Groom paralyzed after pre-wedding party (6 photos)

Groom-to-be Brett Greenhill from Atlanta, Georgia was incredibly happy to marry his beloved Meg Alexander, but something went horribly wrong...

At a pre-wedding party together, which was originally scheduled for February 2017, Brett was playing soccer with his friends on the beach when he decided to go for a swim. “Brett walked into the water and suddenly my friend Kelsey said, 'Why is Brett doing this? Why does he swim so strangely? - Meg recalls. “I thought, ‘I don’t know, it’s just a small thing,’ and she followed him to check.” Seconds later, the bride heard screams, and the next thing she knew, people were calling 911. As Brett was carried out onto the sand, he looked at his bride and said, “I don’t feel anything. Meg, I love you so much and I'm so sorry. I love you very much". After he was flown by helicopter to the hospital, they learned that Brett was paralyzed after hitting his head on a sandbank.

Looking back, Brett, 39, says of life since the accident: “It was a catastrophic experience, but we've come a long, long way... It's been a roller coaster. There were many good days and many bad days. It's been an adventure, but people keep reminding me that this is just the beginning of a long journey."

From his first day in the hospital—when he was completely paralyzed from head to toe—Brett made tremendous progress. He regained arm strength and wrist movement. And there is a chance that his condition will continue to improve. His next big goal is to switch from an automatic wheelchair to a manual one, which will give him more independence.

“Every spinal cord injury is different,” Meg says. “Some people walk again, while others never come off life support.” “Things have changed, but we're still just as determined to live the life we ​​wanted for ourselves,” Brett says. They finally got married and went on a romantic trip. “When you set a goal, sometimes it takes a little longer than you expected, but if you work hard, you can do it,” the couple said. “We are a team and really just a great couple.”