December 23, 2023, a groom was nervously waiting at the front of the room for his bride to appear.

Unlike the typical Instagram wedding – where the young and dashing bridegroom stands at the altar, beaming as his bride walks elegantly down the aisle to the tune of a tear-jerking ballad – Aaron was not standing at the front. He was sitting in his wheelchair.

He was a little older than the average groom at 43, and he had not come from home but straight from the Singapore Cheshire Home where he had been living  for the last five years.

The happy couple during their wedding shoot.

“When you look at my life, it seems like one challenge after another. Some may see them as obstacles, but I believe God sees them as opportunities to grow our trust in Him,” said Aaron.

Naysayers commented that he was lucky to have won the heart of Yanjun.

Yanjun begged to differ.

“This is how the world views inter-abled couples. But I felt that he is so godly, it is I who is not worthy of this match. He cannot physically take care of me, but what is more important is that he prays for me every day,” she said.

Aaron and Yanjun celebrating their union with their loved ones.

Aaron had not thought that dating and getting married was a possibility for him. His heart desired it, but he knew, practically it might not work. He had wondered: How could they go on dates while he was living at the home, or get married and live together? How could he provide financially for his wife, if his vocational options were limited?

Yet, he is now a homeowner, happily married to his best friend and employed by one of the biggest tech companies in the world.

Aaron’s 5th work anniversary at Apple.

“What I thought was completely unattainable and impossible, God made possible in six years. But more wonderful than these gifts is the Giver Himself. In moments of utter despair, I have been blessed by His presence and love for me,” Aaron said to Salt&Light.

For those – whether single or disabled – who are still waiting upon God for love and hope, Aaron has this word of encouragement.

“You are not alone in your waiting or suffering. God sees you. He hears you. He holds you. Believe in the impossible with God.”

This is the second half of a two-part story. Don’t miss the first part here. 

If you wish to purchase a copy of Aaron’s recently published book on his life story, email him at wongyelun@gmail.com. 

RELATED STORIES:

My name is Amelia Ng. I cannot speak, move or breathe on my own. But I can pray.

Business down by up to 97%, yet these restaurant owners are still giving to the community

Mother to a special needs girl, she longed for a baby boy but God asked: “What if the one I want to give you is not Joshua?”