A wedding anniversary is supposed to be spent in the arms of your beloved, celebrating it over a candlelit dinner, an out of town trip, or simply by cuddling with each other.
This was how Jonathan Grant, a Navy Seal, and Laura Browning Grant, a pilates instructor, expected their fifth wedding anniversary to turn out, however, fate has a different plan.
The lovely couple who were married since the year 2012 found themselves facing one of their hardest battles a few weeks shy of their anniversary.
Jonathan, the Navy Seal who had been deployed overseas three times, was a victim of a car accident during his duty in North Carolina.
As a result of the devastating car crash, the combat medic instructor of the Navy Seal was unresponsive at the crash site. Subsequently, he suffered from a traumatic brain injury called a diffuse axonal injury and fell into a coma.
While the doctors questioned if Jonathan would be able to wake up or stand or speak again, his wife did not stop believing that he will survive. Two months after being in comatose, Jonathan woke-up.
Since he woke-up from comatose, Jonathan unceasingly worked hard every day to fully recover. And though he has not regained his ability to speak yet, he was able to re-learn eating on his own again.
In addition, the Navy Seal was doing his best to learn how to stand up without any help.
Just as how Jonathan was working diligently into making major improvements about his condition, his wife, Laura is being a dutiful and supportive wife to her husband. In fact, Laura even employs her career as a Pilates instructor in helping her husband recover.
“As soon as we got into the ICU I knew that movement was going to heal,” Laura shared.
“So just laying there, his body is not going to be able to circulate correctly. So I would massage his feet every night because in Pilates we always start from the feet and go up.”
Taking various therapies such as physical, speech, occupational and recreational therapies, Jonathan is taking big steps towards his holistic recovery.
In the middle of July, Laura posted an incredible video of Jonathan taking his first steps- in which he chose to seal with a kiss.
The heartwarming scene that was captured on camera and posted on Instagram went viral, amounting to more than 4 million views and an overflowing support from netizens.
“The physical therapist asked if I wanted to help,” Laura shared with The Knot. “I threw my flip flops off, rolled my pants up, and jumped right in.”
The supportive wife also added that Jonathan’s steps and his touching kiss reminded her of their wedding day which took place at the Rose Hill Plantation in North Carolina.
“We hadn’t been able to stand and hold each other since before the accident. But as soon as we got him up, he started kissing my neck.” Jonathan surely cannot help himself from expressing his affection to his wife, whom he surely missed a lot.
Laura also shared the overwhelming love and support their relationship is getting from people all over the world.
According to the supportive wife, she got hundreds of e-mails and messages on Instagram saying that her positivity in their situation made them believe that good people still exists and TRUE LOVE is real.
A lot of supporters also expressed how Laura and Jonathan made them believe in true love once more.
A GoFundMe page was also created in order to help cover Jonathan’s medical expenses once his veteran benefits stopped.
15 months later, due to the astounding support and kindness of the people who learned about their story, the couple has surpassed their goal of garnering $200,000.
As of today, the Navy Seal veteran is getting one step closer to his full recovery as the day goes by. His improvement and development can be seen on his proud wife’s Instagram account.
True enough, rising over the obstacles and hurdles life throw at us is hard. However, sharing these burdens with someone who never ceases to believe and support us, sure makes the baggage lighter.
Watch the inspiring and touching video of Jonathan and Laura below, proving to the world that true love does not only exist in fairy tale but can be seen in real life as well.
If you want to find out the latest update and learn more about this inspiring couple please visit Laura’s Instagram page.