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Exclusive: Less than a fortnight ago, Megan McKee and Stephanie Pascoe were celebrating one of the happiest days of their lives at their wedding party.
The ecstatic couple, from the New South Wales Hunter Valley, had eloped a few weeks earlier to tie the knot, before sharing their special day at a big bash with family and friends on October 19.
But the couple are now reeling after a tragic accident last Saturday, which has left Megan with severe leg injuries.
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Megan was cutting the grass on the nature strip at the front of their property in Paxton, when the ride-on mower she was on suddenly slid down an embankment.
Stephanie told 9news.com.au she was in the backyard at the time with her stepson, two-and-a-half-year-old Parker, when she heard her new wife scream for help.
The mower had rolled directly over Megan's foot and lower leg.
"It was really traumatic," Stephanie said.
The young family had recently bought and moved into their home just six weeks earlier, but all of their new neighbours immediately dropped everything to help, she added.
"One of our neighbours was just running across the street. She stripped off her shirt down to her bra.
"She used her shirt as a tourniquet and a few of the neighbours took their belts off, there were probably about 10 people there."
"In the worst situation, it was the most wholesome show of a small town community. They saved her life."
What followed was an agonising wait as ambulances and the Westpac chopper were diverted to the property.
The chopper landed on a nearby oval and Megan was rushed there by ambulance, before being flown to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.
Stephanie said her wife was bravely facing surgery tomorrow to amputate her injured leg below the knee.
"She's a pretty strong woman so she's been really positive, and she's quite funny about it. You know, she wants to become a Paralympian now," she said.
"But I think that's also obviously a coping mechanism. The reality is kind of setting in a little bit today, because the big surgery is tomorrow. The nerves are kicking in."
Stephanie said they were both struggling to wrap their heads around the swift turnaround of their fortunes as they spent their honeymoon in hospital.
"It's kind of cruel," she said.
"I think that that's the hardest bit, it's just such a swift transition from the happiest day of our lives to probably the worst day of our lives.
"We're both very incredibly grateful that she's still here with us, but there's an element of grieving a life that we imagined living that will now be very different."
The couple's friend and marriage celebrant Sarah Chippindale has organised a GoFundMe fundraiser to help support Megan as she goes through what is expected to be a lengthy rehabilitation process.
"With extended hospital stays, surgeries, rehabilitation, and time away from work ahead, Megs and Steph face a challenging road as they care for little Parker as well as manage their mortgage," Chippindale said.
Megan said was incredibly grateful for all of the support she had received, particularly from her new wife.
"The strength and resilience that my new wife has shown watching me go through this ordeal on Saturday really cements the love that we share and that we each found our perfect person," she said via text message.
"She has honestly gained the best support, and it breaks my heart knowing that she spent the first weeks of marriage like this instead of carelessly living it up like everyone else gets to."
