Groom Who Became Paralyzed At His Bachelor Party Marries 9 Months Later

Brett Greenhill, his fiancée and his closest friends were celebrating at a joint bachelor/bachelorette party on a beach in Florida when his life changed forever. Greenhill went for a swim in the ocean, hit his head and became paralyzed from the neck down.

“Brett went into the water and all of a sudden my friend Kelsey says, ‘Why is Brett doing that? Why is he floating like that?’” The bride-to-be, Meg Alexander told People. “I was like, ‘I don’t know, he’s a goofball’ and went to check on him.”

By the time they were able to get Greenhill to the shore, he was able to tell his soon-to-be wife what was really going on.

“I can’t feel anything,” he said, according to his then-fiancée. “Meg, I love you so much and I’m so sorry. I love you so much.”

From there, he was airlifted to the hospital. The doctors suspect that when Greenhill dove into the water, he hit a sandbar, which caused him to sustain a spinal cord injury.

The Wedding

The couple’s wedding was originally scheduled for February 2017 and had to be pushed back after the accident in December. But it was definitely going to happen.

“When you set a goal, sometimes it takes a little longer to get there than you anticipated, but if you work hard together you can make it happen,” Alexander told People. “They say ‘for better for worse, for richer for poorer’—and I guess we got that out of the way early.”

At no point was the couple ready to call it quits. “The desire for us to be together never really changed, in fact, if anything, it just got stronger,” Alexander told 11Alive.

Greenhill took to Facebook to share his gratitude for his loving partner, who’s remained by his side through it all.

“I don’t think it’s possible for another human being to feel as grateful as I am towards their partner. Before my accident I always knew she was special however after my accident life has proven out that she is even more special than I ever could have imagined,” he wrote.

After intense physical therapy, Greenhill has already regained some movement in his wrists, which is great news.

Speaking to Inside Edition, Greenhill’s doctor, said “He’s kept a positive attitude—which is amazing—through this whole thing. You don’t see that in everyone.”

The couple’s positive attitude is definitely what got them to this point, and it’s a huge part of the reason why on Sept. 9, 2017, the wedding they had planned finally took place.

“It was the most exciting and special day,” the bride told People. “Especially after everything that’s happened. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”

Despite the sudden upheaval in their lives, this couple is flourishing.

“Everything changed, but we’re still just as determined to live the life we wanted for ourselves,” the groom told People.

Moving Forward

The couple has big plans for their future as husband and wife, which include a new house and kids.

“We’d love to start a family in the next two years and build a home that will be easier for us to live in,” the bride told People.

They’ve got an incredible future ahead of them, but they are definitely taking things one day at a time.

Since the accident, the couple have had their fair share of ups and downs. “It’s been a roller coaster,” the husband told People. “There have been a lot of good days and a lot of bad days. It’s been an adventure, but people keep reminding me that this is just the beginning of a long-term journey.”

One thing that the bride hopes others take away from their story is just how important it is to let the people you love know just how much you care about them. You can’t take one moment for granted.

“One thing I want people to know is love the people you love as hard as you can because you never know what can happen,” she told “Inside Edition.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for the couple’s medical expenses. We wish them the best in their future together.

Good News, Life
,

Related posts

Bride Kalista Kassidy Caufield and dad Doug Miller
Watch this father-daughter dance that caught all the wedding guests off guard
bride and groom with ice cream next to three DQ Blizzards
Here's how you could get a Dairy Queen Blizzard bar at your wedding
three men in suits carrying a flower girl dressed in a fluffy white dress
Flower men step in when flower girl falls asleep at wedding
Couple embraces looking at home with sold sign
20% of couples now ask for down payment on a house on their wedding registry

About the Author
Augusta Statz
I have a B.F.A. in Writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design. I’m an avid writer with a genuine sense of curiosity. I feel the best way to absorb the world around you is through fashion, art and food, so that’s what I spend most of my time writing about.

From our partners