Ed and Helen Meusch were sailing around the world on a dream vacation when a nightmare hit. On December 26, 2004, they anchored their boat off the island of Phi Phi, which is a small island west of Thailand, and were casually strolling along an island path.

Suddenly they heard the frantic shouts of people behind them and turned around to see a tsunami, a giant wave of destruction, racing towards them. They fled inland but the wave moved much faster than they could run. Just before the wave crashed over them the couple embraced in a tight hug. They didnt want to be separated in what would follow. A wooden motorboat thrown by the wave crashed and broke into splinters a few feet from them, and then an instant later the wave hit. It flattened them hard against the sand and pressed all the air out of their lungs. They were swept across the island, most of the time under the water, with an irresistible force.

Ed kept tight hold on his wife. He felt her body going limp in his arms as they were battered about in the wave. He grasped for anything to pull their heads above the water. His hand latched unto some debris that had formed a raft. He pulled himself up and managed to somehow to pull Helen up also. He laid her down on the raft and saw that she was dying.

A captain of a charter boat spotted the couple and brought them safely on board his small boat. Helen was bad off. She had swallowed lots of water and was having difficulty getting air into her lungs. Fortunately the charter boat had an oxygen tank on board which they used to help Helen breathe. Death and destruction floated all around them. The Captain of the boat plucked two more badly injured persons out of the water. He then headed his boat towards the mainland where he knew he could find medical help for the people he rescued.

In the mainland hospital, Helen hovered at the brink of death for several days. She developed a severe case of pneumonia which needed constant medical attention. It was six weeks before she was well enough to be released from the hospital.

A reporter discovered the Meuschs story and wrote a stirring report about them entitled Love Conquered All.

Edward Meusch loved his wife and held her tight when he could have let her go and sought his own safety. It was his love for her that gave him the strength and courage needed to save her.