PROUD BRIDE
When a horrific accident left Rachael Muffett’s fiancé with a life-changing spinal injury, the couple were determined it wouldn’t stop them pursuing their dreams
Rachael Muffett andher fiancé Dale started 2021 in high spirits, with plans to marry that June and relocate to Vienna, Austria. On New Year’s Day, instead of nursing the usual hangovers, the couple were uncharacteristically marking the occasion with a jog as they excitedly discussed their plans.
But after setting off, Rachael and Dale’s lives were changed forever when Dale was struck by a car while crossing the road, tragically leaving him paralysed from the waist down.
However, Dale remained positive and was determined to give Rachael the wedding of her dreams. And with the support of their loved ones, the couple celebrated the perfect day – with Dale, 31, even managing to stand for their all-important first dance.
Rachael, 28, says, “Dale can always make everything better. Although our wedding wasn’t how we’d originally imagined, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Together, we can get through anything.”
EXCITED
Rachael and Dale became friends in 2014 while working in a call centre. A year later, they started dating, with Dale proposing during a holiday to the Peak District just 18 months later.
Rachael recalls, “I was so excited to be Dale’s wife. I was only 21, so I wanted a long engagement, setting the date for our fifth anniversary in June 2020.”
The pandemic forced them to delay their wedding plans until the following year, so on New Year’s Eve 2020, they were more excited than ever to be getting so close to their big day.
Rachael admits, “Planning a wedding was stressful, especially during Covid, so I was so relieved it was finally going to happen. I wanted more than anything to be Dale’s wife – we’d waited long enough.”
With lockdown restrictions back in force, the couple opted for a quiet night in with their dog, Pumpkin, before setting off for their runs the next morning. Leaving first and being the faster runner, Dale should have returned long before Rachael. So, when Rachael arrived at their home in Portsmouth, Hampshire, before him, she knew something must be wrong.
NIGHTMARE
Rachael says, “Dale wouldn’t answer his phone. I tried to rationalise what had happened, but it was nerve-wracking.”
Finally, one of Rachael’s calls was answered by a policeman. He explained that Dale had been hit by a car and was heading to Southampton hospital. He’d suffered numerous broken bones, two bleeds on the brain, a punctured lung and heavily bruised liver. It transpired that a spinal cord injury had also left him paralysed from the waist down.
