VIDEO: A Story About Love and Tragedy

Last August, Mike Droter, 30, took his girlfriend Lovas to Hawaii as a present for her 25th birthday. Toward the end of the vacation, he proposed to her and she said “Yes!”. On their last day, Droter headed to the shore to enjoy the ocean one last time. Unfortunately, a wave knocked his head back, slapping it against the ocean floor and causing a C1 spinal cord injury. He’s been through hell and back since, but Lovas never left his side! Mike is determined to not give up and to eventually walk again. The couple will wed on March 23, 2018 and he wants to stand for it.

Read the full story below, provided by People.

On August 28, 2016 — just one day after proposing to his girlfriend Jordan Lovas on their dream vacation to Honolulu, Hawaii — Mike Droter rode one last wave in the ocean — a simple move that leaving him paralyzed and fighting for his life.
Lovas, Mike’s grilfriend, — was packing, when she suddenly heard screams coming from the shore.
Droter was drowning after a wave flipped him upside down, causing him to hit his head on the ocean floor, fracturing his C1 vertebrae — one of the worst spinal cord injuries someone can have.
The couple was told by doctors at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu that Droter would never be able to eat, talk, walk or have any other motor functions for the rest of his life.
For the next four and a half weeks, his family and friends stayed by his side.
Just six weeks after the accident, he stunned doctors when he was able to say his first words. Two months later, he was able to drink water on his own (instead of through an IV) and within three weeks, he could move one of his thumbs.
The couple ended up hiring a nurse to help him during the mornings. Lovas — who is with him every day and hasn’t been able to go back to work — helped him start physical therapy on his own and came up a fitness plan.
Droter says that because he is on a ventilator, insurance won’t pay for physical therapy for liability reasons. But just three weeks ago, he started training at SCIFIT, a physical training company that helps people with spinal cord injuries.
He’s now able to move his triceps, kick his leg down and do assisted squats, pull downs, stand ups. He has also regained feeling on the left side of his body.
The training costs around $2,000 a month out of pocket. To help defray costs, the couple created a GoFundMe page.
In person, he showed them how far he has come on his own and with Lovas there with him every day for liability reasons, he continues to get stronger both physically and mentally.
Every single movement that Droter gets back gives the couple hope.
Their wedding day — March 23, 2018 — is something they both think about every day. After meeting six years ago, they started off as friends but after the two went on a date they never looked back.
While so much has changed since the accident, the one thing that hasn’t changed is their dedication for one another.