Jesse and Kelly Cottle didn’t realize a photo of wife Kelly giving her double-amputee Marine husband a piggyback ride would go viral, but it has.
The picture was spur of the moment. In between shots of the entire family, photographer Sarah Ledford suggested snapping a few photos of the couple. Ledford posted the picture to her Facebook page, where it received over 7,000 likes and 500 shares.
Jesse, 28, lost both of his legs in Afghanistan in 2009 after stepping on an IED.
If not for losing his leg, Jesse told ABC news, he would not have met Kelly, 24.
The couple met at a swim meet during one of Jesse’s first outings with his prosthetic legs.
“The photo really says it all,” Jesse added. “I actually look at it very much as a symbol for our whole relationship in general. She’s physically carrying me, but there’s times where she’s carrying me emotionally. It’s a perfect representation of who Kelly is.”
[Sarah Ledford/ShutterHappy Photography]
