A man with Down's syndrome who defied all odds and went on to enjoy what is thought to be the world's longest marriage to a woman with the same condition has died aged 56.
Paul Scharoun-DeForge, from Liverpool in New York , could have grown up in a care institution had his parents listened to doctors when he was a baby.
His wife Kris's parents were also urged to consider whether to put their daughter into a residential facility after she was also born with the condition.
But the couple went on to defy all odds and enjoyed 25 years of wedded bliss together.
They first met at a dance for people with disabilities during the 1980s and instantly fell in love.
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After dating for almost a decade, the pair got engaged in 1988 after Kris proposed but could not get married until they proved to New York state officials that they were capable of consenting to the relationship.
They were forced to take tests measuring sexual knowledge, feelings and needs.
At the time, Kris said: "I looked into his eyes and saw my future, and that’s when I proposed to him… He said yes."
She also went on to tell her sister Susan Scharoun that she likes "a man who is like me."
After the couple got married, they moved to a state-supported apartment community for people with disabilities and had carers to help them.
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Kris started working at Pizza Hut while Paul worked at the Arc of Onondaga’s workshop, which supports people with disabilities.
Last year, Paul started showing signs of dementia, which typically affects more than half of people with Down syndrome over the age of 50.
Kris's sister Susan said slowly the man her family had known began to slip away but he never stopped recognising his wife.
She said: "Little by little, you do get used to having them less there. ‘He was still a part of the family, but you could tell he didn’t really recognize people.
‘When he would see Kris, he would just look at her, and you knew there was that recognition.’
Eventually, his condition deteriorated so much that Paul had to move out of their home so he could get additional support.
But the couple would still meet for dinner every Sunday at Susan's house.
They also celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by renewing their wedding vows after Kris recovered from pneumonia.
A few months later, Paul contracted the same disease and died in hospital last month with his head on his brother’s shoulder.
Kris is now planning to travel to their favourite holiday spot - the Adirondack Mountains – this August to scatter her husband’s ashes on their wedding anniversary.
