Everyone fantasizes about their wedding day. We consider the loved ones who will be present, such as the father walking the bride down the aisle and the mother dancing with her son as the groom.

Scooter Hightower adored his mother more than anyone or anything else in the world. They were a close-knit family who shared all of their happy moments.

It was, however, a heartbreakingly sad moment that inevitably brought the clan closer together. Terri, Scooter’s mother, was diagnosed with ALS in December 2019. ALS, which stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a rare neurological disease that affects the neurons that control a person’s voluntary muscle movement.

The entire family was devastated, primarily because there is no cure for ALS. Terri’s family was well aware that her end was near. In the summer of 2020, Terri’s ability to talk, walk, and even eat food on her own began to deteriorate. She needed a powered wheelchair to be able to get around on her own!

As her health deteriorated, she had a few wishes she hoped to fulfill before passing away. «She was waiting for her granddaughter to be born, my niece, and she is going on six months now, seven months, and then she was waiting for our wedding,» Scooter says. She desired to attend our wedding.»

Scooter’s wedding date had been set for October 9, 2020. He carefully selected «Mothers» by Thomas Finchum as the perfect song for a dance with his mother. His sister assisted him in making his decision!

Scooter wheeled his mother out to the dance floor at the time of the dance. With the assistance of his father, he lifted her out of her wheelchair. The 150 wedding guests watched as he held his mother, supported her weight, and danced slowly with her. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Scooter was also crying as he danced with his mother, possibly because he knew he didn’t have much time with her left. Throughout the dance, his mother was limp and completely supported by her son, her face nestled in the crook of his shoulder.

Throughout the dance, he whispered to his mother; it was a heartbreakingly beautiful moment shared by mother and son.

Scooted lowered his mother back into her wheelchair as the music faded. The groom was openly sobbing at this point. His friends and family approached the duo to express their support for Scooter during this difficult time and to applaud the mother and son’s beautiful dance.

Terri passed away just ten days after her son’s wedding, at the age of 57. She had been a paramedic for 30 years, and her body was escorted to the church by 15 ambulances as a result of her service.

Scooter has since talked extensively about his mother, emphasizing how selfless she was and how many people she helped in her career and personal life. He also revealed that he had little knowledge of ALS prior to his mother’s diagnosis and wanted to educate others about it in the aftermath of her death.

Neil Fox, the wedding photographer, captured a beautiful video of the mother and son’s dance. After Terri died, the family asked that the video be made public so that people could learn more about ALS and what it can do to a person.

People from all over the country connected with the Hightower family about their loss and shared their own experiences with an ALS diagnosis in a family member.

Afton, Scooter’s new wife, said the moment was very emotional. «It was a bittersweet moment, knowing that was her goal and knowing how much it meant to her and Scooter,» she said.