Sheffield, 46, couldn't see the bustle in the room; she
is blind. But she could feel the excitement in the air.
"My heart is beating fast," she said. "My stomach is churning."
In less than an hour, she began her
life with George Byrd, 46. The two have a lot in common:
Both have been divorced. Both have children. Both are
HIV-positive. Sheffield lost her sight to the disease;
Byrd lost one of his legs. Now they have each other.
"Everybody was so elated for the couple,"
said Bernice Thomasel, addictions counselor at Max Robinson,
an HIV/AIDS treatment center. When they heard about
the wedding, "they immediately made a potluck list."
Byrd said he loved Sheffield from the
first time he saw her. They met at Max Robinson in April
last year. They attended many of the same support groups,
from spirituality to health education. He said they
quickly became friends, but it took him a few months
to ask her out.
On Aug. 24, 2001 -- the day before
her birthday -- he asked Sheffield on their first date.
After that, friends said, Byrd was obviously smitten.
He would take Sheffield's hand, or she would rest her
hand on his shoulder during support groups, said Terry
Williams, a friend from Max Robinson.
Beverly Becton, another friend, said
the biggest tip-off came when she went out for fried
chicken with the couple and Byrd paid for everyone:
"I told her, 'You're gonna get a good husband.' "
Their courtship wasn't all fun and
fried chicken. Byrd learned in October that his leg
had to be amputated. The surgery was scheduled for Dec.
28, and he would be hospitalized for a month.
So on Dec. 21, a week before his operation,
he asked Sheffield to marry him. It happened during
check-in at 10 a.m. on a Friday, in front of all their
friends at Max Robinson. Sheffield accepted. And the
people in the center clapped and cheered and cried.
Though the amputation went smoothly,
Byrd landed back in the hospital on life support in
March because of his asthma. Sheffield was by his side.
"I have been near death, had a leg amputated . . . and
she's been there for me more than people could see,"
he said. "She keeps me wanting to live."
They spent half the night before the
wedding on the phone, Sheffield said. She was staying
at her mother's home in Rockville.
"He calls her, like, every five minutes,"
said her 9-year-old daughter, Angel Sheffield.
Clients and staff at Max Robinson took
care of the wedding arrangements. They brought Valentine's
Day decorations and trinkets from their own weddings.
About 25 people crowded into Max Robinson's
tight quarters. Byrd stood at the front of the room
in a new white button-down shirt and white pants, leaning
on crutches. All eyes turned to Sheffield as she walked
down the aisle in a beaded white suit and new white
pumps to "My Love, Sweet Love" by Patti LaBelle.
Then the couple was off for a "weekend
getaway" in Oxon Hill. A wedding picnic with family
is scheduled for this afternoon.
"They are in love so much it's sickening,"
Williams said. "I'm like, 'C'mon, y'all, let's save
a little something for later on.' "
© 2002 The Washington
Post Company
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