If all that’s happening is too goody-goody, you gotta know that something is about to go wrong. After all, no one is always happy. Maybe this is our Cherophobia talking but isn’t it true? Who is that one person who is always happy?
Can you think of anyone? If yes, maybe you don’t know them that well. This couple had a perfect wedding but then an accident took her memory away. Her journey to the other side is remarkable.
The Social Media World
Laura Faganello shared her story on social media so that the world could know the traumatic experience she had gone through.
The timeline of her life was open to the social world now. It wasn’t just a summary on Facebook; she shared her love story from the beginning on the blog, Love What Matters. People are in love with her, her husband, and their love story.
The Couple
Laura and Brayden Faganello, the married couple from Victoria in British Columbia is a couple that has won over all the hurdles. They got over the toughest times and still carry the same love for each other.
While they are happily married now but things were not always in seventh heaven. The first time they spoke to each other, it wasn’t even in person.
To The Beginning
Back in 2015, Brayden was in South Africa, he was working there as a missionary with the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Laura wasn’t aware of the existence of this man named Brayden but she did know his cousins and they though Laura and Brayden were perfect for each other.
The cousins asked Laura to write him a letter but she wasn’t interested at all. She had no space for any love interest as she was too busy with her work and family.
Giving It A Try
Laura didn’t really want A MAN in her life but what was there to lose, right? She was going to her parents in Brussels and decided to write a letter to him. However, she kept the return address as her home in Victoria and not the one in Brussels.
She was in Brussels for her summer vacation and this way she could forget about this boy while she spent time with her parents.
A Birthday Letter
Laura’s brother called her up on her birthday and told her that there was a letter for her from Brayden. The reason behind the letter was not just her birthday, he was intrigued by this woman and wanted to know more about this woman on the other side of the paper.
Laura thought that the letter was the funniest thing she had ever read. Hence, another letter was on its way and this time she had given her address in Brussels.
Talking At All Times
It didn’t take long for Laura to realize that sending a letter to Brayden was the best decision she had ever taken. They kept talking through a letter in this millennial world and it continued over the period of the next eight months.
Not that they didn’t have cell phones, they had them but talking to each other through letters made them connect more. They also wrote an email to each other but only once a week.
Back To Victoria
The two were away from each other and the difference was of two continents, one being in South Africa and the other one in Europe. However, none of it was enough to keep them apart. They met each other in Victoria.
Their first meeting was nothing less than a dream. They started dating each other seriously and it took them less than a month to tell each other about their true feelings. By April, that was just three months into dating scenario, Brayden had proposed to her and they were gearing up for the wedding.
Getting Hitched
Brayden had asked Laura the most important question of her life and the wedding was planned for the month of July. The two were excited to take the vows together and it was going to happen on a warm summer day.
The day was pleasant and so was the wedding. It was a day they would have never forgotten but Laura did and it was just after nine months of their togetherness. Their life turned upside down when…
The Incident
It was just after a few days after Laura completed her final college exams. A family friend asked her for a little help with an event. They wanted her to set up the tents and make sure that it was all ready for the day ahead.
However, it was not the best day for the event. The wind was howling and the tent didn’t give any proper shelter to the balloons and glasses as they were bursting and shattering.
Noticing Something
This day had something specific and Laura noticed them all. She remembers three women were holding on to the poles so that the tent wouldn’t fall. Laura noticed that the pole was not in the right place and she noticed that a coordinator was trying to help them too. She thought there was a reason behind it but it was not how it seemed to her…
The Thump
Laura was given the duty of decorating the tables and she did it with all her heart. While she was there, doing her duty, she heard some woman’s gasp and that was it. That’s all she remembers and there was nothing more she could see after this. She heard a thump and felt it on the top of her head.
The tent support landed on her skull and as a reflex, she held her head and tried to make sense of what had happened.
Blacking Out
Laura was conscious after she suffered the initial hit on her skull but soon after the hit she realized that the room was spinning. She was in and out of consciousness and she reached a point where she couldn’t remember how old she was.
She could remember her life only till the age of 17. She was hoping for her parents to come and look after her. She had forgotten that her parents had moved to Brussels three years ago. Her mind was still spinning and couldn’t make out what was really going on.
Clear Memories
The thump on her skull had caused some major damage to her memory. In that one moment, she lost the knowledge of her current life and it disappeared into the air. From that moment, she thought that she was younger than she actually was and had no idea who were the people around her.
All her life had turned foggy and the worst part was that she couldn’t remember the love of her life and her own wedding day.
