1. How it all began

Matthew and Danielle’s story began the old fashioned way. When Matt first laid eyes on 23-year-old Danielle in May 2010, he knew right then and there he wanted to be with her.

He was shy, however, and didn’t get the courage to ask her out until September. Who knew how different their lives will become in just a few months’ time?

2. She said yes!

When Matt first saw his future wife, she was studying for her finals so he probably didn’t want to interrupt her but he never forgot about the pretty girl.

4 months later, Matt asked her out and she didn’t hesitate to say yes. They were both so happy to begin dating and getting to know each other. Their love, though, will be put to the test later.

3. They dated for two months

After they started going out, Matt and Danielle were always together. Their friends and family loved seeing them so happy.

After they began dating, things started to go quickly. Matt was a year younger than Danielle at 22-years-old but being a young age doesn’t mean you don’t know what you want.

4. And then he proposed

Matt knew right away, probably since the day he saw her studying, that Danielle was the perfect girl for him and he wanted nothing more than to share a life with her.

After dating for two months, Matt asked his girlfriend to marry him and Danielle said yes. They didn’t want to wait long, though, to get married so they decided to have their wedding right away!

5. They had a nice wedding

People were probably shocked that Matt and Danielle were committing themselves to each other only after dating for two months!

Yet, if you really knew them, you would know how strong their love really is. They had a beautiful December wedding in Forsyth, Georgia and you could tell how happy they were.

6. Married life

After their December wedding, they lived together in Georgia where their friends and family also lived.

Mr. and Mrs. Davis were so happy to be husband and wife, everything was perfect. They haven’t even known each other for a year but it was like they knew each other their whole lives. If only they knew it wouldn’t be perfect forever.

7. Seven months later

When you get married, you vow to be there for each other through sickness and in health and Danielle ended up having to prove just that.

Matt and Danielle were only married for 7 months when the accident happened that would change their life forever. It only strengthened their love, proving that no matter what they were going to be with each other.

8. The accident

In July 2011, the terrible accident occurred that would put Matt in a coma that no one thought was irreversible but Danielle never left his side.

He was on his way to work, riding his motorcycle, when he hit the back of a car that was illegally parked in the merging lane on the highway. While Matt survived the crash itself, he was severely injured and it didn’t look like he would stay alive for long.

9. His injuries were awful

According to statistics, there are about 4,000 motorcycle-related deaths each year and the most common reason they die is due to head injury,

The motorcycle accident left Matt with a severe traumatic brain injury and many broken bones. He had to be put on life support and in a coma just to keep him alive. Nothing about his future looked good.

10. Danielle had to take charge

If it wasn’t for Matt’s loyal wife, he probably never would have made it but Danielle proved that nothing could stop her from loving her husband.

Danielle was the only one that could take care of him. Matt’s dad died two years earlier and his mom was too sick herself to take care of her son. That is why Danielle took charge and made sure everything was being done to save her husband.

11. Doctor’s said he wouldn’t live

People usually follow a doctor’s advice but sometimes, you need to go against their judgment and that is what Danielle did when they said Matt was going to die.

Matt had been in the hospital for 9 days when the doctor’s told Danielle that she should pull the plug on his life support. They said there was only a 10% he would ever wake up from his coma but Danielle didn’t want to give up just yet.

12. She had hope

Matt was in a horrible condition with a severe brain injury and so many broken bones that it seemed highly unlikely that he would ever be normal again.

Not only was their a 90% he would never wake up from his coma, it wouldn’t be too good if he did. The doctor’s said that people in conditions similar to his who woke up were never able to function on their own. Yet, Danielle believed in Matt.

13. Danielle refused to pull the plug

Despite multiple medical professions and even people she knew telling her to let her husband die, Danielle refused because she had hope that he would wake up.

That is why she made the decision to keep him on life support no matter how long it took. Danielle had only been married to the love of her life for 7 months and wasn’t going to give up on him just yet. She was hoping for the 10% chance.

14. She moved him to her house

No one likes being cooped up in a hospital and Danielle figured neither did her unconscious husband so she decided to get him out.

She took him home to her mom’s house so they could care for Matt together. Danielle said to her mom, “If he’s going to be a body in a bed, let’s give him something to look at,” and she made sure her husband could be as comfortable as possible.

15. No progress

The doctor’s still believed that Matt’s condition was not going to change, even if he was moved to a better location, and they seemed to be right in the first couple of months.

