One year ago today our family was having a normal end-of-summer day.  George went to work, Connor started high school soccer tryouts, and Tara and I headed into school to decorate my classroom for the upcoming school year.  It was a completely normal day, until it suddenly wasn't.  The weather cooled off a little in the evening, so George decided to take a short motorcycle ride.  At a little after nine, our home phone rang.  I looked at the caller ID, expecting to see an unknown number or a spam call, but instead I saw that the call was from Christiana Hospital.  When I answered, a man with a quiet voice and a soft accent told me that George had been in an accident.  All he could tell me was that George had been responsive at the scene of the accident, and that I should come quickly to the hospital.  And so began the most difficult year we have faced as a family.

One year later, we are still adjusting to our new normal.  George has made incredible progress.  He is walking pretty well, and is hoping to get back to work very soon. He continues with physical and occupational therapy to try to make progress with the lingering effects of his injuries.   It will still be some time before we know how much function he will regain in his left arm, but he is seeing small but encouraging indications that his arm is experiencing some activation in the damaged areas.  We have high hopes that he will continue to make gains in his recovery.

There is no adequate way for us to thank all of the people who helped us to navigate this year.  My children demonstrated maturity beyond their years as they helped us cope as a family and stepped up to take on new roles and responsibilities.  Family members and close friends provided us invaluable support as they kept vigil with us in the hospital and continued to call and visit as days stretched into months.  Newark Charter's soccer family stepped up to provide us support that helped me to make sure we could eat and shop for our needs despite long days in the hospital, and they always made sure Connor had rides and was taken care of when I could not be there.  My Newark Charter colleagues stepped up to make sure my classes were taken care of ( special shout-out to Dan for honoring the pact), and they supported me every step of the way last year.   George's work family at Edgecraft showed incredible support and concern for George and our whole family.  Friends helped us with everything from hemming pants for Connor so he was ready to start high school, to mowing our lawn when I couldn't even think about how to make that happen, to moving Tara into her dorm as she started her Freshman year of college.  Facebook messages from old friends, texts of encouragement, phone calls,  meals dropped off when I had no time to cook, etc. all helped us to survive this year. 

Perhaps most of all, the prayers and well wishes from so many people helped us know that we were loved and that we had many people asking God to watch over us.  

We will never be able to say thank you enough times to convey our gratitude.  We have been humbled by the outpouring of support. 

One year ago today, I did not know whether George would live. While he  is still making progress in his recovery, it is amazing to see the gains he has made and the strength he has gained. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.