A State Of Panic
Laura’s accident took her back in the past and Brayden wasn’t part of it. He was a complete stranger to her. However, Brayden couldn’t forget her existence and he still considered her his wife. The family asked her to assume that’s how her normal life was.
But when we come to think of it, how could a woman spend her life with a stranger? That was the level of the trauma she had to deal with and this was just the beginning…
The New Unknown Life
She would often wake up in a state of shock whenever Brayden would wake her up. She was always so overwhelmed that she had to throw up every now and then. It was too much to take in as she was living a life with a stranger.
She couldn’t deny the facts that were in front of her. She saw her wedding album and the wedding ring on her finger. All the pieces of the puzzle were in front of her but Laura couldn’t make a complete picture out of them.
A Daily Occurrence
This wasn’t a one time thing. It happened each day and it made the matter worse. Every day she’d forget the love of her life, the man of her dreams and she reached a point where she couldn’t figure out who she really was and what was the purpose of her life.
She would wake up with a tsunami of tears and nothing would make her feel better. She would start screaming at the top of her voice. However, there were some days when she’d be totally okay with everything that’s happening and that would make Brayden really happy. He couldn’t stand that Laura was not recognizing him even after spending days and nights with him.
Two Long Years
This struggle was not a small one; Laura didn’t get back her memory in weeks or months. For the next two years, she was living a miserable life and for that period, she didn’t know what was happening.
Another thing was that she didn’t just suffer from emotional pain. The physical pain was haunting her in this period. The pole that had fallen on her didn’t just take away her memory. It hit her spinal cord and that gave her headache and back spasms.
College Was Over
For her, it was a difficult time and she had to leave college. Her dream was to become a teacher and she had to drop it before she could graduate. Laura had also lost the ability to read and write and the trouble increased when she faced a problem while speaking coherent sentences.
Laura did approach the organizing committee of the event but nobody responded properly and Laura was too ill to take a stand. Hence, there was no compensation for the mistake of the committee.
The Loss Of Job
If that was not enough, Laura lost her job in this drill. In the middle of the crisis, it was a sticky situation for Laura. She wasn’t able to pay the medical bills. The loss of the best of her ability took her job away and it was the start of the race of tough life.
The pressure was building up and the factors were all mixed up. Her married life, career, end of college, and everything else suffered due to her memory loss.
Hoping For The Best
Even though the days were dull and the nights were hard, Laura didn’t give up on her life and was hoping to see a ray of hope in this dark tunnel. She just wanted to wake up one day with the complete memory and live a normal life.
However, it hasn’t happened as of now. She doesn’t remember how romance bloomed between Brayden and her. She has no memory of her wedding day and she is living with the hope that one day she will remember it.
Tough Blow
It was evident that the situation was eating her up and Brayden was aware of the fact. However, he didn’t know what he could do about it. The young man had to deal with it without saying a word. Laura would jump on one touch of her husband and that would dishearten him every single time.
He was in the same hope that things would go back to normal over time. He could do nothing but wait for his wife and that happened when…
The Confusion
As time passed by, Laura and Brayden would spend more time with each other. The more time they spent, the more memories came back in. She knew they were married but it wasn’t something she could commit to.
This confused her further and soon she started regretting her marriage. The wedding band was a trap for her and she had no choice of leaving this man.
The Right Thing
Laura had to make a decision for her life. She could either stick to the man who loved her more than anything in the world or she could leave him behind to find the true meaning of her existence. She knew staying with her husband is the right thing to do but she didn’t feel that it was the right thing to do.
Even if she wanted to leave, Brayden made it difficult to take that decision. He kept on trying to love her even after Laura was not giving him any heed. He was there to comfort her and that’s why she couldn’t upset him.
A New Project
Her life was getting messed up each day and she wanted to make sure that there is something that makes her life bearable. Her condition didn’t allow her to take up her old job back but she tried her best to get back to normal life so that she could earn a living.
She wanted to know her plans she had before losing the memory and that is what she did. She put bin all her time in photography and videography business and it was her passion project.
Working In Parts
With her condition, it was difficult to pursue this project for continuous hours. She worked for a small 15 minutes duration and then took three hours to rest. She would suffer from extreme tension headaches and pain and that would make Laura cry out loud.
She knew this couldn’t stop her and once she wiped her tears, she would again pick up her laptop bag and continued to work. Before she realized, she had fallen in love with photography again. That is when she realized that it was the right decision.
The New Energy
The second-year passed and there was a new energy in her that motivated her to wake up each day. She decided that she won’t let this situation take over her senses. She wanted to get over the pain and move on from this memory loss incident.