When Danielle first brought Matt home, away from the depressing hospital setting, she thought maybe he would improve but nothing changed. In fact, his condition barely changed weeks after he was brought home but Danielle didn’t lose hope.

16. Taking care of him was a lot of work

The only thing keeping Matt alive then was the life support machine so he was 100% unable to function or do anything so Danielle had to do all the work.

Along with her mother, Danielle had to give her comatose husband many different kinds of medicines throughout the day and doing his physical therapy to keep his muscles active. They had to feed him through a tube, clean him, and even take him to the bathroom.

17. It seemed hopeless

In a documentary, Danielle talked about taking care of Matt and how it was hard because “He was just a body that didn’t react.”

It was almost like he was a dead body in a bed and his eyes were even shut. He never so much as flinched and Danielle had to be the one to make his body function. Every two hours, Danielle had to put Matt on his side to prevent bedsores.

18. Then he opened his eyes!

After all this time with no progress, Matt one day opened his eyes and certainly surprised everyone that he was finally awake after spending 3 months in a coma!

It happened just a month after he was moved into Danielle’s mom’s house and proved the doctor’s wrong that he was never going to wake up again! After that, Matt was always following people around with his eyes and even kept moving his lips.

19. His first words

The fact that he opened his eyes was so comforting and gave Danielle a lot of hope that Matt was coming back to her.

Progress still continued to be slow but she never stopped taking care of him and keeping him up with his physical therapy. During one session, Danielle was moving his arm when Matt spoke to her in a whisper! He said, “I’m Trying!”

20. He started speaking again

Danielle and everyone else was filled with so much joy after Matt spoke after all this time because they didn’t think they would ever hear his voice again.

The fact that his first words were “I’m trying” proved that Matt really wanted to get better for his wife. After that, he kept talking more and more but soon, something became clear that was a bit upsetting.

21. Matt lost 3 years of memory

He still had a brain injury so his communication skills weren’t perfect but what was more noticeable was the fact that he had amnesia.

Matt couldn’t remember anything that happened within the last three years, which means he doesn’t even remember getting married. He didn’t even know his father died because it happened two years ago.

22. He had to fall back in love with Danielle

It was probably really hard for Danielle when her husband finally woke up and didn’t recognize who she was or that he was even in love with her.

Matt lost all of his memories of dating Danielle, their wedding, and the first 7 months they lived together as newlyweds. Yet, Matt knew she was important and even told ABC in an interview, “I’m sure glad I married her.”

23. Slow progress

Since Matt woke up, things haven’t been easy and the progress was still slow but, at his own pace, he was improving day by day!

His memory was the hardest thing he had to deal with but bits and pieces were coming back. The most important thing, though, was Matt needed to regain his strength back and ability to walk. He is lucky he has a great wife to help him!

24. He was becoming his old self

Matt had certainly been through a lot since he was in that horrible motorcycle accident but through it all, he never seemed to lose himself.

In an interview with ABC News, Danielle was telling the story about her husband’s days after he finally opened his eyes and even said his first words. She said the moment that she knew her Matt was still inside was when she asked him what he wanted to eat and he replied, “buffalo chicken wrap from Cheddar’s,” which is his favorite meal!

25. Rehab helped a lot

While he was in a coma, Danielle had him go through physical therapy every day so that if he did wake up, Matt wouldn’t have zero muscle tone.

After her hubby was no longer on life support, Danielle didn’t stop until he was in a good rehab program and eventually, Matt was in one. She explained, “There he worked with physical, speech and occupational therapists learning the basics.” He started improving greatly after that!

26. 3 months later…

It is funny to think that the doctor’s once told Danielle that her husband was not only never going to wake up but if he did, he wouldn’t be able to do much.

Matt certainly proved everyone wrong! After 3 months of intense rehab, he improved greatly and was even able to hold a conversation! He could walk around with a walker and finally eat and drink independently!

27. GoFundMe fundraiser

Since the accident in 2011, medical bills have been piling up like crazy for the Davis’ and the rehab program was adding more debt.

That is why Danielle decided to ask the public for support. She set up a GoFundMe account where people can donate money to help them out with costs and keep Matt in rehab so he can reach “his full potential.” People were happy to donate!

28. They raised so much!

Since the media caught on to this inspiring story of Matt Davis, people wanted to do all they could to help this family out.

The GoFundMe account was getting daily donations from people around the country! The purpose of the fundraiser was to raise $104,000 to pay for Matt’s daily physical therapy for five years. On the fifth anniversary of the life-altering accident, the Davis’ had raised $82,000 and months later, they finally reached their goal!

