Too young and carefree to commit, Mark Anthony Camilleri broke off his three-year relationship with Amy Zahra in 2006, going to great lengths to erase her from his life.

But after a month of being aloof he was gripped by an unexplainable need to see his ex-girlfriend so he visited their old haunts hoping to find her; days later she was in hospital battling the deadly blood disease meningococcal septicaemia.

“Her close brush with death suddenly made me realise how much I cared for her; her illness helped me understand this was the person I really wanted to be with,” he says, his face lighting up.

Cemented by the obstacles they surmounted together and a good dose of smiles, their relationship has flourished over the past six years and on June 2, the couple promised to love and to cherish each other till death do them part.

Her wedding is another chapter in a journey of feats that expose the 27-year-old’s innate resilience and positive determination to have a full life in the face of adversity; propped up by the love of her parents, Ray and Jane.

The Times has followed the young woman’s journey, from the moment she emerged from three months in hospital with no legs or fingertips, to the day she learnt to walk on prosthetic limbs and mastered the skill of driving her custom-made car.

In 2009 the heavens tested her mettle when she needed a kidney transplant.

Amy lamented her bad luck, but even this failed to dull her infectious smile for long. Three years on, the couple are happily settling into a life of domesticity in their new Birkirkara apartment.

“Getting married was a big milestone in my life. There was a point I thought I would never get here, with the meningitis and the transplant. The wedding was the best day of my life,” Amy says.

Having just returned from their honeymoon on the West Coast, Mexico and New York, the two are enjoying married life while focusing on their careers.

Mr Camilleri returned to his job as a clients’ relationship manager at Western Union Business Solutions, while Ms Zahra Camilleri is back in her role as assistant manager at the National Commission of People with a Disability and is hoping to secure a scholarship to pursue an MA in disabilities at the University of Leeds.

Preparing a mug of coffee, Mr Camilleri shudders when he remembers seeing Amy laying in isolation in a hospital bed.

“The second I reached the room the nurses pulled the sheet off her to administer some treatment and I got the shock of my life – her body was completely black,” he recalls.

“I ran out and puffed 10 cigarettes until I found the guts to go back inside. I knew there was no way I could turn my back on Amy,” he says.

That day, a medic who was a friend of his bluntly told him to “go home, sleep and try to forget, because she’s going to die”. It was like being punched in the stomach – but he refused to ever believe she would not pull through.

He smiles as he remembers the first thing Amy told him when she drifted into consciousness was to “go away”. She laughs as she has no recollection of this.

She was still hurt that he had broken off their relationship, but for him it was as if he had never left.

“I never regretted going on this journey with Amy; I’d have been helpless without her courage and strength.

“Now I look forward to living happily ever after,” he enthuses.