She got back to school, enrolled herself in two classes, and hoped to graduate this time. She was now busy with work and exams and the memory loss had still fogged her past life. However, this wasn’t a hurdle for her anymore.
Making A Decision
With everything going on, she had to make peace with her personal life and to do that, she had to make a decision. She couldn’t keep her married life on a hanger and she decided to work it out with Brayden. This time it was her move that made things better as she was clear in her head about what she wanted.
She got all the courage she had in her and took the wedding band in her hands and went to Brayden to tell something important. The tricky part was that she didn’t know how he would react!
Dating All Over Again
When she made her way to her husband, he was working on his business venture. When she told him about her plan, he was surprised at the level of initiation she had. Laura said that she wanted to date him all over again and he was a little confused for obvious reasons.
However, when Laura started to explain why she came up with this idea, it started making sense to Brayden. She said that he knew her too well and she doesn’t know anything about him which makes it difficult for her to fall in love with him.
Asking Him Out
It was time to execute the dating plan and Laura had a brilliant idea for asking her husband out. For the “first date”, she planned to go to a mini-golf course and spend some time knowing each other. Laura wanted to keep the essence of the first date alive!
They got really involved in the game and were having a blast with every point. This was just the beginning as they were now behaving a couple and heading to drives and walking together.
Learning About Him
Laura was embracing this phase and was keen on taking this relationship on a positive track. So, she decided to start asking questions to Brayden and collect bits and pieces about his life and experiences.
Braydon talked to her with great enthusiasm as this is what he always wanted. He narrated all the stories from his past and he saw this as a win. He expressed his love for her by keeping special notes on the bed for her to read. His happiness showed in his gestures!
Loving Him All Over Again
They had been dating for a few weeks now. She might not remember their wedding life but she realized that she now misses the life that she could have remembered. She started to miss him when she wasn’t with him and his company now mattered to her.
Whenever he came near her, she found herself blushing and there was a point in her life that she couldn’t get enough of him, again! She was falling for him, AGAIN!
The Emotions
Laura knew that it was a process Brayden was doing twice but for her, it was all new and without this, she couldn’t jump into an unknown marriage. But she had fallen for him and it started by becoming best friends. Then the crushing happened and you don’t need us to tell you that there was a dreamy love story all over again.
She used to wait every day for him to come back so that she could spend more time with her.
Everything Was New
Laura had made peace with the fact that she will never get back her old memories so she was okay making new ones with Brayden. She was now acknowledging her love for her husband.
This second chance gave them a chance to take things on a new road and this way Brayden was getting to have the love of his life in his arms. What else could he have asked for?
Back To The Beautiful Summer
Throughout the summer, the two of them dated and it was a true summer of love for them. Laura was enjoying each moment she spent with her husband and Brayden had the best summer. He was getting to know his wife and he fell in love with her each day.
At the end of summer, he had an important question lined up. He knew they were married but he didn’t want Laura to live without the memories of vows. Hence, he proposed to her and it was an undoubted yes from Laura’s side.
Unconditional Love
Laura did question her decision to get married to Brayden but deep down she knew it was the right thing to do. She had not just fallen for him but she even considered herself lucky to have him as he stuck by her even when she refused to accept him as her husband.
But love makes you do crazy things and that is what made him stick by his wife with no memories.
Planning A Wedding
The wedding bells started ringing again and it was time for the second wedding. Laura couldn’t wait to tie the knot with him and spend the rest of the life with him. She knew she was married to him but living the second innings with the same man was a beautiful thing.
Not everyone gets to fall in love twice with the same person. It is something no one can take from these two.
Looking Back
Since the incident, Laura knew life was no longer the same. She had attempted to track back on the same path and that is the reason she could fall in love with her husband, again! She was on a different path in terms of her career but she enjoyed what she did now.
She is now building her own business with the love of her life.
A Roller Coaster Life
Today, the two of them are running a successful business under the name of Faonello Productions. They specialize in couples and wedding videography. They want to reflect on the love of two people through their videos of their big day.
They work together and that makes their business successful and the couples who are captured in their lens are equally loved.
The Journey
Laura’s social media post and her blog were reaching many people and their amazing story needed to be told.
People started sending their wishes to the couple and the condolences to Laura for going through such a traumatic period. People were in awe of them and their love story. When they see how the two of them are crazy about each other, it is difficult to believe that they were ever in that phase.
Defying The Odds
You can never expect true love to fall in your life and expect a dreamy fairytale happening. The rare people who get to live that kind of love story are the luckiest. For Laura and Brayden, their lives turned upside down after the incident but the two of them defying the odds together and lived a blissful life after they got over their fears and struggles.
