GAIL WHITE In sickness and in health: an unlikely love story

"I will never forget the day I met her," says Jeff Mikesell of his fianc & eacute;, Denise Sonnenlitter.
Denise, born and raised in Hubbard, and Jeff, a native of Niles; their two paths had never crossed.
But like all good love stories, one day their two worlds met.
Their story: Denise was interviewing for an exercise specialist position at Quantum Fitness in Howland. Jeff, the facility manager for Quantum, was sitting in on the interview.
"She made such an appearance," he recalls. "She had such energy."
Having just met this young man, I feel as if he is describing himself. There is an energy about him - a "let's go conquer the world" kind of energy that is motivating me as I sit across the desk from him.
According to Jeff, Denise is much more fabulously energetic than he.
Denise landed the job on that fated day - and captured Jeff's heart.
"We fell in love," Jeff beams. "It was like a fairy tale."
In March of 2001, Jeff asked Denise to marry him.
"It was a pretty big deal," this dynamic 30-year-old smiles. "I got down on one knee ... told her this is where I want to be in my life -- with you. ..."
His feelings for his bride-to-be cannot be hidden. He is absolutely, totally in love.
"She accepted," he adds, with a smile.
The two began planning their big day. April 6, 2002, was set as the date of their union.
Along with the wedding plans came job changes.
Jeff became the aquatic director at the Youngstown YMCA. Denise left the fitness field for a promising position with Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
A persistent cough: With the hectic schedule of planning a wedding and starting a new job, Denise ignored the hacking cough she had acquired.
Probably a touch of flu, the 24-year-old fitness expert thought.
The coughing progressed into violent attacks that would invoke vomiting.
On Feb. 21, the week after her bridal shower, Denise had a coughing attack at work.
It is another day that Jeff will never forget. It is the day the fairy tale ended.
"I asked her to come home," Jeff says. He rushed her to the hospital.
Denise was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, kidney cancer.
"When you go in for a cough and are told that you have a mass on your right side ...," Jeff begins, unable to finish the sentence. He simply has no words to describe the horror.
"Kidney cancer is not prevalent in young people," Jeff explains.
Denise, a picture of fitness and health, further defies the profile.
"Cancer is unforgiving," Jeff says solemnly.
Jeff rattles off dates of the next two weeks. Denise, in the hospital, out of the hospital.
Each day, like an eternity to Jeff, is etched on his mind.
On March 7, surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic removed the mass connected to Denise's right kidney.
"The doctors described it as watermelon size," Jeff explains.
That was not the doctor's only news.
They also removed grapefruit-size nodules from Denise's abdomen.
And still, more news.
Though all the masses were contained and removed, surgeons found spots of cancer on Denise's lungs and liver.
"Denise has such a will to live," Jeff's vibrant energy showing again. "She's a fighter."
As she recovers from her surgery, doctors are planning to put her on immune boosters that will fight the cancer.
"I told her," Jeff says with a determination that is unfaltering, "We're running a marathon here, not a sprint. We're going to run it together."
Though the wedding has been postponed, the love and faithfulness shared "through good times and in bad" speak the words that have been left unsaid.
gwhite@vindy.com
XDue to job transitions, Denise has limited insurance coverage. Donations are being accepted at all Sky Bank Locations for the "Denise Sonnenlitter Fund."