Three years ago, Alex McKinnon suffered fractures to his C4 and C5 vertebrae during a tackle while playing for NRL team the Newcastle Knights.
The injury left him a quadriplegic, and his promising sporting career was cut short.
But there was one thing he didn’t lose – the love of his childhood sweetheart, Teigan Power, who just six months after his surgery became his full-time carer. She was just 20 years old at the time.
Three and a half years later, on October 8, the couple wed in the NSW Hunter Valley, and Alex was able to fulfil a promise he made to Teigan while he was still recovering in hospital: that he would stand by her side throughout the ceremony.
Before the big day, 25-year-old Alex's 'standing record' was 15 minutes. But somehow, he managed to stay standing for 45 minutes while he and Teigan read each other their vows and exchanged rings.
"The whole time I'm thinking, 'I'm going to have to sit down, I have to sit down, how am I going to do this?'" Alex told The Project's Gorgi Coghlan last night.
"And at the end of the ceremony it was 45 minutes. I was like, 'How did I just do that?'"
Teigan - now 23 - described the incredible feat as "really special".
"It made it so intimate," she said.
"I was able to look into Alex's eyes and feel like we were the same people when we met. He was so much taller than me, big red hair, big smile...it made it a lot more special."
Just days after her nuptials, Teigan told New Idea magazine that she "couldn't believe" Alex had managed to stand for so long.
"We started crying every time we caught each other's eye. It was beautiful," she said.
Now, the couple are looking forward to their long and happy future together, telling The Project that a growing family may soon be on the cards.
