Theirs is a tragic story. Margo went into the hospital for a foot operation, which was successful, but some months later, she developed MRSA, and ended up paralyzed. She's not able to say exactly where she contracted the treatment- resistant staph infection. Could have been in the hospital where she had the surgery... could have been in the nursing home where she received physical therapy after the surgery... could have been in a hospital years earlier. Who knows. She has her theory but can't prove it.

They live in an average Virginia Beach home in an average neighborhood near Diamond Springs Road. We could hear the two dogs before we even went into the house. Very protective. But walking inside, we see their life is anything but average.

The carpet is ripped out of the den and living room and for now, there's a bare floor. Fewer germs that way. A hospital bed sits in the den- it has become Margo's bedroom and therapy room. The hospital bed takes up a good amount of space. Larry would love to have tile put down but there's another priority right now. That priority is Margo's health.

Margo is in a wheelchair. She can't walk. She is a MRSA survivor.

When they specifiy "invasive" MRSA, a worst case scenario would have to be Margo. This is no simple skin infection we're talking about. The bacteria got into her bloodstream and into her spine. "It didn't get into my brain, thank God," Margo laughed. They say laughter is the best medicine and thank God Margo can laugh because she has been and is going through the wringer.

It started when she couldn't get out of bed, at home. This was some months after she'd had foot surgery and PT and was now home back to normal. She'd been in her bed all day when Larry came home from work and discovered her there. He called 911, they went to the local hospital Emergency Room but Margo was sent home on a Friday night with instructions to call her doctor. Couple not happy, you might say. By Sunday, Margo was in such pain they called 911 again. This time, she wasn't sent home. She went into a coma-like state for 4 weeks. Larry confided to me there were times he was pretty sure Margo wouldn't ever be coming home. I'm skipping many details but the upshot was MRSA had infected her spine and once she was able, she was flown by helicopter to MCV in Richmond for surgery to remove the infection in the bone or tissue- not sure. Her neck was so wobbly, she later had rods and screws implanted to reinforce the vertebrae.

At times, Margo was in a nursing home recovering. But last October, they'd had enough of that. Enough of the bedsores, enough of the lack of improvement in her physical condition. Larry brought her home and says she hasn't has a bedsore since. And Margo is improving. He can pull her up from the wheelchair and she can actually stand, holding on to him, for a second or two. It's a tough exercise, pulling her up and then sitting her back down. They do this many times each day to try to strengthen her muscles. They say there are tiny improvements made every day.

Margo is able to use the computer and sew, although, not like she used to because the movement in her arms is limited. They can't travel and she goes out infrequently- to church, to quilting bee.

I started all this to tell you that we had to finish our interview by 1:45. Why 1:45? Because that's the exact time Larry has to leave the house to get to his new job, which is at Bayside High School. Margo moves her wheelchair to the front door to say goodbye. The couple kisses and she watches as he walks up the steps of the schoolbus parked on the street in front of their house. The systems engineer is driving a Virginia Beach city schoolbus in the morning and afternoon. That way, he can be home most of the day to take care of Margo.

Naturally, the most poignant part of my story, the kiss, the wave from the wheelchair and the schoolbus driving off down the Bavry's street was edited out for time- left on the proverbial cutting room floor. What wasn't edited you can watch on wvec.com. It's the lead story on the website at the moment, and will soon move to my medical reports. Here's a direct link to the story.

On an average street in suburbia, I found a story filled with tragedy and a couple filled with love.