Dining Out
A comforting feeling
October 12, 2011 | By Devra First, Globe Staff
Life is sweet. Life breaks your heart.
Since they met a decade ago, James Ludwig and Sarah Murnane have dreamed of opening their own restaurant. Parents of two, they’ve long worked in the industry, Ludwig at establishments such as the B-Side Lounge and East Coast Grill, Murnane at Daedalus, the Independent, the Thirsty Scholar, and more. This would be their year. They leased a space in Kendall Square and in February began construction. They named the restaurant Abigail’s, after their oldest daughter.
Then, in May, Ludwig suddenly “keeled over,’’ Murnane says by phone. Rushed to the hospital, he was diagnosed with aortic dissection, bleeding of the aorta generally caused by a tear in the inner wall. On his 36th birthday, he went in for surgery. He almost died. When he woke up, he was paralyzed from the chest down.
