A young woman sits by her husband’s side as he receives cancer treatment.  His battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma has been lengthy and exhausting. It has been seven long years and the love of Gina Zakovec’s life is not getting better. She experiences the same emotions as any wife in her situation would: aversion to the disease handicapping her husband, fear, not only for herself, but her young children, Jake Zakovec-Brown, seventh grader, and Jamie Zakovec-Brown, age nine, and at this point in the illness, pint-sized hope.
“I accepted Christ in my heart after my husband developed cancer and my son was diagnosed with a hearing impairment. My faith grew and grew from there,” said Gina.
In the same cancer treatment center, Terry Brown waited for his wife Melissa as well.  She had Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and her health was in the same critical condition as Gina’s husband. He felt emotions not foreign to hers. Kerry has two children: Austin Brown, sophomore, and Carly Brown, seventh grader.
The couples soon met. More treatments at the same center united them.  The husbands talked, exchanged e-mails and kept in touch occasionally, but not long after the families were brought together, Terry’s wife passed away in November of 2004 and left her two children, Austin and Carly without a mother.
“It was difficult. Everyone else at my school had a mom but I didn’t anymore,” said Carly.
The loss of Carly and Austin’s mom was grueling on their father, as well.
“You can never be prepared for death but they knew their mother had a heart for the Lord and that through all the pain, in the long run, she was in heaven,” said Terry.
Soon afterwards in January 2005, Gina’s husband followed. His wife and two children, Jake, seventh grader, and Jamie, age nine, were aware of how sick he was but the hurt and abruptness of his departure was a heavy burden to bear.
“I was in shock. I was devastated. We were all devastated and so confused,” said Gina.
The grieving process for the Zakovec family was not easy. Thousands of prayers for strength and guidance were said by and for the family. Their church rallied around them and the help friends and family offered was not in vain but Gina did not stop there. She sought out bereavement counseling from Annie’s Hope, a group in Webster Groves.
“Grief comes and goes in waves and I don’t know if you’re ever truly done with it and you learn how to live with it and live in God’s healing but it’s too difficult to even describe,” said Gina.
The Browns went through similar episodes. The ups and downs of losing someone who you care about deeply is a continuous process.
“It was hard; my mom was gone just like that and I was so young but Carly and I grew so much closer. We talk a lot now which helps,” said Austin about his mother and biological sister.
Slowly, e-mails between Terry Brown and Gina Zakovec began. They were friendly and full of help and advice for one another.
“It evolved from a friendship and feeling like there weren’t many people who could relate. It all happened very naturally. It was confusing but there was a certain amount of peace in it. God began to show me miracle after miracle at that point,” said Gina.
Soon the families were getting together to meet. The parents both expressed a desire for their children to have people in their life to connect with about the hard times they had been through as well.
As the families grew closer a natural connection between the two parents developed. There was no formal moment of when the romance began. It can best be described as a love bursting from a friendship. The couple married and another transition in their lives began and once again, the adults were not the only one’s affected.
“At first, I didn’t really know how I felt about having her around but now I realize how blessed I am to have a mother like her. It’s a lot of fun having two more people in my life,” said Carly.
Carly is not the only one with positive feelings about the new woman in their life.
“Gina’s a wonderful woman and mother. She loves the Lord and her family very much,” said Terry.
When the parents pledged their lives to each other they also intermingled the lives of their children, as well.
“It was definitely different at first. It took time to adjust. I’m the oldest so now I feel even more responsibility than before to set a good example for my siblings,” said Austin.
The youngest, Jamie Zakovec-Brown, nine, was small when this took place but definitely aware of what was going on.
“It’s great. Dad and I have so much fun. We play games and even have a garden together. I remember it being kind of hard but it’s good now,” said Jamie.
The family has been together now for three and a half years and even though they describe their situation as ‘weird and difficult to understand’ they maintain a sense of normality. They love, argue and talk just like any other family but one thing that differs between them and a ‘typical’ household is the knowledge about surviving they have acquired from the hardships they have faced.
“It’s all very bittersweet. I think back and I see God’s grace getting us all through. That’s what held everything together,” said Gina.