A year ago today, I had just finished a day of meetings in the Outer Banks when I got the call that Owen had been in an accident. There weren’t many details at first, and I assumed he might have a broken leg or something like that. Within an hour it was clear that it was something more serious. So I packed up my things, left the hotel, and began the four-hour drive home from Kitty Hawk. Cara and I were on the first flight to Denver the next morning.

Yesterday, I was in eastern North Carolina again for this year’s edition of the same quarterly meeting I was at when I got the news last year. Driving home—in the daylight this time, at least—I did some thinking about the past year. A month in Boulder in the ICU. Four months of rehab at Craig in Denver. And now seven months at home. I thought it might be a good time to write an update. Has it already been a year? Has it only been a year?

In many ways, Owen is doing phenomenally well. He goes to physical therapy and occupational therapy at Duke every week. The work he does now is similar to what he did at Craig. It’s a little more low-tech here—no robotic legs or special treadmills—but the fact of the matter is that Owen no longer needs as much technical assistance to stand up and work on his mobility. To be clear, he still can’t walk without substantial help. But exercises that would have required the support of three or four therapists in Colorado can now be done with a one-person assist. He can go short distances using a walker (with a spotter behind him), and he’s definitely continuing to make progress. Two or three times a month he has PT in the pool, which he likes because he can stand and move on his own. Once a week he goes to a specialty rehab gym in Raleigh where he does more intensive strength and balance training.

When I look at the work Owen is doing now, I’m even more grateful for the foundational care and education he got from Sarah (PT), Joanna (OT), and the other therapists at Craig. They couldn’t have done much more to prepare Owen (and us) for the road ahead. And they were right when they warned us that the time at Craig was the easy part of Owen’s long road to recovery.

Owen still uses the same wheelchair he used when we left Craig last year. It’s a big, tiltable chair that requires the help of another person for all but the smallest movement. We’ve started the process of getting him into a smaller chair that he’ll be able to move himself with his right hand and his feet. His left hand has improved through therapy, casting, and Botox, but it is still far from full strength. For now, Owen wears a splint on his left wrist essentially all the time. He needs help with most activities of life.

What else? Well, a big step forward for 2024 is that Owen is enrolled in school. He’s taking three online classes at the community college in Durham, one of which was a half-semester class that’s already done. He did great. He needs some help at times, but he’s working hard. With his AP credits from high school and credit from his first semester at Boulder, he should have a shot to transfer to a four-year college in the next two years or so.

Owen can get discouraged at times. Progress is slow. Most of his friends are away at school, and he misses seeing and hanging out with them. His mobility limitations make it hard to have much independence or privacy. We sometimes look at pictures and videos from the past year to remember how far he has come. But still, some days are tough. If you get a chance, drop Owen a line or come by for a visit. Many of you already have. Thank you.

I miss this website sometimes. The process of writing the updates helped me work through some of the tougher parts of a difficult and chaotic year, and the support we received from so many of you was essential. At a minimum I’m just glad to have it all written down, because a lot of it is a blur. People sometimes tell us that the majority of Owen’s healing will happen in the first two years. He certainly came a long way in Year One. Year Two starts now.