• Celebrity
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle News
    • Build Your Legacy
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Events
    • Black Women in Hollywood
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • LEVEL UP: Entrepreneur Summit (DEC 2020)
    • Power Tools
    • SHE GOT NOW
    • Girls United Summit
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Dear Black Men
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Festival
  • Subscribe
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Shop Essence

Follow Us

Skip to content
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Shop Essence
  • Celebrity
    • Celebrity
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Fashion
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Beauty
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • AVEENO® Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle News
    • Build Your Legacy
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
  • News
    • News
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Events
    • Events
    • Black Women in Hollywood
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • LEVEL UP: Entrepreneur Summit (DEC 2020)
    • Power Tools
    • SHE GOT NOW
    • Girls United Summit
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Dear Black Men
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Festival
  • Subscribe
Home · Weddings

Bridal Bliss Special: I Overcame Lupus and Married My Dream Guy

After a battle with lupus that nearly took her life, a faith-driven Perneita Farrar found a best friend and a future husband in motivational speaker Troy Fitzgerald, who was paralyzed after a gunshot wound. Share their love!

By Katti Gray and Charli Penn · December 2, 2012October 28, 2020
01
The Happy Couple

After meeting through mutual friends, wheelchair-bound couple Perneita Farrar and Troy Fitzgerald found true love and acceptance in each other. The best friends got engaged just eight months after dating, and they recently tied the knot at the University of Maryland Chapel.

Andre Lambertson
02
Miracle Bride

Farrar was diagnosed with Lupus at the age of 26. She was shocked and devastated by the news. For many years, she only had flare ups of inflammation and begun taking steroids and adjusted to the fatigue. Then, five years after her diagnosis, Lupus attacked her spine and her vital organs began to shut down. She suffered through 17 surgeries, 12 of which were emergency procedures.

Andre Lambertson
03
An Unbelievable Day

Mom to 22-year-old son Brian, Farrar was only 31 and had just earned her bachelors degree when the disease crippled her body. It tested her faith. “A lot of my friends were getting married and having babies,” she says. “I’d been a bridesmaid a couple of times. I figured those things would never happen to me.”

Perneita Farrar Troy Fitzgerald Bridal Bliss Wedding ESSENCE
04
Hold Tight to Your Faith

“Even in the midst of trouble, God still had control,” says Farrar. “I held on to that.” She met her future husband through mutual friends who insisted the pair reconnect after meeting in passing at a friend’s wedding years before.

Andre Lambertson
05
Sitting Pretty

Farrar puts the finishing touchs on her wedding day look. Wasn’t she a beautful bride?

Andre Lambertson
06
We’ve Got Your Back

Farrar began preparing her body to make it down the aisle the minute she and Fitzgerald became engaged. On her big day, her father held her up on the left side, and her son Brian held on tightly to her right arm.

Andre Lambertson
07
Don’t Stop Believing

“When I redeveloped my relationship with God, I was still feeling pretty hopeless,” Farrar admits. “But I started reading my Bible again, and was very much able to relate to the story of Job. In the midst of all his troubles, he saw that God still had the control. God had the outcome already mapped out, even though everyone around Job was saying this is bad; this is the worst of the worst. Job stayed faithful.”

Andre Lambertson
08
You Make Me Better

“I feel like I’ve blossomed,” says Farrar of her life since meeting Fitzgerald. “I’m able to live freely without looking in the mirror and thinking I’m not entitled to be happy.”

Andre Lambertson
09
A Divine Plan

Looking back at the tough times in her life before meeting Fitzgerald, Farrar gives all glory to God: “Now I believe it was divinely orchestrated. If I had been able to lean on any one person, or if someone came to rescue me … I believe God isolated me to the point that I could only rely on him, so that only he could get glory. My testimony was by his design. God provided everything so that I didn’t need to depend on people.”

Andre Lambertson
10
We Stand By You

Farrar and Fitzgerald pose with their bridal party outside of the church. What a glorious day. To read more of their beautiful and inspiring story, check out the December issue of ESSENCE now. In the meantime, leave your well wishes for the happy couple below.

Andre Lambertson

Read More

Celebrity
'Baldwin Hills' Star Gerren Taylor Passes Away At 30
Money & Career
Meet Ebony Beckford, The Black Mom Who Created An Activity B...
Culture
Don Lemon On His New Book 'This Is The Fire' And Why He Does...
Red Carpet
Black Brits Look Absolutely Royal For The 2021 BAFTAs
News
LA County Seeks To Return Bruce’s Beach Property Which Was...
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2021 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now