Our Champions
Invisible String: Our Love Story
Over the course of 12 years, with endless possibilities to cross paths, Johnny and I finally met when the stars aligned in 2015 at a Ravens tailgate in Denver, Colorado.
Let’s rewind, Johnny and I went to neighboring highschools in the Baltimore area–his, an all-boys school and mine an all-girls school down the road. We shared numerous mutual friends, and yet, despite being surrounded by endless dances, sporting events and high school gatherings, we never met. We even have a photo together, when we were home for Thanksgiving break in college, at a football game we were both at with friends. We’re sitting at opposite ends of the group picture but had no idea the other was even in the picture.
Fast forward to 2013-2014: Johnny was drafted to play professional lacrosse for the Denver Outlaws and I had already lived in Denver for 7 years after playing lacrosse in college at Regis. Both of us are now in the same city, intertwined in the lacrosse community with even more mutual acquaintances now, and still hadn’t met.
Then came 2015. I was headed to the Ravens game at Mile High Stadium and was invited to a tailgate by a mutual highschool friend. Johnny was a part of the group that she was with. Despite my mixed initial feelings about this rowdy, long-haired, headband and cutoff-wearing guy, I couldn’t help but feel drawn to him. I was captivated by his larger than life personality, his charisma–and those baby blue eyes.
By 2017, after two years of long-distance datings, I was moving out to California to start the next chapter of life together. We continued to have lacrosse intertwined in our lives. Coaching high school in the evenings, club on the weekends, and traveling for tournaments in the summer. There was an understanding of schedules and lifestyle that helped us blend so wonderfully together in our new lives. After 4 years of dating we got married in August of 2020, had our first son, Jett, in 2022 and by August of 2023 we had found out were we expecting our second son, Cruz. Our life was a blessing from above! To have met when we did and all of the magic that was to follow, well, it felt like fate.
Just one month after finding out we were expecting, our family was struck with the devastating news that Johnny had ALS. Then in true Johnny fashion, being the positive, strong willed and driven person he is, taking this head on ended up being the only option. Johnny decided “Win the day” was going to be his mantra and how he lived his life from there on out. He dove into research and found an amazing care team and he has helped connect countless others with them in hopes they too will find strength and hope. He speaks daily with other ALS patients, motivating one another. Then Johnny partnered with Augie’s Quest, started Athletes vs ALS, and revived the ice bucket challenge as the Plunge Challenge all to help bring awareness and raise funds for research. Fighting this disease head on has become Johnny’s mission and in doing so he hopes to motivate others to want to fight to find a cure.
Johnny has been inspiring to watch every day in his fight vs ALS. His “Win the day” attitude is contagious and I feel blessed that our boys have him to look up to as a motivator and loving father. We love you and stand with you forever.
