Cosley Zoo provides backdrop for marriage proposal

As Jason Derulo's "Marry Me" played from Cosley Zoo's speakers during the recent Festival of Lights, Russell Brophy of Aurora was down on one knee.

In the midst of a gently falling snow, he knew he had 45 seconds to tell Kristy Michalski of Streamwood how much he'd come to love her since they met online in 2015.

"I knew she would say yes, but I was super nervous," Brophy said. "All day, I'd been sitting there like, 'What am I gonna say?' I wanted to say so many different things, but when he first started singing, I couldn't help but say, 'I love you, I love you.'"

The 45 seconds ended and Brophy asked the question.

"It didn't click at first," Michalski said. "Once it did, I kind of froze."

After it sunk in, she said yes, with "the biggest smile on her face," according to Brophy.

Adorned with more than 20,000 twinkling lights, trees, holiday decorations, and powdery snow, the zoo's winter wonderland provided the perfect background for the life-changing moment.

"Going to Cosley Zoo was special to Kristy because, after going through five (foot) surgeries and being unable to walk for nearly a year of her life, it brought her a sense of joy and relief to go out and interact with the animals she had always loved while also spending time with her family, even if that meant doing so wheelchair-bound," Brophy said.

With the help of Cosley Zoo Director Sue Wahlgren and her staff the afternoon before the proposal, Brophy organized the timing of the music and the best place to pop the question.

"By the time we got there that evening, the whole zoo staff knew it was happening," he said. "It was a really intimate, one-on-one experience. (The zoo) really went above and beyond making it a magical night."

From the start, Brophy was confident Michalski was the one for him.

"After we had our first phone conversation, I knew right off the bat she was the one I wanted to pursue," Brophy said. "We're both very sarcastic and outgoing people. On the first phone call, I gave her a little sarcasm and she gave it right back to me. I got off the phone that night and I remember telling my sister, 'This is the one. This one's going the distance.'"

They've gone the distance through challenges that might have stopped other couples.

"I actually had a heart attack on Jan. 16, 2016, just totally out of the blue," Brophy said. "Kristy was the one who drove me to the hospital. I spent two nights in the ICU. It was one of the worst heart attacks you can have. They nickname it the Widowmaker."

Recovery from the heart attack, caused by a complete blockage in the artery that supplies the front of the heart, involved stents to clear the blockage and aerobic exercise. Yet even while recuperating in the hospital, Brophy's focus stayed on Michalski.

"She only left to go home and change," he said. "I was worried more about her foot (than myself) when I was on my deathbed."

With the engagement, Brophy wanted to finish 2016 strong.

"After everything that's happened, I wanted to end the year on a good note, and I wanted to let everybody know how much this girl really means to me," Brophy said. "I had to do three months of cardiac rehab and I was really weak. We'd go to the store and halfway through I'd have to sit down, and she was always there to pick me up."

Their relationship is a story of picking each other up.

"He has a positive outlook on everything," Michalski said. "Ever since he came along, he's opened me to a whole new world. His smile is contagious."

From Michalski's surgeries to Brophy's life-threatening heart attack, a fresh start is just what this couple needed. In the new year, they can't wait to move forward with their lives.

"We look forward to spending a lifetime together and building memories and conquering the world," Brophy said. "In a sense, it was like closing one door of a rough chapter in our lives and opening a new one full of happiness, love, and more memories to come. With love and teamwork, there's nothing we can't overcome."

Cosley Zoo is at 1356 Gary Ave., Wheaton. For more information, visit cosleyzoo.org or call (630) 665-5534.