Father of the groom

Have you had a chance to see the pictures released from the Jenna Bush-Henry Hager wedding held Saturday, May 10, at the Prairie Chapel Ranch in Texas?  When I browsed through the photos, I admired all of the elegant wedding features...the Oscar de la Renta dress, the contented looks of the wedding party, the towering cake and the flowers, but one detail really caught my attention.  The major question on my mind was even a little surprising to me.  What I really wanted to know more about was:  Why is the groom's dad using a wheelchair?

It turns out Henry's father John Hager has a disability.  He uses a manual wheelchair because he contracted polio when he was in his 30s.  I wasn't able to find tons of references about his condition, but the Wikipedia entry for his name says:  "Hager contracted polio when his son was vaccinated for the disease with live virus vaccine in 1973."

When the Republican ran for Virginia lieutenant governor, The Washington Post ran this colorful story about his escapades.  It sounds like Hager is well acquainted with the challenges of having limited mobility.  He has been helped up and down stairs, driven vehicles with hand controls, competed in wheelchair races and even lost a job promotion because people judged him to be incapable. 

In a report on Newsmax.com, I loved the line:  "John Hager vigorously danced from his wheel chair, twirling his wife Maggie around him." 

Of course, I hope the newlyweds have a happy honeymoon in Europe, but meanwhile I hope the father of the groom keeps on twirling.