A video of a Navy SEAL standing for the first time in months to kiss his wife, after a horrific car accident left him unresponsive and in a coma, has gone viral on the internet, having been viewed more than 3 million times on Instagram.
Jonathan Grant, a 35-year-old Navy SEAL who served as a combat medic instructor after three overseas deployments, was badly injured in a car accident in March. He suffered a severe brain injury that put him into a coma.
Jonathan’s wife, Laura Browning Grant, a North Carolina Pilates teacher, left their home and moved to a hotel near a rehabilitation center in Richmond, Virginia.
Jonathan’s brain “suffered extreme whiplash within the skull, causing the internal bleeding and related damage, according to Laura,” Cosmopolitan reported; it left him unresponsive.
On May 16, Jonathan regained consciousness while undergoing a 90-day program that is designed for patients in comas.
On July 11, Laura posted a video online of her husband standing for the first time and giving her a kiss.
“We hadn’t been able to stand and hold each other since before the accident, but as soon as we got him up, he started kissing my neck,” Laura told Cosmopolitan. “It gave me the chills — him kissing me back, you don’t realize how much that means until it’s almost taken away from you.”
Jonathan currently breathes on his own without a breathing tube and can eat pureed food. However, he still depends on others for basic tasks like walking and getting dressed.
“We get a little bit of head nods and mouthing, but nothing consistent,” Laura said. “I don’t have my husband to talk to. Sometimes, when I leave the hospital at the end of the day, I think, ‘I just miss my husband.’ ”
Laura spends roughly 10 hours a day at the rehabilitation facility and has had to put her Pilates career on hold.
Laura said she is figuring out the details to help pay for his medical bills, as well as future finances. Laura also doesn’t expect Jonathan to be able hold a job again.
For the time being, her sister-in law set up a GoFundMe page to raise money raise money for future costs. Laura said Jonathan’s separation process from the military has already begun and she expects future costs to exceed his veterans benefits at some point.
Laura continues to post pictures and videos on her Instagram page detailing Jonathan’s progression and recovery.
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