Not all happy endings are the stuff of fairy tales or romantic movies.
Sometimes they occur in real life too.
You need look no further than the can’t-stop-smiling Kelly Ellinger and Rob Klingelheber, who are being married today in an appropriate happily-ever-after location — the wedding pavilion at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Yes, fate definitely played a hand in bringing together this pair, who graduated in 1986 from Cuyahoga Falls High School but never dated back then.
But faith, both agree, had a far more significant role.
Kelly and Rob very generously wrangled time from their tireless schedule to talk with me before leaving to get married.
What makes their love story so heartwarming — “heart” being the operative word here — is the bride’s incredible journey.
Her own heart was weakened beyond repair in 2003 by Churg-Strauss syndrome, a very rare autoimmune disease for which there is no cure.
While doctors tried to do everything they could to improve her heart function, Kelly went about the serious business of trying to help others with their spiritual journey. Or, as she put it, “at least give them the tools to start.”
She embarked on a campaign based on Randy Alcorn’s book The Treasure Principle: Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving, raising $600 to purchase 168 Bibles, which she distributed to the Haven of Rest, the Battered Women’s Shelter, Oriana House, Safe Landing, Interval Brotherhood Home and Summa’s Alcohol and Drug Rehab Center. That was in late April 2004.
A short time later, the then-36-year-old found herself on the receiving end of a boomerang blessing of her own: a call from the Cleveland Clinic that they had a heart for her. Ironically, she was in church on May 1, 2004, when she got the good news.
She packed light for the journey to the hospital but took the few remaining Bibles to place in the clinic’s waiting rooms.
“I look back and think I was given a whole new beginning to life that day. I only hope that I helped others with their new beginning of life as well,” she would say following her lifesaving surgery.
The effervescent Kelly has certainly done that and more. She made a promise to herself after the operation that she would always “have a heart for doing good.”
The career interior designer made good on that promise, enrolling at Malone University and getting a degree in social work so she could work with potential donor families.
Today she’s in her dream job as an in-house transplant coordinator for all six of Summa Health System’s hospitals.
And now for the proverbial icing on the cake. She’s marrying Rob, the man who shares her love of Disney, and he’s marrying the woman who shares his love of John Wayne movies and NASCAR.
Although Kelly and Rob were friends in high school, they never connected romantically and went their separate ways. Rob left the area, joined the Army, was married, had a son and was later divorced.
After reading my column about Kelly, he decided to friend her on Facebook. “I wanted to know more,” he said.
Lots of long-distance phone calls ensued. However, it would be a while before they formally declared their feelings for one another.
“It was complicated,” Kelly said. “I needed to finish school and I had accumulated quite bit of debt,” stemming from the heart transplant, the lengthy hospitalization and the anti-rejection medications.
“Plus, I never depended on a man before! But he grew on me,” she added, her smile widening.
“I still saw the girl I went to school with,” Rob beamed, looking at his bride-to-be. “But she had grown into this wonderful woman. Her whole story and her passion was so beautiful.
“And she does so much for everyone,” Rob, who is in sales, added about Kelly’s job.
“I have learned that [organ] donation is not for every family. Some just can’t get past what they’re going through,” she said. Her role is not to push them to choose donation, but to get the parties to make up their minds one way or another within a small window of time.
It’s emotional, yes, but Kelly never shares her own history with potential donor families, not wanting to influence their decision.
Over time, Kelly and Rob began to look at what could have been stumbling blocks as stepping stones to the future.
Rob lured her away one evening to a fancy restaurant in Cleveland, different from past outings, and encouraged her to “get dressed up.” He got the distinct impression she was expecting a proposal. He delighted in watching her squirm.
The ring and proposal came later that evening on bended knee, exactly a year ago today.
About choosing Disney for their wedding backdrop, Kelly and Rob said it is a happy place, which Kelly has visited 25 to 30 times over the years. In fact, she worked five years for Disney in the early 1990s, helping open new stores and once upon a time anticipating a career in animation.
Rob, a virtual newbie by Kelly’s standards to Disney, is now as addicted to the big park as she is. (Well, almost.) She’s even gotten him collecting and trading Disney pins.
“She never ceases to amaze me. Nothing really stops her,” Rob said.
“She puts in 40 hours a week unless there is a donor. Then she’s there longer. She always on the computer, checking the status of possible donors. It’s a whole different meaning for her and I completely get it!”
As if working and planning a formal wedding hasn’t kept her busy enough, Kelly also is writing a book about her journey. “I just want someone to know I was here and this is what I did,” she said.
Asked why they chose Disney for their wedding, Kelly, never skipping a beat, replied, “Life is too short! Never ever take it too seriously!”
Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or emailed at jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com.