An unexpected illness left the couple with almost no way communicate with one another.

It was like the final scene of a Disney movie before the happily-ever-after montage plays. Boyfriends Kerry Kennedy and Hayward Duresseau faced down a proverbial villain when, after succumbing to symptoms of undetected bacterial meningitis, Duresseau lost his hearing.

During a trip to San Francisco Duresseau, 27, started feeling fatigued and complained about an unshakeable headache. After going to the hospital, he was diagnosed and would go on to lose his sight and hearing and become paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the bacterial infection.

The pair slowly rebuilt their communication during months of recovery where Duresseau regained his vision and learned American Sign Language. “I could see everything that was going on – I could communicate, but the world couldn’t communicate back with me,” Duresseau told Buzzfeed.

“In a relationship, communication is key, you know?” said Kennedy, 37. “We were left without communication for about six months.”

Duresseau underwent a procedure where he was given cochlear implants, which allowed him to regain his hearing and, after months of non-verbal communication with his boyfriend, the first thing he heard was Kennedy propose to him. Duresseau responded with a teary-eyed “yes” before embracing his now-fiancé. Watch the emotional scene, below.