EVERYTHING was ready. The ring was in its plush little box resting on a bed of red roses, he was in his best suit, the balloons were blown up, and the bubbly was on ice.
All he needed was to find a way to get the love of his life there without her suspecting anything - but that was no problem. When you're given a second chance at life, you make a plan.
The heart beating in his chest was proof life was precious, that you shouldn't put anything off because you never know when a curveball will be lobbed in your direction.
Just a few weeks before, Navern Munian had bought the engagement ring not knowing if he'd be alive to slip it on his girlfriend's finger. But here he was and he was going to go all out - in the hospital where his life had been saved.
Navern (30) from Durban had received a new heart just 10 days before and he was doing so well he was ready to go home. There was just one thing he needed to do first: pop the question to his sweetheart, Sherice Roopai.
"The nurses helped me organise the proposal party, Navern says.
"From the moment I opened my eyes after the transplant I started planning the whole thing.
He knew Sherice was the one for him. She'd been by his side throughout his darkest days, providing comfort and support as his life hung in the balance.
"The past few years have been very challenging for us," Navern tells YOU.
"Sherice had been told to expect the worst, to start preparing for my end of life. This destabilised our plans as a couple, but we kept hoping and praying for a miracle.
"So when a second chance presented itself, I took advantage of it."
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