Guest Blog: Julie Cozort’s Father’s Day Blessing

Recently I had the pleasure of photographing the beautiful wedding of Julie and Shaun Cozort (Coverage coming soon). I entered the wedding day with the same excitement and passion I do every wedding, but little did I realize I would be photographing two miracles who were lucky to be alive and whom made Julie and Shaun’s wedding day much more special. Julie’s Dad’s (Paternal Father and Step father) were each involved in life threatening circumstances, but their perseverance and immense love from family helped provide them with the strength and will to keep going. Below is an open letter from Julie Cozort expressing the blessing and miracle she experienced having both father figures at her wedding and the gratitude she feels having each one by her side on this Father’s Day.

I can only say I am humbled and full of gratitude to have been a part of Julie and Shaun’s joyous wedding day.

Julie Cozort Open Letter:

There are so many parts of a wedding and photos a bride looks forward to on her big day. From seeing the reaction from her soon-to-be husband when she first walks out in her dress with her hair and make-up all done, the moment it becomes official and she will have a new last name, her first dance with her prince charming, all the way down to that picture perfect moment when they’re about to cut the cake. Among those pictures, she looks forward to the ones with her girls, her family, the little touches she’s added and the ones of her shoes and jewelry. For this will be one of the last times that she will ever work so hard to be this beautiful on such a special day.

Naturally, I was overwhelmed with joy when I saw all the lovely photos our photographer had taken of my new husband and I, but it was the ones with my dads that really made me cry. Yes, I have two dads. And what made their photos so special is that there was a time when I didn’t think they would both even be alive to witness our wedding, walk me down the aisle and that special moment when a daughter gets to dance with her father on the wedding day.

Just a few weeks after my husband and I got engaged in 2014, celebrating one of the happiest times in our lives, we were struck with the news that my father had been admitted into the hospital for pneumonia. It was only the beginning of the heartache that we would experience for the next 3 months. A few days later he was released and sent home only to go into cardiac arrest after a day of being home. Thanks to the quick thinking of my brothers and stepmom, they called 9-1-1 and he was immediately rushed to the hospital. After what felt like an eternity, a doctor came to us and told us to prepare for the worst. My dad had what’s called a pulmonary edema and all of his major organs had begun to shut down. At that point, I don’t remember what else the doctor said but I wept for my father and just held on to my brothers. In that moment, I had wished it were me instead of him. We were then allowed to see my dad who was now intubated and lifeless. I stayed in the room and cried a bit more, but held a lot of it in to try and remain strong for my family. I stayed for as long as I could hold it in and left to be alone. I remember sitting in my car in the parking lot of the hospital screaming and crying to God asking, “Why?! “

After mustering up the courage to go back in and see my father, a miracle happened. He opened his eyes and mouthed, “What happened?”  Because of the tubes, he could not speak. The man who we feared was dead, was our superman coming back to life.

My dad was intubated for 3 weeks and for the next 2 1/2 months, we would have to go through this again. I was with him every single day and just prayed.  I even watched football with him and just wished we could be cheering together but he just slept.  I would never wish this upon anyone. Seeing someone you love go through so much is one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever been through in my life.

By the grace of God, lots of prayer and an incredibly smart doctor, we finally figured out the treatment my dad needed to fix his pulmonary disorder. In March 2015, we were able to take him home and he has not returned to the hospital since.

Flash forward toward the end of the year. I get a call from my brother. “Jewels, dad has been in an accident.” The dad what he was referring to was my stepdad—a man who has been in my life since I was 2-years-old. My mom says that I was tough on him when we first met but all these years later, I can’t even bring myself to call him a stepdad because to me he is my father.

My now husband and I rushed to the hospital as fast as we could. I remember it was raining that night and as we were driving and hit a lot of traffic due to another accident on the freeway. We were literally stuck for about 20 minutes and again when you’re in the situation, always feels like an eternity. I was tempted to get out of our car and beg the officers to let us through. I didn’t know how bad the accident really was, but I felt so desperate to make sure that my father was okay and see him.

I walked right into the hospital, asked where my father was, and rushed to his room. There he was, full of blood and I just froze thinking, “God why is this happening again?” We later found out that his car had flipped over and thanks to a good Samaritan was pulled out of the vehicle. He suffered a few fractures and a pretty bad laceration to his eye, some cuts and bruises but the worst part of all, they had discovered a mass in his kidney. The accident was truly a blessing in disguise since we later found out the mass was an aggressive form of cancer.

The months after the accident were tough. Not only was he dealing with the aftermath of the accident, but now knowing there was a mass in his kidney that needed to be removed and not knowing exactly what it was at that time. I watched my dad suffer so much. The physical part was easy, it was the emotional part that killed him and killed us all.

Just a couple months before the wedding, the doctors gave him two options. Remove the mass and risk it coming back and having kidney complications, or remove the kidney completely. I’ll never forget the day he went in to surgery. I remained strong as they took him away, but burst into tears once they rolled him away. Today, he lives with one kidney but a whole lot of heart and determination.

I learned many lessons through these tough times but I think the one that sticks with me the most is the power of love. You see, the theme that played throughout entire wedding was the word LOVE. We purposely sprinkled that word throughout the venue, from it being the focal point of our backdrop to all of the love from the people who helped make the day magical.

Today, I firmly believe that both my dads are alive because of LOVE. My dad, after having come home from the times in the hospital, has been taken care of by my stepmom. It’s a little complicated and we won’t get into that, but technically they’re not married anymore. That is true love and devotion, taking care of him the way she has and nursing him back to health. My stepdad, I too feel is alive and in good spirits today because of the love from my mother who has stood by his side through all of this. I have so much to learn from these women and how LOVE can endure all things. I am blessed to have such great examples of what this is to carry with me into my marriage and blessed that God has given me another chance to have my two dads in my life.

Having my fathers present to give me away and now having their photos that will last a lifetime mean more to me then I can explain. On the heels of Father’s Day, may you know that gifting my father’s with these photos and the moments captured are truly one of the most special gifts that I will ever be able to give my dads.