A Texas college senior got engaged to her longtime boyfriend nearly five years after he saved her life in a freak pool incident ā a tragedy that bonded the brand-new couple at the time.
Alan Mann and Brooklyn Boyer, then high school students and former friends, were dating for just a week leading up to Boyerās life-changing accident in June 2020.
The pair were swimming with pals when Boyer, then 17, hit her head at the bottom of a pool and suffered a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed, the couple told KCBD.
A 16-year-old Mann, who had lifeguarding training, quickly jumped into action and did exactly the right thing until paramedics reached the scene.
āLots of people say itās like a coincidence or something, but I just think itās a God thing,ā he told the station.
āThat day was hard, but looking back at all the things that, all the good things and blessings that came from it, just really amazing to look back and be like God was with us this entire time.ā
As Boyer, who now uses a motorized wheelchair and attends Lubbock Christian University, battled through months of rehabilitation, she wondered if her relationship with Mann would survive.
āI had told him that I understood if he didnāt want to continue dating or anything like that, just because I donāt know, I wasnāt naive to that, that not everyone can do that or wants to do that, but he never left my side,ā she told the local station.Ā
At first, Boyer couldnāt even raise her arms but she is now able to get behind the wheel of a car. She still has a goal that one day sheāll walk again.
Mann said even through her severe injury and rehabilitation, his now-fiancĆ©e has been ānothing less than amazing.ā
He recently popped the question at a belated Valentineās Day dinner in late February and the two havenāt stopped beaming since.
āIām still kind of gaslighting myself like, this isnāt happening, Iām not getting engaged yet,ā she told KCBD of the lead-up to their engagement.
āAnd then he walks me over to where he wanted and got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife and I said yes.ā