Virginia. Inova Fairfax hospital. Not so long ago. Decent weather. Just another day in old Virginny.

Taylor Givens and Collin Kobelja were young. Two practical strangers. A couple of kids. Both awaiting cardiac transplants, lying in their hospital beds, about to be wheeled into the OR.

Not their best day ever.

Taylor. Seventeen years old. Pretty. Redhead. Viral cardiomyopathy. She would miss graduation. Centreville High School would give her an impromptu ceremony in her hospital room.

Collin. Your all-American guy. Good personality. Liked goofing off with friends. Probably a big fan of flatulent noises. Congenital heart defect. This was his second transplant. He had his first at 17 months.

They would both receive transplants on the same day.

Which is actually pretty unique. In America, there are about 3,800 heart transplants annually. Sometimes, patients wait years for a new heart. Some never get one.

But today, two organs had arrived in ice-filled coolers. And the dormant hearts would soon be beating again.

Taylor and Collin would undergo identical surgeries. Same doctors. Same hospital floor. Same crappy cafeteria Jello. Same nurses, installing similar catheters, using the same gentle touch of professional wrestlers.

They had met each other before at cardiologist appointments. But there were never any romantic notions. After all, they had more important things to think about. Such as, for example, living.

But this fateful day in surgery represented a new beginning. Both operations were a success. The Jello was exquisite.

After that, they went about their lives. They never thought about each other. Until five years later. Casual Facebook messages were sent about doctors. A conversation was struck. A relationship was in the making.

Then, one day Collin visited Taylor in the hospital after a procedure. Just to be nice. This time, there were sparks. Big ones.

Taylor remembers that there was ​“a really strong connection that I don’t think either one of us was expecting.”

They started dating. It seemed only natural. They went to a Chinese restaurant and laughed when they realized they had to take the same medications before their food arrived.

Somehow, everything fell into place. This was not their first rodeo, of course. They knew it wouldn’t be plain sailing. Harder times were ahead. There always are. But more so for our two heroes.

A new diagnosis, for example, would interrupt courtship. Doctors told Taylor she had stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Malignant tumors in her abdomen and chest. She is in remission now.

But hardship did not stop them. Eight years after surgery, they got married. There were never any doubts. It was just right.

Collin remembers, “It was just feelings. We just knew.”

There would be more difficult times ahead. Collin had to undergo another three heart transplants. Count them, three. And the doctors are constantly inspecting Taylor with fine tooth combs to make sure no developing problems arise.

But having each other makes such obstacles easier to overcome.

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

If you ever doubted that Virginia is for lovers, don’t.