Hospital bed engagement follows crash
A couple injured in a serious crash are engaged after a hospital bed proposal.
But the special moment is tinged with sadness, after they learned their unborn child hadn’t survived and the child’s father had lost a leg.
Paraparaumu couple Kendra Smith, 26, and Corey Thompson, 32, were flown to Wellington Hospital after the motorbike they were riding and a truck were involved in a crash near O¯ hau on Tuesday.
Smith was 15 weeks’ pregnant, carrying a baby boy. Smith and Thompson are sharing a hospital room and when they were reunited, after initially being in separate rooms, Thompson proposed to Smith.
‘‘When we first got put in the same room Corey asked me to marry him,’’ Smith said from her hospital bed. ‘‘We are now engaged. That’s one bit of good news to come out of this.
‘‘He said, ‘I know I can’t get down on my one knee, but will you marry me?’’’
The couple have gone through major operations in hospital. Thompson has lost his right leg, but through surgery one of his arms has been saved.
Rods have been inserted into Smith’s right leg. After her operation for this, she and Thompson learned their child had not survived. ‘‘I could potentially still lose [my leg], depending on muscle and tissue damage.’’
They face more operations to repair soft tissue damage, and they could be off work for 12-18 months.
Thompson is a painter, while Smith last year started a cleaning business. Smith said she didn’t want to talk about the crash, but with the prospect of long periods off work, the couple’s bills weren’t going away. A Givealittle page has been set up by a family friend.