Facebook post from Jenn on November 6th, 2021

"Everything will be OK". I bought Chris a sign for his office that said this a few years ago when life came with some challenges. We would look at it daily and it would give us some peace that we were ok and we would succeed no matter what. I find myself still seeing this and using it as a mantra. Some days I don't know how they will, but we've always made it work so we will just do it now as well.
It has hit me that we have made it to November. We are set to discharge home on November 30th. Everyone always asks how are you doing? I believe Julian is doing great. ( my anxiety is overflowing) He has developed this family here which means more than I could put into words. Not a single patient here has a negative thing to say. We call all of our friends here the worst case scenario club. The stories of how these friends got hurt are the things that probably could never be replicated to injure them in just the same way twice. Fate had a story written for them, and they are in the gym every day working for goals without complaint. They cheer each other on and encourage them to work and fight for more with a positive attitude. Anyone that knows Julian knows that he knows no enemy. He loves everyone and wants to be everyones friend. He has always seen the positive in any human. We are surrounded by lots of Julians. One of his dear friends here, Mr. Jim, Sandra Martin Lewis has taken so many of these kids on as his. He is the nicest person you would ever want to meet, (and probably could challenge Julian to a talk off). I wish more people could see what we see inside. The hard work, posititivity, friendships, love, and caring that goes on in this 4th floor SCI family. Therapists, that will be friends for lifetimes, physican assistants and nurses that have become part of our family. It's sad that the trickle down affect of Covid has limited others from seeing the work that goes into overcoming a spinal cord injury. It has been hard for me here with the strict covid restrictions, but it is also anxiety provoking thinking of taking him home in just 3 short weeks. I pray for the strength to make the tranisiton and for me to know what to do next to help him continue to recover. We know just because we are going home, the work still has to go on. As we've said, we are running a marathon in mililmeters, not miles (as Kristen says). I pray God will continue to put people on my path like Jim, Britt, Kristen Britt O'Brien, James Torell, Lindsey Fish, Chris (PT), Julie (Julian’s ICU nurse), Lauren(nurse), Jeanette (nurse), Kim(nurse), Juliette (nurse), Chedlie (tech), Jerline (tech), Sacy (nurse), Cheryl (counselor) and many more. I pray our new team when we go home will be just as dedicated to Julian's success. Failure isn't an option at our house.
Julian told me after his accident that he had a dream that God told him he was going to be tested in his life; Well, this is a pretty big test, and I'm still not sure why God chose Julian, but we are here to put up a good fight. Hopefully one day Julian will understand why this was his path, and until then he will be wrapped in strenth of family and friends. When people are fighting over silly things, this has put much into prespective. You learn what is important and what is not. Any one of these patients could be anyone . Never take anything for granted. These kids and adults did nothing wrong to end up here. Wrong place, wrong time, a once in a million chance, the unexplainable things are what happened.
This another quick video of Julian trying to work while watching TV. He said look mom. This was the first time getting his arm to move unassisted. It may not look like much but it is a mountain of work for a spinal cord patient. I love his excitement at seeing something happen. I will forever be that cheerleader in the background cheering and pushing him along.
"You gain strenght, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes my way.'" - Eleanor Roosevelt

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