It has been a while since we have posted an update on Chad, so we wanted to share one final update on this page. In less than a year, Chad has made outstanding progress and is beyond where we ever thought he may be. It has been a beautiful and challenging year sharing these updates with you, and even reading through the older posts now brings such great emotion and tears to my eyes. It wasn't always easy to share an update on days that things were not looking good, but every time we did, we immediately felt the loving and  caring embrace of the community surrounding our family. The Lord has been with Chad and us all through it all, and so has the community on here and elsewhere. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you all so incredibly much for the support, encouragement and love you have extended to Chad and our family throughout this.

Here are a few words from Chad himself to share on this final update:

            "Hi all, Chad here giving you an update on myself oddly enough. I’m back at work full-time, and my boss said my work seems to be just as good as before, thankfully. My mom went back to Iowa last week, so I’m on my own now, living with my brother Derek like before the accident.  I’m now driving on my own, so I try to get out to Red Rocks Park outside of Vegas most weekends to do some light hiking and feel like things are somewhat back to normal. 

             I’m still going to physical therapy to work on my ankle, and have now added my knee to that since it hurts quite a bit when I use it heavily, which makes sense since that’s the knee on the leg I used to brace my fall. So, there’s likely some cartilage damage or something similar, which I’m going to work towards getting examined to determine precisely what it is.

         I’m very thankful for all of your support during my rehabilitation! It’s sure been a long road, and I definitely couldn’t have done it alone. I’m still working towards mountaineering again as it is something I really love and brings me joy. But this has given me a whole new appreciation of life and doing things you love to do. Despite what happened, I’m glad I found mountaineering. So, I’d just like to leave you with this. Go after the things you love to do! It might be risky in some way, but isn’t everything?" 

Once again, thank you all so much. All glory and praise be to God, as he is the great physician and healer.  Philippians 3:13-14, "Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Chad's race of life wasn't finished on that mountain and we know that God has a great purpose for sparing Chad's life, so please continue to pray for him and keep him in your thoughts.