Chad Allen and Elizabeth Denehie found love at the turn of a page.

When Elizabeth Denehie was quoted along with several others for a Quest article two years ago on the challenges of relationships for people with disabilities, Chad Allen was so moved he called her. Little did they know that what began as a friendship over the telephone would lead to marriage.

But that's just what happened to this Houston couple after Allen placed a marriage proposal in the December 1998 issue of Quest. As the twosome looked through the magazine together on a December Saturday morning, the bright pink heart-shaped advertisement caught Denehie's eye.

"Elizabeth," the ad said, "Quest brought us together. Now let's spend the rest of our lives together. Will you marry me? Chad."

Denehie was overwhelmed. "I just started crying," the 25-year-old said.

Allen gave her the ring, proposed, Denehie said yes, and the two celebrated the weekend by visiting family and watching football.

Allen said Denehie's comments in the Quest article on dating (vol. 4, no. 1) moved him because her thoughts and feelings were so similar to his. Denehie, who has facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and uses a manual wheelchair, said in the story that many people can't look beyond the disability.

"Everything she was talking about I could relate to," said Allen, 31, who has spinal muscular atrophy and uses a motorized wheelchair.

After reading the article, Allen, a broadcasting student at the University of Houston, said he kept vacillating on the decision to call Denehie until his friends gave him the final push.

He found her name in the phone book and prepared what he was going to say. When Elizabeth Denehie answered the phone, he introduced himself, gave a rather long "spiel" and then discovered he was talking to his future bride's sister-in-law, also named Elizabeth.

"She said, 'Sweetheart, this is all very nice but I think you want my sister-in-law,'" Allen said. After settling the confusion, Allen was given the correct number to call. Then he hesitated.

"I definitely had to think about it," he said. "I had to wait and build up enough courage to make the first call. Then I had to wait and build up enough courage for the second call."

At the other end of the phone, Denehie was apprehensive.

"I didn't know who he was," said Denehie, who graduated two years ago from Texas A&M University with a psychology degree. "But he was very upfront about being friends. I thought it was gutsy."

After a few weeks of talking on the phone, the couple met and, as time went on, their friendship grew into a deep love. Allen has two more years of school, so they plan to wait until he's closer to graduating before getting married. He hopes to work in sports broadcasting.

"I'm a huge sports fan," he said. "Since I can't go out and bang heads with them, this would be the next best thing."

Denehie is looking for any type of work related to psychology. Both want to stay in the Houston area. Both also are active in MDA. As a youngster, Allen was a poster child in Indiana and Florida and has participated in MDA summer camps. Denehie also went to many MDA summer camps. They agreed that at summer camps they met friends for life. The two also volunteer to help with the local Telethon broadcast.

The couple hopes their story is an inspiration for others looking for love. The secret, both said, is to be patient and persistent.

"I love him and he loves me and that's all that matters," Denehie said. "If someone doesn't like you, just move on. Just keep trying, don't give up.

"There's someone out there."