After
only ten short weeks of married life, newlyweds Kim and Krickitt Carpenter were
in a horrific car accident. Kim was
badly injured, but relatively stable.
Krickitt, on the other hand, was in very critical condition – she was
given less than a 1% chance to live.
Shortly after being admitted to hospital, a doctor brought Krickitt’s
personal affects to Kim and told him “I’m sorry”. For a few horrible moments Kim was under the
impression that his wife was dead – she wasn’t; the doctors just believed that
her death was imminent and inevitable.
In
The Vow Kim lists several miracles that happened on that day, that led to both
of them surviving the accident (which in itself is a miracle).
Continued prayer, unwavering faith, and the grace of God saw Krickitt
improving daily to the amazement of hospital staff. Soon Krickitt awoke and Kim was thrilled –
until it became clear his wife had no idea who he was. The brain injuries Krickitt sustained in the
accident caused amnesia; Krickitt’s mind was wiped clean of the previous 18
months of her life – including the time she met, fell in love with and married
her husband.
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| Kim and Krickitt's car after the accident |
At first
Krickitt found the notion of marriage to a stranger unbelievable, but her
family’s insistence, Kim’s refusal to leave her side and eventual perusal of
the wedding pictures and the wedding video soon convinced Krickitt that she was
truly married to this man she did not know.
Unlike “Krickitt” in the movie, from the moment Krickitt accepted the
fact that Kim was her husband, her belief was that God had brought Kim into her
life for a reason, and her attitude was one of “I fell in love with this man
before, I can do it again”. As soon as
she was physically able, she left her family and moved back to Las Vegas into her
and Kim’s apartment. She was committed
to making her marriage work, even though she could not remember her
husband.
Kim
and Krickitt don’t pretend their whole story was a fairytale. It was very hard for them to readjust. Kim expected Krickitt to be the woman he fell
in love with, and Krickitt had no idea who she had once fallen in love with –
since her accident Kim had been more of a coach, and even a parent, than a
romantic partner. They had a lot of
fights, a lot of hurtful things were said, and while divorce was never an
option for either of them, Kim did consider living separate lives – they just
couldn’t seem to get along. After about
a year and a half Kim finally had the realisation that his wife can’t love him
if she doesn’t know who he is – and she doesn’t. All along he had been hoping that she would
remember him, and he had expected her to go back to the way things were. Realising that Krickitt had no memories to
build a life on, and that she could possibly never get those memories back, Kim
started courting his wife all over again.
Kim and Krickitt started dating again, and built a new relationship with
new memories. Kim proposed anew, and Kim
and Krickitt had a recommitment ceremony – all so that Krickitt could have
memories of dating, falling in love, being engaged and getting married.
It
is now 18 years later. Krickitt has not
recovered her lost memories of her husband, and Kim and Krickitt have accepted
the fact that she probably never will.
Nevertheless, Kim and Krickitt Carpenter held tight to the vow they made
to each other before God, fell in love all over again and couldn’t be happier
today. Their vow and their relationships
with God is the foundation they built their new life on. Today they are blessed with two children and
a wonderful, healthy marriage. They are
quick to tell everyone that God is the hero in their story, and they use any
and every platform available to them to share their story. They give all glory to God.
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| Kim and Krickitt at the premier of The Vow (the movie) |
The
Vow is a wonderful, inspirational account of how God kept his hand over Kim and
Krickitt during their car accident, during their recovery period and ultimately
for the duration of their marriage.
Why the movie of the same name even bothered to claim it was inspired by true events, I have NO idea. Solely the fact that the couple in the movie divorce tramples all over the heart and soul of this story. Apart from this major deviation, the only thing the movie has in common with Kim and Krickitt's story, is Krickitt's Paige's amnesia following a car accident, and Kim's Leo's attempt to make his wife fall in love with him all over again. Kim and Krickitt have stated that they are disappointed the couple in the movie was stripped of their Christianity - the power of God was the whole point of them sharing their story, and that was completely left out of the project. I would be terribly disappointed if it were me - Hollywood made a complete disaster of what could have been an amazing, inspiring love story.
Kim and Krickitt Carpenter- how the movie came to be
Product Information:
Title: The Vow
Author: Carpenter
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Year: 2013
Pages: 194
ISBN-10:143367579X
ISBN-13: 978-1433675799
ASIN: B0077T2BHM
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