Couple Who Met in Coma Gets Engaged in Hospital

Zach Zarembinski and Isabel Richard, who first crossed paths after waking from comas seven years ago, recently got engaged in the same hospital where they were treated as teens.

Zarembinski proposed to Richard inside Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. The couple had been admitted there after suffering injuries in 2018.

In front of hospital staff and family members, he asked, “Will you marry me?” while revealing a large heart made of flowers with the same question written on it. Richard’s response was a heartfelt “Yes.”

Interestingly, Zarembinski had coaxed Richard back to the hospital by telling her he had permission to record an episode of his podcast, “Hope in Healing.”

Feeling emotional, he expressed, “It’s such an honor to be here. We were able to record this podcast at Regions Hospital, where all the nurses and doctors took care of us.” It clearly meant a lot to him.

Right before proposing, he had Richard stand at the exact spot where they met, after he woke up in November 2018. At that time, Zarembinski had collapsed during a high school football game due to a brain hemorrhage.

After being rushed to Regions Hospital, he was placed in a medically induced coma while doctors performed a craniotomy. Thankfully, he responded well and woke up nine days later.

Meanwhile, Richard, just 16 at the time, had also been in a serious car accident while working at a grocery store, which left her with significant head injuries.

After Zarembinski regained consciousness, Richard was still in a coma, and during a press conference at the hospital, he reassured her mother, saying, “She’s going to be okay.”

Eventually, when Richard awoke, the two met briefly, shared kind words, and took a photo together while she was still in her hospital bed. “That continued for six years,” Zarembinski recalled.

Though their journeys to recovery were challenging, their families kept in touch, eventually meeting for dinner in 2024. It was at that dinner that Zarembinski asked for Richard’s phone number, leading to their relationship.

The couple shares a unique bond, as both underwent surgeries involving portions of their skulls being removed. “It’s the other side of our brain,” Richard explained, adding, “So we kind of complement each other in that way.” They bring different strengths to their relationship.

The parents were thrilled about the engagement but humbly refrained from taking credit for the connection between their children. “I’m so happy to have a front-row seat to their miracle,” said Richard’s mother, Esther Wiltzbacher.