As Lloyd and Latoya Jones sat next to each other in their living room, it was hard to ignore the natural chemistry and synergy between the couple that has been married for a little over 11 years. What started out as a friendship blossomed into love and partnership. And while their union could have been tested when Latoya revealed to Lloyd, who was her boyfriend at the time, that she had breast cancer, it stood even stronger. Already deeply in love with Latoya, Lloyd decided he was in it for the long haul.
“When I met her, she had her little son. I was just coming out of a tough situation, and at that time, I was just asking God to not harden my heart against women. I just didn’t want that, and she told me later on that what she asked for was an old man to love her. We started talking, and she would confide in me, and we hit it off from them. The second time we became intimate, she said to me that she is not well and I should guess [what the illness was]. Then she told me about her cancer. Mi coulda cut … I tell her all the time that I loved her first,” Lloyd told Flair.
Latoya was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 at 19 years old. In a week, she did her surgery and started her chemotherapy. Her doctors back then had indicated to her that she would not have been able to have children, which did not sit well with her. Not a fan of being told she couldn’t do something, she late gave birth to her son. She met her husband a year after that. Her life had a sense of normality until she had a stroke and her cancer came back at stage four, putting her in the hospital for over a month. It was then that Lloyd took on the role of caregiver to her and her son.
‘HE IS MY ROCK’
“I went to the hospital and saw my wife can’t walk, can’t talk. That was extremely hard. Among the doctors’ discussions, she overheard them saying she would not last six months. At one point I, too, thought she wasn’t going to make it, and I remember coming home and getting on my knees and praying to God saying, ‘If you make her live one more day, mi baptise’. And it has now been many, many years,” he recalled.
By this time, Lloyd was visiting the hospital every day to take care of her. He shared how he would bathe, comfort, encourage, and, most of all, pray for her. To cover medical expenses, he would have sold several of his assets, including a truck which he said was a source of income at the time. Lloyd ensured that she never missed important moments through videos and photographs. He was patient with her through the entire 13-year-long battle; for this, his wife was extremely grateful.
“It was emotionally painful for me at first because I don’t like feeling like people are sorry for me. But even more so, it was hard for me because I had a child. Lloyd is my rock, and I will always say that he is. He is always around, and even when I lost my memory, I never forgot Lloyd, and I will never ever forget him. I had Lloyd, and I could just be myself, and I didn’t have to worry about anything. I am safe with him. But on the other hand was my son, who I felt like I should be keeping safe, and Lloyd had to keep us both safe. But because of the support from Lloyd, I could just keep going,” she shared with Flair.
KEEPING LOVE ALIVE
The couple got married in 2011 when Latoya was able to walk down the aisle, but forever after began for them 16 years ago when they started dating. Though the journey seemed long and hard, the two never lost love for each other. For Lloyd, it was easy giving up possessions to ensure his wife would be okay. According to him, he “never once thought about abandoning her”. As they spoke, they shared kisses in between and made it clear that the flame was still burning bright as ever. They have both learnt many lessons over the years but ultimately shared that to maintain a relationship through sickness, there are a few things that both must understand.”
It takes love, focus and belief in Christ and yielding to your partner,” Lloyd shared.
For Latoya, “The caregiver in the relationship would have to know that we get tired (the one who is ill). We get tired of not being at our best and sometimes it is frustrating, but be patient,” she shared.
