Two Central Florida teens with Down syndrome shined bright after a video of a homecoming proposal went viral recently.
David Cowan, 19, of Sanford, surprised his longtime girlfriend, 18-year-old Saris Marie Garcia of Altamonte Springs, by asking her to be his "sunshine" at his upcoming homecoming dance.
Garcia, a cheerleader for Lake Brantley High School, was standing on the sidelines of a Thursday night football game at Seminole High School when Cowan, who goes to Seminole, approached with flowers and a poster he designed, inviting her to his homecoming.
Garcia can be seen in the video gleefully running toward Cowan and accepting his invitation with a radiant smile. In response, Cowan got down on one knee, kissed Garcia's hand, stood and celebrated in front a crowd of very loud and jubilant spectators.
The video has been shared over 72 thousand times, and has amassed nearly 4 million views since it was posted.
Garcia and Cowan have a history beyond their viral moment. They met at age 3 at the same speech therapy clinic in Orlando, according to a report by Yahoo! Lifestyle.
Cowan moved to Pembroke Pines and the families did not stay in touch, but in a serendipitous turn of events Garcia's family moved to a nearby city where the two ended up in the same private school, Yahoo! reported.
Both families remained in touch and moved back to Central Florida where Cowan and Garcia bonded more over their weekly Special Olympic practices.
The two started dating when they were 14 and 15 years old, Yahoo reported.
