WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Shuffling with a walker in a Winter Haven hospital is painful and slow.
“I thought in my mind I wasn’t going to make it,” said 30-year-old Mikolaycak Milorme.
When you see photos of the wreck Milorme survived, the miracle is that he's even still alive.
The wrong way, drunk driver who smashed into Milorme died at the Polk Parkway accident scene.
“I see fire and I see smoke and I smell stuff. Then I take my seat belt off and get out of my car, the first person that I call, is her,” he said.
On the other line was his fiance, 27-year-old Daseline Dugar.
“He said, 'baby, I’ve been in a terrible accident. I don’t think I’m going to make it. Remember tha, I still love you.' I said, no, if you love me, you have to fight for it,” she recounted.
The couple’s love story started when the two met at their Winter Haven church.
“He came to me and he said, 'do you want to dance,' and I said no, I don’t know how to dance,” said Dugar.
The next date went better according to Miko.
He proposed and they planned to marry this December with the help of wedding planner Maricel Baker.
“He was telling me, 'don’t cry. I’m going to walk again,' and inside of me, I was like, he’s in denial,” said Baker.
He spent 40 days in a hospital bed and 16 more days in in patient rehab.
“Every single day, there for me,” said Milorme speaking of his fiance.
He spent countless more hours in physical therapy.
“I will marry her no matter what. People keep telling me, 'are you crazy? It’s not going to happen!' I said watch. If you keep it in your mind, it’s going to happen,” said Milorme.
The wedding will happen Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Winter Haven just as Milorme promised his bride.
Their wedding planner is asking community members to donate so Miko can focus on medical bills.
“That’s what I want to be able to say. 'It’s a gift. You don’t owe anything.' I wish I was in the position to say that,” said Baker.
If you feel moved to give the couple anything, let it at least be this.
“Don’t drink and drive. Don’t text and drive,” said Milorme.
He’s walking much better now and says he won’t need his cane at the wedding.
“We’re gonna dance, yes!” said his bride.
If you want to donate to the wedding, you can call Maricel Baker with ‘Let’s Make it Extraordinary!' at 1-800-978-4130.