29. Yoga has been great!

Matt doesn’t only just do physical therapy—he has also been taking yoga classes with his wife to further improve his body!

They both enjoy those yoga classes together and it definitely helped keep Matt’s mind stay sharper! She wrote on their Facebook page that “Yoga is waking him up” and giving back his ability to sigh, yawn, gets chills and other things your body does uncontrollably.

30. He fell out of his wheelchair one time

While Matt could walk around in a walker, most of the time he got around in a wheelchair and one time, he fell out when Danielle was pushing him.

She told this story on Facebook about how after their yoga class, she was pushing him back to their van when the front wheel of his wheelchair hit the edge of the ramp. This caused Matt to fall forward out of his chair and Danielle was so scared she hurt him when she realized his hands caught his fall! He saved himself!

31. No more meds for Matt!

When Matt was in a coma, Danielle and her mother had to administer more than 20 different medications to him to keep him healthy.

After he woke up, he still had to stay on most of the medications because his body and mind weren’t 100% healed yet. Matt was still in pain too but eventually, his body got better. Now, he no longer needs to take medications, which he is probably happy about!

32. He was alone at times

I don’t think people realized that Danielle was the only person Matt really had to count on but she still had to go to work to make money.

As hard as it was to leave her husband, Danielle had to do it every day in order to go to work and earn money for them. It is going to be a while before Matt will be able to work again so, at the moment, he just stays home until she returns. She says he is “doing the best he can but he is alone.”

33. Matt knows what his wife did for him

He may not remember meeting her while she was studying, asking her out months later, and then marrying her but Matt knows how deeply Danielle loves him.

He was told the story about how the doctor’s told his wife to take him off life support because they believed the motorcycle victim wasn’t going to survive. In an interview with CBS, Matt told his wife “You fought for me so hard and, if you really think about it, that’s the reason that I’m here today.” Their love is stronger than ever!

34. They live together as a family

It has been a long journey since the day Danielle got the call that her husband of only 7 months was in a terrible accident but she doesn’t regret a thing!

Now, they live day by day and although Matt is 100% back to normal, he is so much better than he was when he first woke up. He and Danielle still live in Georgia but they now have a dog as part of their family! His name is SoCo!



35. He can swim by himself now!

It seems like Matt did every form of physical therapy out there. From gym work to yoga to swimming around the pool.

Considering they lived in sunny Georgia, Matt was lucky he had access to a pool. The water is actually a really good form of rehab because the water makes you feel weightless. He went to the pool once a week in the summer and by the next summer in 2016, he could swim by himself!

36. He got his reading and writing abilities back

People with traumatic brain injuries have to relearn how to do a lot of things like walking, eating, reading, and writing!

There were so many things Matt had to teach himself how to do again but he didn’t give up no matter how difficult it was. A lot of practice later and he was able to write again! Now, he writes in a journal and reads books on his down time. He was so proud of himself for finishing the Harry Potter series!

37. Matt did some driving!

One of the things he needs to relearn how to do is drive a car and Matt was very eager to get behind the wheel again because he loves cars!

Danielle took him out driving in a vacant parking lot and let Matt move into the driver’s seat. The car is a stick shift, which is even harder to drive than an automatic but that was the type of car he used to drive. He was so happy to finally drive again!

38. Danielle and Matt love playing scrabble

To keep Matt’s mind active, he and Danielle play a lot of games and one of their favorites has been Scrabble.

They play it on apps on their iPad and phones and apparently, Matt is quite good! Danielle is always posting on their Instagram account about how he is always beating her. He even plays Scrabble with Danielle’s younger sister but lets her win!

39. He doesn’t use the wheelchair as much

Matt and Danielle started a hashtag on their Instagram account #Ditchthechair to show the progress that Matt has had over the years!

He has been in the wheelchair for so long but Danielle always had hope that one day he wouldn’t need it! After so much physical therapy and exercising, Matt no longer needs to use his chair 24/7. He could go out and walk around, only using the chair at home or when it made things easier.

40. They don’t want you to glorify brain injury

As inspiring as this story is, Danielle and Matt want people to know that it wasn’t an easy journey because brain injuries are a serious thing.

There are a lot of stories out there that turn people’s hardships into an inspiring, amazing thing but for the people who actually had to live through it, it is a nightmare. As their Instagram post says, “Just because a story makes you feel a certain way, doesn’t mean that’s what it’s like to live in that reality.”

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