When you are facing a life-threatening health problem, the first you likely think of is those you already love. You worry about what will happen next. How you will get through.such an awful time.

Finding the love of your life isn’t what you would expect to find in those moments. 

But for two people, the hardest moments in their life, led them to a spectacular meeting spot – a surgery recovery room.

Taylor Givens and Collin Kobelja, in a twist of fate, both were scheduled to have heart transplants on the same day in 2011. Givens, now 29, had an enlarged heart. Kobelja, now 34, was on his second transplant. He was born with a heart condition, and had his first heart transplant at 17-months old.

Following their surgeries at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia, they were placed next to each other’s room to recover and be cared for.

At first, the two were in too much pain to notice each other. “There were really no romantic sparks at first because we were both miserable,” Givens told CBS News.

Photo by Givens/Kobelja

Givens said that Kobelja was hard to approach at first, and despite sharing such a unique situation, the two went their separate ways for a time. 

For Givens, healing was a tough road, with her eventually even missing her highschool graduation. Occasionally, they pair would run into one another at doctor appointments, but Kobelja seemed to always be distant. 

At that time, he told Givens he was too unhappy to be around other people. She told reporters, “‘I thought, ‘He’s such a jerk. I hate him.’”

However, an out-of-the-blue Facebook message changed everything for the pair. Kobelja reached out and learned that she was in the hospital. As Givens was waiting to be discharged, he showed up. She said there was “a really strong connection that I don’t think either one of us was expecting.”

Not long after that first visit, the pair began dating. Kobelja told CBS, “It was great to start dating someone who you don’t have to explain anything to. You can just live your life in a normal way.”

Photo by Givens/Kobelja

The two married in 2019, having finally found the path to one another.

However, the medical problems would give them more to push through. Givens, now in remission, was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Kobelja would go through two more heart transplants. But, together, they both said those things were easier to deal with.

“We’ve both been through essentially one of the worst experiences you can go through in life,” Kobelja said. “It definitely feels like anything else life throws at us, we can handle.”

Watch below for the heartwarming story of love the couple found.

Sources: People | Daily Mail