A young American soldier was seriously injured during a bomb blast in Afghanistan and paralyzed from neck down. In a twist of fate, the tragedy led to him finding his true love, a medical caregiver in his hospital!
When a young soldier steps out of home, out of his beloved country, and is posted in unknown territory, amid strangers, he most certainly feels lost and alone. Sometimes you don’t even understand what is the purpose of what you are doing.
You just follow orders, blindly, without questioning. And then, one day, you experience the most dreaded incident that you are warned of, but never expected it to actually happen to you.
This is exactly what this young American soldier experienced. Actual war, where you get actually hurt. And then amid all the pain and sadness, comes a ray of hope, of love and happiness!
On April 30, 2011, while deployed in Afghanistan, Sgt. Nick Mendes was riding in a mine-resistant all terrain vehicle, when suddenly it was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). He was admitted at VA Hospital at Long Beach, where he regained consciousness a week later.
The result of the accident was drastic. He was paralyzed, could not move his body at all, nor could he talk. He was put on a ventilator. He had fractured his back bone.
Wendy Eichler, one of the hospital staff, was specialized in taking care of paralyzed patients. As if destined to be together, she was assigned to be the caretaker for Nick.
Both loved spending time with each other and Wendy would visit Nick even when she was not on duty. Over a period of time, they became good friends. After Nick was discharged from hospital, he too continued visiting Wendy. The relationship soon turned romantic and both fell in love.
Three years later, Nick finally proposed to Wendy and they got married on September 28, 2014.
Nick and Wendy have shared their beautiful story of their friendship growing into love amid the war, in a film called the “American Veteran.”
Wendy says in the video, “You can’t be in a bad mood when you are around him.”
Julie Cohen who has been working on the documentary film, told the Huffington Post, “There is a secret to the couple’s happiness, and they are both very funny people who are quick to laugh at pretty much anything.”
This film will be screened at Reel Abilities Film Festival in New York. The film festival promotes awareness, and portrays real achievements of disabled people in the community through films.
Nick and Wendy now have a specially adapted home in California, which specially caters to Nick’s physical requirements and helps him to be more independent.
The beautiful ending to a story of — and they lived happily ever after!
