A Minnesota couple who first met as teenagers after they both awoke from comas returned to the same hospital where their paths crossed to celebrate the next chapter in their lives. Zach Zarembinski proposed to Isabelle Richard at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, before a heart-shaped floral display asking, “Will you marry me?” as relatives and hospital staff cheered. Richard said yes immediately.
In 2018, Zarembinski collapsed during a high school football game and needed emergency brain surgery followed by a medically induced coma. He woke up about nine days later, around the same time Richard was recovering from a serious head injury after a car crash. The teens later met briefly in her hospital room.
Their families stayed in touch and in 2024 they finally got together for dinner, where Zarembinski asked Richard for her number and the two soon began dating. Their parents say they’re happy for the couple, with Richard’s mother saying they feel blessed to have witnessed the moment.