Steadfast Fiance Provides Lifeline for Woman With Rare Mystery Illness

Aug. 5, 2009— -- Seven years ago, Kristie Tunick had a promising future. She was single, beautiful, healthy and active in sports and dance. Then her life got even better when she met Brian Mendenhall.

"He's drop-dead gorgeous," Tunick told her friend the night she met Mendenhall, when he was working at a bar at a nightclub in Las Vegas.

Mendenhall said he was equally attracted. Tunick "had this glow about her. Smile. Genuineness. And just made you feel good," he said.

Today the couple is not only still together, they are even engaged. Yet their fairytale story is tinged with sadness.

In 2006, when Tunick was only 29, her health started to deteriorate inexplicably. What began as stomach issues, led to the removal of her gallbladder and slowly snowballed into even more severe symptoms: The muscles in her body began to lock up, virtually paralyzing her for hours and causing excruciating pain. Sometimes, she would even stop breathing.

CLICK HERE to see more photos of Tunick before mysterious illness

In and out of hospitals many times, Tunick was a real-life medical mystery who stumped the doctors who tried to diagnose her.

Today, this once active girl is now a prisoner in her own bed, and it is Mendenhall who takes care of her.

"I've never loved anyone like I've loved her. ... I'm not the type of person to just close my eyes, turn my back, and walk out. ... So I'm here by her side ... no matter what," he told ABC News correspondent Bob Brown.

As the couple searches for a solid diagnosis and waits anxiously for a specialty clinic to admit Tunick, Mendenhall has had to watch his fiancee be robbed of the life they once knew.

"We liked to play tennis. We loved to golf. We golfed all the time," he said.

Tunick's autoimmune disease now not only leaves golf out of the question, but sometimes even walking to the bathroom is a herculean task for her.

To donate money or send messages of support, visit Kristie Tunick's Carepage or join her cause on Facebook

For more information on SPS from Johns Hopkins University, click here.