May 23, 2022

“Don’t quit until the miracle happens”. So funny that julian and I were watching a show tonight and this was said. It was a gentle reminder to keep going. I had julian try on his cap for graduation tonight. This is something that I didn’t see happening last September when the future was so unknown. Not only did he miss the whole first semester, but he went to school every day all day to catch up and continue with the second half of the year. There was never a day that he said he was too tired to go or didn’t feel up to it. He put himself out there and makes us so proud of him to want this. Shepherd helped provide him the confidence that school was still manageable without the use of his hands. Kelsey (the teacher for the adolescents), Deb, and the IT people at Shepherd made sure he was familiar with all the technology that would make life at school possible. Julian hit the ground running, after some reluctance, but was encouraged that he could do it before we went home. He is still my smart, sweet child with a heart of gold. There are so many people that have helped him get to this point. Although this isn’t the way I had pictured life, we are navigating. This was so important for us that julian finish this chapter of his life and then the next step in recovery will happen the week following. Therapy at Frazier is the next best step for Julian. Chris and I really don’t have the logistics figured out how we’re going to continue to be a family and raise 3 kids in 2 different states again but we are going to figure it out as we go. I believe we are not done yet. The gains seem really small but from where we were last August, they really are defying what many thought. From just shoulder shrug to breathing on his own, to moving left arm and now some movement in right arm is hopeful that more will come. We also had family pictures taken last week. We were scheduled for some a few days after the accident. I can’t wait to see the pictures but this is one I got with my phone. I LOVE pictures and my family does them for me with little resistance. We remain thankful for all of the thoughts and prayers for julian while we continue to seek the best course for him. Time is helping to ease the pain and focus more on the future. I love that I can’t remember the last time I ugly cried and I see Julian smile more these days. I get sad for what we have lost as a family but hopeful that we can minimize the lost with what’s to come, which we believe is So much more!



















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