Love in the time of Yolanda: Canadian flies to PHL to be with wounded Pinay fiancée

Love conquers all, even super typhoons.

Canadian national Houssam Hammoudi proved this true when he left the comforts and relative safety of his homeland and waded through debris-strewn streets in the Philippines to be with his Filipina loved one in the aftermath of the destructive Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

The lucky girl is Grace Acojedo, a 23-year-old Visayas resident who was among the thousands fortunate enough to survive Yolanda's wrath with only injuries. 

The two, who met online a year ago, didn't waste time: They immediately tied the knot in a Muslim ceremony inside Alcojedo's hospital room at the Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu, where she is recuperating from the wounds she sustained when her house collapsed during Yolanda's November 8 onslaught.

The couple's story first appeared on the internet when Hammoudi created a Tumblr blog to ask friends to help finance Acojedo's surgery. At that time, Acojedo, who sustained cuts, wounds and broken bones, was at Gatchalian Clinic in Ormoc. Hammoudi had to shell out $400 to have her discharged. Acojedo was then ferried to Chong Hua with the help of the Philippine Coast Guard.

Because the money from selling his car did not leave him much, Hammoudi kept a blog recording the needs of his fiancèe, in hopes that Good Samaritans would help her financially.

Various news outlets such as Huffington Post and Toronto Sun picked up their story, and the publicity brought in donations for Acojedo's hospital fees. Her most recent surgery, costing P20,000 ($456), removed the stitches from her face and stitched her torn achilles' heel.

The couple had taken to posting pictures on social networking site Tumblr ("Operation: Saving Grace") showing her and her hospital bills as proof that their story was real and not a scam.

Because of Tumblr's viral nature, more and more people are donating to Acojedo's surgeries. Her current well-being isn't the only thing that's on their minds, as the livelihood of her family is still uncertain.

According to the Toronto Sun, Alcojedo's mother just woke up from a three-day coma last Wednesday, and her sister and brother are still underage. In the same article, Mammoudi states he needs to return to Canada after his wife's family can return to work.

Mammoudi even created a Reddit thread with a friend for interested parties to ask after Acojedo's condition and other pertinent information. In a post, his friend reported having raised $12,623.37 CAD for the cause so far. He and Mammoudi have discussed that any money left after Acojedo recovers will be donated to Doctors Without Borders, which is the only organization Mammoudi reportedly saw in Yolanda-stricken areas.

Interested donors may still help the couple by clicking the "donate" button on their blog page. — Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News