Sgt. Joey Johnson, 27, a veteran who served for 10 months in Afghanistan, prepared the ultimate surprise for his new wife on their wedding day: a first dance without the aid of his wheelchair. 
 
 Johnson, from Fishers, Indiana, suffered a spinal injury in a motorcycle accident on Aug. 12, 2012, just four months after he met his future wife, Michelle Johnson, at a country music concert. 
 
 "We realized that we had the same birthday, June 29, and same last name Johnson," Michelle Johnson told ABC News. "Joey had just come back from a tour in Afghanistan a few weeks before." 
 
 Johnson had served in Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khowst, Afghanistan. 
 
 "We knew we were meant to be," she said. "Joey’s parents Ruth and Michael Johnson also have the same birthday, January 14." 
 
 Johnson suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after Afghanistan and needed a rush, his wife said, explaining why he turned to riding a motorcycle. Now, he can't feel anything from the chest down and is a paraplegic. 
 
 He proposed in April 2013 and the couple decided to have their wedding on June 28, 2014 -- the day before their birthday. 
 
 "Our family and I have been through so much, but we all know that Joey is still the same person, funny and loving guy he was before," she said. "He had to learn a different way of life with him and his chair: from showering, getting dressed and trying to function every day. But we are soul mates." 
 
 Michelle, who has a wedding planning business called Beautiful Occasions by Michelle, said she had no idea what was to come on their big day. 
 
 "If you know Joey, he cannot keep a secret. But he made my dreams come true and I never knew how special our day would really be," she said. 
 
 Courtesy Linnealiz Photography 
 
 After the couple cut the cake, Michelle was told by her mother and mother-in-law that she needed to rest in the bridal suite. 
 
 "I kind of knew something was going on, but I really never knew what was to come," she said. 
 
 Meanwhile, her husband's friends had created a system so he could stand for the first dance, stunning his wife. 
 
 "Everyone was crying in the room. It was so amazing to be eye to eye with him again and such a dream come true," she said. 
 
 The couple bought their first house in July. ||||| A veteran who served in Afghanistan pulled off a surprise his wife will never forget -- joining her for their first dance as man and wife without the aid of his wheelchair.Sgt. Joey Johnson, 27, suffered a spinal injury in a motorcycle accident just four months after meeting his future wife in 2012. He cannot feel anything below his chest and is confined to a wheelchair. Johnson's now-wife Michelle told ABC News that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Afghanistan and rode motorcycles for the rush.Just over a year after they met, Johnson proposed in April 2013. They set the date for June 28, 2014 -- the day before their shared birthday.Michelle is a wedding planner in their hometown outside of Indianapolis, but there was one element of their reception that she had no idea was in the works. Johnson and his friends were working on a system that would allow to him stand for their first dance."If you know Joey, he cannot keep a secret. But he made my dreams come true and I never knew how special our day would really be," she told ABC News The day of the wedding, Michelle's mother and new mother-in-law told her to take a break in the bridal suite after cutting the cake. When she emerged, her husband was standing on the dance floor waiting for her."Everyone was crying in the room. It was so amazing to be eye to eye with him again, and such a dream come true," she said.
– Michelle Johnson is a wedding planner outside of Indianapolis, but she had nothing to do with the biggest surprise at her own June wedding. Sgt. Joey Johnson—an Afghanistan war veteran who lost all feeling below his chest after a 2012 motorcycle accident just four months after he met Michelle—wanted to make their big day extra special, ABC7 reports. So he recruited pals to help him build a device that would allow him to ditch his wheelchair and stand up for their first dance as husband and wife. After they cut the cake, her mom and his mom made Michelle take a break in the bridal suite, and when she came back out, Joey was standing on the dance floor. "Everyone was crying in the room," she tells ABC. "It was so amazing to be eye to eye with him again, and such a dream come true." After his tour in Afghanistan, Joey dealt with his PTSD by riding motorcycles for the "rush," Michelle tells ABC News. But his accident didn't tear them apart, probably because they felt they were fated to be together from the very beginning: When they first met at a country music concert, they realized they not only shared the same last name (Michelle's maiden name was also Johnson), but also the same birthday (June 29); they had their wedding this year on the day before, June 28. "He had to learn a different way of life with him and his chair: from showering, getting dressed, and trying to function every day," Michelle says. "But we are soul mates." As for his big reveal on the big day? "If you know Joey, he cannot keep a secret," Michelle says. "But he made my dreams come true and I never knew how special our day would really be." (Last month, another paralyzed groom was able to walk down the aisle.)