Larissa and Ian Murphy had been enjoying a 10-month romance, when Ian got into a horrific car accident, suffering a debilitating brain injury.
‘Ian and I first met in 2005 at college and had a blast for 10 months getting to know each other,’ Larissa says in the video.
Explaining that they were ‘dating very intentionally’ and planning ot get married when they finished college in 2006, she remembers the shock she felt when she got a tragic phone call one morning.
‘We got a phone call that he had been in an accident. [He] had suffered a traumatic brain injury.’
'We watched our future crash with him in that white station wagon.'
'We watched our future crash with him in that white station wagon.'
However Larissa continued to date him, revealing:
‘I knew where he was so after he couldn’t talk, that helped me so much. I knew that he loved me,’ she says.
‘Looking back, it’s weird because he couldn’t talk and he couldn’t eat, so we probably looked like complete weirdos when we went on dates. But we had a blast and I just talked to him all the time.’
Ian’s condition improved slowly, and Larissa explained:
‘If he could communicate with me,’ she said. ‘Then we could have a marriage knowing it would be really different but as long as Ian could talk to me we could make it work.’
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Additionally, Ian’s father, who was keen for the couple to marry, was diagnosed with cancer.
Larissa sought the approval of a judge, to allow them to marry, with the judge reportedly telling her:
‘You two exemplify what love is all about. I believe that marriage will not only benefit you both but our community and hope that everyone in this city could see your love for one another.’
'Though we chose marriage, chose it sadly.'
Speaking about their wedding, she said:
'Though we chose marriage, chose it sadly. Sorrow has been a permanent resident in our 20s. It feels like the rest of the world uses these years for really fun things. But in our 20s, we have watched our future crash with him in that white station wagon and we now live with two versions of Ian.
'Weʼve watched all of our friends get married and have health. Iʼve watched as my girlfriends and sisters found husbands who could dance with them at their weddings and drive them to church on Sunday morning.
‘But in light of all the practicals, and emotionals,’ she writes on desiringgod.org, ‘it was so very simple: we love each other.’
What would you have done in Larissa’s position? Let us know in the comments box below.