Today was a moment in time that I have waited on for over two and a half years. In a matter of seconds, I relived the last 800+ days of Clementine's life, revisited all of the minutes it took to get here. Clementine looked up at me as she was holding onto her walker, an enormous grin glowing across her face - the same smile that shook off death.

"Are you walking on your own Clemy," I asked her as palpable jubilation surged between us. My baby girl took steps under her own power today and with those steps she walked into a new chapter of her life. With every centimeter of movement she grew into a new future as did my love for this beautiful life we have all been given. 

How did we get here? Even now as I write this I am still shocked to know that my daughter can ambulate on her own. Are they big steps? No. Nor is it completely independent of all intervention. She does need the assistance of ankle and foot orthotics, a walker, and someone to help her remain stable - but that is immense progress. Clementine is sitting independently, army crawling all over our house, and escaping from her toddler bed. 

Clementine's initial injury was very high in her spinal cord. She had no movement under her neck for days, her hands were clenched fists, her body a limp rag of it's former self. Over the days, weeks, months, and years of her recovery her strength has returned. My beautiful wife, Kelsy, has sacrificed a career she worked a decade to attain in order to help Clementine recover. Along with the amazing group of physical therapists who support Clementine in Idaho (Thank you to Kaleidoscope Pediatric Therapy in Boise - you have helped give our daughter so much) and Baltimore (The Kennedy Krieger Team at the International Spinal Cord Injury Institute)-  Kelsy and Clem have both put in hundreds of hours of Physical Therapy in order to help Clem recover. We knew it was going to be a long road and it is amazing to see the level of progress she has made in such a short clip of life. She is so strong that I joke all the time that Clementine could do a pull up just with her fingertips and the more I watch her gain strength, the less I am convinced it's just a joke. This little girl is insanely determined, motivated, resilient, and hungry to move. She is a body in motion and she is working tirelessly every day to keep her body moving forward.

Looking back on the journey, we knew our lives would be okay even if we never got to this moment. In the last two years, Clementine has learned to move on her own through wonderful mobility aids including a mobile stander and a wheel chair.  It's amazing to see her interact with her world and superior navigation skills.  We have made sure to include her in as many different activities that we can find, things that would be common for kids who ambulate like Charlie. In a month, Clementine will begin a local soccer program that is built around teaching kids love for the game. I knew when I signed her up that it would be a lot on me - I will have to be hands on her, knees on the ground as we work through the drills. And to me that hands on interaction with Clem is the joy of the opportunity. Clementine was brought into this world with the conscious perspective that we would love, honor, support, protect, encourage, and cherish her through every single moment of our lives together. I am grateful for today, for the chance to watch my daughter walk and to see pure ecstasy on her face as she felt proud of her ability to move. 

I would be remiss if I didn't also acknowledge the patience, immense love, compassion, and enthusiasm shown by Charlie throughout this process. He is such a wonderful little boy who has a better understanding of how to love people than most people I have ever known. As a five year old, he selflessly makes sure his parents can support his sister and he dotes on her as often as he can - at least when she will let him these days. Charlie has been Clementine's biggest cheerleader since this happened and I know somewhere in there - she is motivated to run wild with him. A dream I have often is them running hand in hand, ear wide smiles blaring across their youthful faces, nothing stopping them from running free.  

I do want to also say a very special thank you to my employer and team that support me. For the last year and a half I have been afforded the opportunity to participate in therapy every Thursday with Clementine - solely due to the generosity of my employer and the support of my team. I am extremely grateful that they all afforded me this chance to witness something that I will treasure in my heart for the rest of my existence. Greg Paulson and Giltner Logistics - you truly are The Better Move. 

Lastly to all of you who have been there for us every step of the way. Our tribe, our family, our network of love - you have all made this moment possible for Clementine. We love you all and are so humbled to have been shown so much support by so many people across the world. We are stronger as a group and Clementine has gained strength through all of your support - thank you.