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Lindsay Hance and John Kenyon were wed Nov. 8, 2014, at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Tampa. A reception at the Tampa Firefighters Museum followed.
Lindsay Hance and John Kenyon were wed Nov. 8, 2014, at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Tampa. A reception at the Tampa Firefighters Museum followed.
Published Dec. 20, 2014

SOUTH TAMPA — If courage could be measured by the bucket, Lindsay Hance and John Kenyon would have boatloads.

"He's the hero," she says of her firefighter husband. "He risks his life every day."

No way, John shakes his head. "She's the brave one ... surgery after surgery after surgery."

On this both agree: Their shared strengths make the newlyweds an invincible team.

Although acquainted since middle school, the two scarcely saw each other after graduating from Plant High in South Tampa. Then, in July 2012, they both landed on a midnight shark-fishing outing at the invitation of some former classmates.

Tampa native John, 28, remembered back to "when she was the new girl in school," he said. "She used to babysit for my cousins." Lindsay was 11 years old when her Air Force colonel father was transferred from Fairbanks, Alaska, to MacDill Air Force Base.

Boating with old friends was a welcome escape, said Lindsay, who would soon undergo a 12th operation on her foot. "I knew I wouldn't be mobile for a while, so fishing was just what I needed."

Nobody caught a shark, but she certainly caught John's attention.

"I was so shocked when he walked into my hospital room the morning after the surgery," she said. "I had no idea he was interested. He never even asked for my phone number."

Her mother actually rode up in the elevator with the 6-foot-tall fireman, who was clutching a big bouquet of flowers. When John exited left and she turned to the right, Valerie Hance wished it was her daughter the handsome stranger was coming to see.

A second later, as if she had willed it, her future son-in-law arrived at Lindsay's door.

Pushing past tremendous pain and nausea, Lindsay beamed. John stayed just long enough to ask if he could bring dinner over when she felt better.

Soon they were catching up on a decade of life-altering events. He told her about wanting to join the Marines but instead leaving Florida State in his senior year to train as an emergency medical technician. He has worked for Tampa Fire Rescue since 2010.

Lindsay, 29, graduated from the University of Florida and worked in women's fashion and for a high-clearance military contractor. She shared how "someone's horrifically poor judgment" led to a firearm accidentally discharging in January 2010. The shooting blasted a large portion of her foot, and doctors thought they might have to amputate it.

"But two amazing surgeons at Tampa General worked a miracle," she said. In multiple operations, they reconstructed the foot using a bone graft, a lateral muscle from her back and skin taken from her thigh. She didn't walk for eight months.

After her 13th surgery, and after barely two months as a couple, John slept in her hospital room, on call to carry her to the bathroom a dozen times through the night. There were countless more piggyback rides, including treks all over a resort in Mexico where they attended a friend's wedding.

"Anything to ease her pain," he said, which included changing dressings on her leg, driving to doctors' appointments and baking cookies for her Bible study. "Nobody deserves anything like that, least of all her, the nicest person I've ever met."

John dived deep for his proposal. Early one morning in May 2013, he woke Lindsay, by then an office manager for a business services company, with an idea to visit the Florida Aquarium. After a lap around the exhibits, he steered her to the coral reef as divers appeared in the shark tank.

"He's really shy, so I knew something was up when they asked for a volunteer and he raised his hand," Lindsay said.

John approached as they unfurled a treasure map that said, Lindsay Hance, Will You Marry Me? Onlookers clapped and whistled and a photographer friend popped out snapping engagement pictures.

The Rev. Kathy Conner officiated at First Presbyterian Church of Tampa on Nov. 8. She has known the couple since they were teens and led prayer circles after Lindsay's injury. Nine bridesmaids, 10 groomsmen and 150 guests celebrated during dinner at the Tampa Firefighters Museum.

Mr. and Mrs. Kenyon rocked to a band and later a DJ on the crowded dance floor, too ecstatic to feel her right foot and his two left feet.

Contact Amy Scherzer at ascherzer@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3332.