Walking down a New York City street in 2013, Angela Sartin-Hartung was hit by a NYPD traffic enforcement vehicle and suffered from acute traumatic brain injury and amnesia. Not only did she lose 17 years of memories, her husband Jeff Hartung said, she also forgot they were married. And a new journey of love they never thought they would experience began.
Hartung told babble.com (bought by Disney in 2011 and shuttered in January, 2019), he stayed by his wife’s side for the next 30 days until she awoke from her coma. “Sartin-Hartung was then transferred to a rehabilitation center, where the extent of the damage that the accident had on her cognitive functions and memory became more apparent,” the publication said. “She was unable to formulate coherent thoughts or sentences.”
Sartin-Hartung also forgot her first husband’s death and helping to raise her two step-children, Hartung told Babble. “She was confused about so much, including our four children, She only remembered her two biological children and was confused why they were so old, as she expected them to be years younger. They were now 17 and 23.”
Hartung was determined to help his wife
Married to Sartin-Hartung for 12 years when the tragedy occurred, Hartung was determined to help his wife in any way he could, according to Babble.
“Angela’s memory was full of holes and gaps and even over the years, the memories haven’t come back,” Hartung told Babble. “So, after many months of rehabilitation and healing, I began to focus on telling Angela the stories of her life, our lives, through conversation.”
According to Babble, Hartung took his wife on walks to “places that he knew would be familiar to her, calling them ‘memory walks.'” Sometimes, on the walks, Sartin-Hartung would say, “I think I remember this place,” Hartung told the publication. He said he would take her in, “and we would go from there,” adding she seemed to enjoy that method of jogging her memory the most. He also showed her pictures and videos from her past.
As for their marriage, Hartung told Babble their relationship “in many ways hit the reset button after the accident.” His challenge, he said, was “doing it better the second time.”
Hartung told ABC News that he felt like he was dating his wife “all over again.”
“Everything is a date,” he told the network. “We would go to the grocery store, and it’s like a date.” Sartin-Hartung told ABC News, “It is fun dating again. He’s just an awesome man.”
In addition to dating, the couple recently renewed their vows in Central Park. While the tragic accident caused her to forget they were married, the renewal of their vows and Hartung’s love, faith and devotion keep their marriage journey on a steady course to forever.
